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The Media Betterment Committee was established in Seika 1 (1989) after the Media Betterment Act was passed in the Diet despite some opposition by various opposition parties/groups. It's mandated to enact censorship policies that are against Japanese moral/political values or it they go against Japanese/international laws, norms and human rights.
The MBA places the Committee as a division of the Japanese Ministry of Justice.
Like their LDF counterparts, the MBC has Betterment Special Agency offices in all regions of Japan. Under their jurisdiction is the Media Betterment Corp., which acts as their armed response unit.
The MBC has their arms, gear and vehicles acquired from the budget provided by the MOJ.
It's rumored in the Libary War 'verse that the MBC was indirectly responsible for the Hino Nightmare Incident and backs various pro-censorship and anti-violence groups as long as they can undermine anti-censorship groups, including the LDF, in the long run.
General
- Cool Car: The live-action movies portray them using black Lincoln Navigators.
- Culture Police: The Media Betterment Committee's role under the Japanese law enforcement system.
- Faceless Goons: Their Corps unit wears balaclava and ballistic helmets to conceal their identities.note
- Kick the Dog: The MBC has no problems torturing Komaki just to get him to do a False Confession via Police Brutality that he helped Marie by showing her a novel where the protagonist is deaf just like her.
- Police Brutality: Anyone arrested or detained by the MBC will be subjected to being tortured in custody.
- In the anime version, a MBC operator nearly shoots a kid during a shootout with LDF forces protecting a children's library compound despite firing a warning shot.
- Put On The Reich: The MBC's officers are dressed too similar to fascist groups that operated in the 1930s and 1940s. Averted with the light novel and live-action movies, where their officers are dressed similar to the (mostly) blue uniforms used by the National Police Agency.
- SWAT Team: The Media Betterment Corp is the tactical arm of the MBC, meant to go after libraries, bookstores and individuals, groups and VIPs who conduct anti-censorship activities. In the fourth light novel (also in Library War Wings Of Revolution), they are also mandated to conduct anti-terrorist operations if they have reason to believe that someone's work is used by the bad guys. Their gear in the anime/live-action films is similar to what actual tactical units would use.note Its mandate was removed by the end of the series when the Diet approved an amended MBA that doesn't allow them to be armed.
- Villain with Good Publicity: The MBC is a legitimate law enforcement division of the MOJ. It's only when a wounded MBC operator shot at an unarmed Genda in the Mito library raid did things start to look bad for them initially before criticism died down.
Headquarters
Administration
Shigeru Onodera
- The Ghost: He's only mentioned in the light novels, but his name is used by the MBC as the main source of authority to enact MBA policies.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Onodera's the chairman of the MBC.
Betterment Special Agency
Officers
Hajime Biitani
- Deadpan Snarker: In Library Wars Book Of Memories, he quips that the LDF is a bunch of thugs when they ambush a MBC transport convoy despite the lack of arms.
- The Man Behind the Man: In the live-action movies, he's responsible for covertly assisting the Bakushudai in kidnapping Nishina.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: He agrees to fight the LDF on equal terms under policy of the MBA. It doesn't mean that he'll play by the rules if he can help it such as tolerating MBC operators to shoot at LDF soldiers.
- Mouth of Sauron: Like all MBC officers, he talks only to enact MBA policies by showing MBC warrants when a raid or other MBC operation is about to take place.
Akiya Ogata
Nosaka
- Satellite Character: He's shown in the live-action films to present another officer in the MBC and acts as Bittani's second in command.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Nosaka's not seen again after the live-action film's version of the Battle of Odawara.
Unnamed officer in Osaka
- Punch-Clock Villain: Despite being with a despised government agency, he only was in the MBC to do a job and was kind enough to give Kasahara her umbrella. This ended when she knocked him out since he spotted Toma with her.
- Spanner in the Works: His presence in Osaka when he gave the broken umbrella to Kasahara meant that she and Dojo needed to accelerate their plan since he would have alerted the BSA to their presence.
- Walking Spoiler: It's only hard to mention his presence, even just a bit, since he was responsible for changing the story's pace in the series.
Media Betterment Corps.
Takeshi Enoki
- Canon Foreigner: Enoki only shows up in the anime in order to portray someone from the ranks of the MBC.
- Even Evil Has Standards: In Library War Wings Of Revolution, he grabs a MBC officer's Glock 17 when the latter opens fire on Kasahara in downtown Osaka since a few shots nearly killed a civilian.
