Bubblegum Crisis

I have listed my brief thoughts and score with a rating on every episode. I then averaged them to receive the score above. It's accurate. I liked it mostly, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless you are a hardcore cyberpunk completionist.

PROS

+ Beautiful still artwork. Constantly thinking how great certain ones would be for gifs or wallpapers. + Great action. Not too over the top, and always fun. + Kick-ass music. Lends itself to an 80's cyberpunk action setting perfectly. I believe all the soundtrack was original. Worth a listen! + Good for watching idle. It has a Saturday morning cartoon (but for adults) feel. worth watching with your breakfast and coffee.

CONS

+Terrible Writing. Plots are often contrived and events and actions frequently make no sense. +Horrible dialogue. The amount of exposition is so high and so unnatural feeling that every character may as well just look at the viewer and break the fourth wall directly. +Predictable. Each episode is very formulaic. You have your relevant side plot and your ending action sequence. +Story never truly advances. The first episode tells us about the AD Police, Knight Sabers, and the Boomers. After that, they are all in perpetual war, same s**t different episode. Each episode the boomer is more "powerful", but this never truly makes a difference. Once in awhile a character gets new equipment that is "better" despite being visually equivalent to the previous. One wonders how this was a sustainable long term plot model.

If you want plot, look somewhere else. If you want action, there's better anime to scratch that itch. I really wanted to like it. I came out just not hating it.

Music still kicks ass, though.

I have recently finished watching 'Bubblegum Crisis' for the second time, on DVD, and I found myself both entertained and impressed.

The problem with most sci-fi and robot anime is that they are too heavy-handed and dark; as well, they often suffer from plodding and boring plots, to the point where they are not enjoyable to watch. Not so with 'Bubblegum Crisis'. The series is actually divided into two main storylines which comprise six episodes, and two side stories for the other two episodes. While the main stories require some concentration, they are interesting without being convoluted. _BC_ does not try to ponder the human condition or find the meaning of life, as other SF stories do, but simply creates stories that the viewer can enjoy. As well, there are some plot threads that are developed throughout the series, making events and characters more significant and more part of the story. While some may argue that 'BC' is nothing but science fiction lite, it keeps the viewer absorbed, which is more than I can say for most of the sci-fi anime I have watched.

I'd say that this series's greatest strength is its characters. Not only are they well developed, but they interact wonderfully with one another. Their differing and often conflicting personalities make the viewer identify with them, their lives, and their problems. We see people trying to cope with violence and destruction on a daily basis and simultaneously keep their humanity somehow. I believe that too many anime fall into the trap of trying to impress the viewer with things such as animation, sex, and violence, forgetting more important things such as character development and interaction. Like all the other best anime, however, 'BC' not only avoids this trap, but defines new standards.

'Bubblegum Crisis' also succeeds in its use of rock music, integrating it into the series and drawing the viewer in. Even though the songs are in Japanese, I still enjoyed them and was impressed by the quality of the songwriting. I should point out that these songs are some of the few I remember from any anime.

I thought the animation was excellent, especially for an OVA. The inevitable darkness of Neo Tokyo was nicely balanced by the brighter colors of the interiors of homes, shops, etc. This was another thing that kept the series from descending into sci-fi boredom. As well, the characters are animated according to their personalities, helping to develop them.

So I would call 'Bubblegum Crisis' a success because it manages to entertain all audiences, not just sci-fi and robot fans. In fact, it even entertained me.

The DVD set of this series is excellent. The sound is great, and the picture quality is perfect, even surpassing the laserdisc release. The ability to watch it in the original Japanese without subtitles covering the picture is nice, also. All 8 episodes are in the set, which is a steal at about $50 (compared to about $120 for the tapes, or around $100 for the laserdiscs, if you can even find them). My only complaint is that the music videos are compressed really badly, giving them an M-PEG look, and compared to how the actual episodes look in this set, that low quality is unacceptable. Still, that one complaint aside, this set is more than worth the money if you like this series even a little.

Bubblegum Crisis: 7 out of 10: Hot chicks, giant robots, and evil corporations fill every frame of Bubblegum Crisis as does some surprisingly catchy Eighties tunes.

Bubblegum Crisis much like Akira or Macross is one of those Anime that separate the thirty something Anime fans from this year's crop of snot nosed wannabees. When you think Japanese cartoons do you think Pokemon or shower scenes. Do you think irritating children or kick ass adults. Do your favorite plots involve the little kids defeating the big evil corporation or adults facing economic hardship and self sacrifice. Bubblegum crisis is an Anime of the latter.

As I settle into my damn kids today voice and distaste for every over hyped, rapid cut seizure inducing, saccharine piece of crap that passes for entertainment these days. (I'm looking your way Cartoon Network). I can sit back and watch full grown woman destroy some boomers (as well as half of Tokyo) and reminisce about my childhood when cartoon characters swore and every battle was followed by a gratuitous nude scene.

Is Bubble Crisis as good as I remember it? No. The episodes are not connected well and vary in quality. Some of the dubbing is dubious and the live action music videos contained in the extras are simply painful.

Does it both allow me to relieve my childhood and look down upon kids today? You betcha.

I like Scots. Hell, I am a Scot. But the guy above me is nuts. We all know that you can't just jump in the middle of a series. It's a cardinal sin of animé-watching, and something that will get you mocked mercilessly. And he did this.

The ep he's referring to is 'Revenge Road', and relies on you knowing who Priss, Linna, Nene, and Sylia are. Want to get a better picture of this animé without watching all eight episodes? Watch 5 and 6, 'Moonlight Rambler' and 'Red Eyes', respectively. You'll see some of the best drama, action, and plot to come out of animé ever.

/rant over.

Anyway, this is definitely worth a view. The premere babes-in-battlesuits animé, and home of the Knight Sabers (the most ass-kickin' group of mercs in animé.)