The periodic table becomes a weapon in a world where elements vanish and kids have to steal them back from another dimension. Nobody talks about this one, which is criminal, it takes a genuinely strange premise and never condescends to its young audience. The pacing crawls, but the friendships between the hunters feel real enough to carry you through, and the soundtrack lives in your head for years after you finish.

In 2029, the ground beneath the Mediterranean Sea sinks on a massive scale, and elements like oxygen, carbon, gold, molybdenum and cobalt suddenly vanish from the earth's crust. Over the next sixty years, humanity shrinks to a tenth of its former size. Researchers learn that the missing elements have flowed into Nega Earth, a planet in another dimension. To rescue the world, a special unit called the Element Hunters is formed. Every member is younger than thirteen, since only young, adaptable minds can reach Nega Earth. The show is a Japanese and Korean science fiction adventure made for children, designed to teach viewers about the chemical elements.