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Bubblegum Crisis: Remastered Edition

Review by Matthew Anderson

8 Part OVA

Company: AnimEigo

Running Time:453 Min (8 episodes + specials)

Region: 1

Rated: R (Violence, nudity, language and adult situations)

EXTERNAL EXAM

It is the year 2032, seven years after the Second Great Kanto Earthquake. Tokyo has rebuilt its self, with the Genom Corporation, and their new humanoid robots, Boomers, making major contributions. Boomers can now be found in offices, stores and restaurants, doing jobs people used to do.

Yet something strange is going. Boomers are going rogue, attacking people and buildings. The police have created a new team to fight the menace, the AD (Advanced ) Police. The Boomers however are proving to be difficult to stop, and the AD Police are constantly outgunned. While everyone in the AD Police knows that Genom is behind the random attacks, no one is able to prove it.

Now, a mysterious group or power-armored women called The Knight Sabers have appeared. Somehow, they know where and how to take out the rogue Boomers before the AD Police can. With combat suits that are faster, stronger, and more maneuverable than the AD Police's , The Knight Sabers goal is to stop the Boomers, and Genom, at any cost.

So begins Bubblegum Crisis.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: Wow! This is the best BGC has ever looked. On all three of our video systems, there was nary a pixel, color bleed, or wrinkle to be found. On our Samsung, I magnified it X4, and it still was flawless. The colors are stronger and you can see some of the little details that were missing on the original DVD and VHS releases.

AUDIO: With the Japanese 2.0 track, the audio is superb. It's loud with a full bodied sound and plenty of directionality. You feel like you're there, it's so good.

The English 2.0, not so good. The mix is well done, but the audio is lower, and muffled in some places. It sounds about the same as the Studio M2K version.

EDITS: I am pleased to announce that every single insulting edit from the M2K release has been restored. Every singe episode, is clean an uncut. Having the two "Hurricane Live" videos spread out among all four volumes was a little shocking at first, but I'm okay with it.

EXTRAS: We got extras coming out the hard suit here. First volume has 6 music videos, a montage of line art, and text interviews with director Katsuhito, Chara designer Kenichi Sonoda, and AIC president Miura Touru.

For disc 2 we have the official US debut of the "Bye Bye Knight Sabers" live action special, a music video, original Japanese promo for "Revenge Road", another montage of line art, interviews with Director Hiroki, and program notes.

Disc 3: 4 music videos, "Moonlight Rambler" commercial, program notes, and you guessed it, another set of text interviews (with Directors Masami Oobari and Shinji Aramaki), and a montage of line art.

Last but certainly not least, disc 4. Two music videos, a series of text interviews, and program notes.

This just barely scratches the surface, as the program notes have tons of sub-features as well.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Bubblegum Crisis has been described as a cyberpunk classic. While it does have some cyberpunk attributes, a better description would be Cyber Noir. The series feels more like a Sci-fi Pulp Novel, with its grittiness, emphasis on action, and minimal character background.

Unlike it's successor Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, the Bubblegum Crisis had a series of different writers. This contributed to its some what fragmented narrative, and limited background. Overall, this series has more style than substance, but that is part of it's appeal.

ACTING: First the Japanese track. Nothing to say but some of the best voice work in the world. With a cast of experienced Japanese voice actors (Yoshiko Sakakibara of Hellsing fame), and the fantastic singing voice of Kinuko Oomori, they are part of the reason the series did well in the states during its initial run.

Now for the American actors. In a word, horrible. Flat delivery, voice mismatches (Dr Stingray is in his 30's, not just out of high school), cases of overacting, and way over emoted singing make this one of the worse dubs out there. They do get better, with the finial episode being their best work. Stand out performance by Susan Grillo as Nene.

FAN SERVICE: Plenty. Tons of butt shots, shower scenes, changing scenes. The only one you see completely nude is fan favorite Priss, but you do get a good shot of Vision as well. There is also some lesbian sub-context in episode 5, "Moonlight Rambler".

There are also sly visual references to "Top Gun", "Robocop", Gainax and AIC animation studios, and many other pop/anime culture icons. There is a very heavy "Blade Runner" vibe that permeates through out the entire series.

FINAL EXAM

Hard to believe It has been almost 15 years since "Bubblegum Crisis" appeared on VHS in the United States. Long heralded as one of the classics of Cyberpunk Anime, it's cool style, awesome music, and engrossing storylines helped to bring in thousands of new anime fans. Thanks to its success, BGC added names like Obari, Sonoda, and Aramaki to our collective anime based conscience, and put new company AnimEigo on the map. Finally, after having had to suffer through the horrendous M2K release, AnimEigo has re-released the DVD version of our favorite anime, and it has never looked or sounded so good.

On disc one, we are introduced to the world of Bubblegum Crisis in "Tinsel City". We meet the Knight Sabers; a team of young women with hyper-advanced hard suits packing enough fire power to level a city block. Led by the enigmatic Sylia; fellow Sabers Priss, Linna, and Nene moonlight as mercenaries while holding down menial day jobs. Occasionally, their activities interfere with AD Police Officers Leon and Daley, but as far as they are concerned, so long as someone is fighting Genom, who cares what they do.

What starts off as a typical rogue Boomer incident, quickly becomes a dangerous assignment involving a kidnapped girl, the Japanese space defense department, beam satellites, and a new type of Boomer that can fuse with anything in-organic.

In "Born to Kill", The Knight Sabers are hired to find the whereabouts of a "black box" control system, that may or may not have fallen into the hands of Genom. When Linna's good friend Irene gets involved, things go from bad to worse.

Setting the moody and dark tone of the entire series, these two episodes really draw you into the world of the Knight Sabers. You can see the influence of "Blade Runner" in not only the characters of Priss in Leon, but in the visual style of Genom Tower.

Disc two concludes the story arc started in episode one with episode 3 "Blow Up". Genom executive Mason has advanced up Chairman Quincy's plans to demolish several residential blocks for the Genom corporation. Mason's brutal tactics enrage Priss, and she decides to take the fight to Genom. Little does she know that Mason has his own plans for the future, and they involve Sylia!

The second episode of disc 2 is a stand alone story called "Revenge Road". When Dr. Raven, chief mechanic for the Knight Sabers, asks for them to stop a family friend from going after a biker gang, they find themselves chasing a car with a soul of it's own.

While episode three would have made a fitting end to the series, one scene in particular became the source of not only future OVA episodes, but act as the catalyst for the "Bubblegum Crash" OVA.

Episode 4 "Revenge Road" has one of the best chase sequences in anime, involving Priss, a run away car, and a AD Police helicopter.

Disc three begins a two episode story arc that will bring both the Knight Sabers and Genom to their knees.

What do a crashed space shuttle, a missing combat suit, a rash of vampire attacks, and a young biker hall have to do with each other? In "Moonlight Rambler", these seemingly un-related events can all be linked to a mysterious figure named Largo. Not only does he manipulates things from behind the scenes of Genom's space agency, he seems to know everything about the Knight Sabers and Genom.

Yet, he doesn't make his move until episode 6 "Red Eyes". Having infiltrated Genom, Largo attempts to bring Boomer liberation to the world. When the Knight Sabers intervene, Largo begins an all out attack, causing death an destruction on a massive scale.

These two episodes are my favorites, as they best realize the concept of "cyberpunk", more so than the other episodes. It also brings us back in line with the "Blade Runner" pastiche establihsed in the first episode.

After the harrowing events of episode 6, you would think we would get a break. Wrong!

Disc 4 starts off with another tale of revenge in the episode "Double Vision". Vision, a beautiful singer from America, returns to Japan for a new concert series, at least that's what it appears to be. In reality, she is there to get revenge on Genom Chairman Quincy for the death of her sister Irene (from back in episode 2). When the Knight Sabers are hired to protect a Genom scientist, they become caught in the cross fire of Vision's revenge quest.

In the final episode "Scoop Chase", investigative reporter Lisa Vanette attempts to find out the true identity of the Knight Sabers. At the same time, a mad genius has decided to create a new type of Boomer, and take over Genom. When his attacks inadvertently reveal that Nene is one of the Knight Sabers, it will take the near destruction of the AD Police to stop Lisa from publishing her story!

Not exactly the fitting end of the series, episode 8 does wrap things up pretty nicely. The animation quality that was so strong in the first 4 episodes is totally gone by "Scoop Chase". It's not bad, but it certainly doesn't have the high level of detail of previous episodes.

Truly, this is a breathtaking transfer of BGC. The image is crystal clear, even better than AnimEigo's work on "Macross" (although I'm sure this is debatable). Near as I can tell, there were no nicks, scratches, blemishes or any such garbage from the transfer. The colors are solid, with 0 color bleeds or overblasts to spoil the fun. I am noticing little details that I have missed in the past (like the Diet building being blown up in the first episode). I am even more in awe of the quality of the animation, especially in the first 5 episodes.

The audio on the Japanese 2.0 will knock your socks off. While it's not a 5.1 mix, it still packs plenty of firepower, much like the AD Police. It has decent directionality, with most of the audio coming from the front speakers. During scenes with music, you can really feel the bass beat through the subwoofer, making you want to get up and dance. For those of you who like the dub, the audio isn't so great. Sure it has a clearer sound, but it's just too low, and in some instances, to stuffy to enjoy.

This is one packed box set. Just about every single scrap of BGC information has been compiled for this release. Everything is here; line art, interviews, music videos (including the "There is a Hurricane Tonight" live video from VHS volume 1), and even the long thought lost "Bye Bye Knight Sabers" live action video. Now, I have seen everything that this series had to offer. Well, except for the original Japanese BGC promotional video from the VHS volume 1 release.

Music is one of the key factors of this anime. The powerful vocals by Kuniko Oomori, Yuiko Tsubokura, and the rest of the vocal cast will have you dancing in the isles. While the style is certainly dated, you can't deny its energy. Hell, they wouldn't have held live concerts if people didn't like it so much. It's also interesting to see how the rise of music videos in the early 80's influenced the anime industry. These videos are very important. It it hadn't been for these rockin' tunes, I never would have bought the original VHS release!

We all have our favorite Knight Saber. Most like the tough as nails, bad ass biker/rocker chick Priss Asagiri. When she appeared in her pre (or post as BGC is set in the future) Brittany Spears outfit, and belted out "There is a Hurricane Tonight", just about everyone was hooked. Throw in her lesbian leanings (Didn't all of them have them?), and you have the stuff fan boy dreams are made of. Personally, I'm a Nene Romanova fan. Sure she could be a ditz at time, but she had a great bod, a sweet personality, and she was like most of us, desperate to do good, but not quite strong enough to get there. Don't get me wrong, Linna and Sylia had their own sex appeal, but for my money, Nene was the bomb!

When BGC was originally released on DVD in the late 90's, fans cries of joy became tears of despair. Instead of a loving transfer of a classic, we got three DVD's in jewel cases, with no covers. Half of the music videos were gone, there were edits all over the damn place, and none of the promotional materials that appeared in the VHS release were to be found. Combined with the mediocre dub, fans felt abused an betrayed. Now, thanks to this new version, all is forgiven.

As much as I love this release, I must mention one negative. You guessed it, it's the dub. Try as I might, I can hardly listen to any of it. The acting is either stuttered, flat, or the voices are completely mismatched. The "English Interpretation" of the original songs are the worst cases of forced emotion I have ever heard. Do your self a favor, don't select the English track; stick with the original Japanese.

"Bubblegum Crisis: Remastered Edition" is now the definitive version of this fantastic series. You owe it to yourself, and to your replicants to get a copy, and dive right into the black pool of BGC. If you don't have this as part of your anime collection, may Genom come and knock down your house!

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