Dennou Boukenki Webdiver is a 52-episode super robot anime from 2001 based on a toyline by Transformers maker Takara. Though Webdiver is in the style of Takara's 90s Yuusha franchise -- which is beloved and referenced in anime to this day -- it fell into deep obscurity. Webdiver uses clunky, primitive CGI for all of its transformation and battle sequences that makes Transformers Energon's CGI look Pixar-quality. This is in contrast to how the Yuusha series is renowned for its meticulous 2D cel animation. However, beyond Webdiver's rough exterior, there is a lot to enjoy about it.
Webdiver takes place in 2100, a time by which we will have developed a virtual amusement park for children: Magical Gate, a place where children's dreams can come true. However, Magical Gate was taken over by Deletoss, a sentient computer virus that trapped most of the children inside Magical Gate and corrupted Magical Gate's antivirus system, the virtual robotic Web Knights. However, one Web Knight, Gladion, managed to escape Deletoss's corruption. A boy named Kento Yuuki also escaped Magical Gate; however, his younger brother Kaito did not have such a fortunate fate. Determined to save the trapped children and corrupted Web Knights, respectively, Kento and Gladion team up to liberate Magical Gate from Deletoss.
Webdiver is a monster-of-the-week show, so it's easy to dismiss it as predictable and formulaic, and a particularly weak entry in this genre given its visuals. While there are a lot of boring, predictable episodes topped off by clunky CGI fights, there are also episodes that involve strategy and vary the monster-of-the-week formula. For instance, there is an episode where Kento gets trapped in a false reality created by Deletoss.
In addition, some of these children were brainwashed into becoming Deletoss's servants, as w. One of the children captured by Deletoss is a boy named Kaito Yuuki, the younger brother of Kento Yuuki. However, one Web Knight, Gladion, managed not to be corrupted. Gladion sees Kento's furious attempts to virtually free his brother, so Gladion reaches out to Kento so that Kento can rescue his brother and help Gladion rescue the corrupted Web Knights. Over the course of the show, Gladion and Kento must ward off Deletoss's attacks, rescue the children trapped inside Magical Gate, and rescue the corrupted Web Knights.Much like GaoGaiGar, Webdiver takes a more pacifist and optimistic approach to the super robot genre. For instance, in Go Nagai works, super robots defeat the horrors that threaten to destroy the world through violence and sheer strength, making such works celebrations of violence. However, in Webdiver, most of the villains encountered (save for the final boss, Deletoss) are brainwashed children or corrupted Web Knights. This makes the battles in Webdiver a matter of rescue and reformation rather than scorched-earth destruction. This is reminiscent of GaoGaiGar, in which the Zonder beasts are defeated through purifying the Zonderized civilians at their core. Additionally, in Webdiver it's stated that it is determination to protect one's friends that makes the weaponry stronger, which shows that positive outcomes result from positive emotions.
Webdiver is also impressive when it comes to worldbuilding. It portrays a happy, hopeful, and utopian vision of the future. High-tech inventions are frequently referred to as "Magical [X]" (e.g. Magical Gate, Magical Vaccine, Magical Station), which produces an awe for advanced technology and evokes Arthur C. Clarke's famous quote that advanced technology is indistignuishable from magic. Another smart naming convention is naming the island on which the series occurs "Diverland" and the children "Webdivers" for their ability to dive into virtual space. This gives the children a sense of purpose in their world, which is uplifting.