Monday, March 1, 2021

Bubblegum Crisis Part 1 Episodes 1-2

2032 AD.  Seven years after an earthquake devastated Tokyo, the city has been split into two sections: the blossoming metropolis of Megatokyo and the ruins of the old city. To accomplish this, the Genom Corporation has been utilizing an android workforce known as Boomers.  However, a recent string of rogue Boomer attacks threatens to destroy all of Tokyo and the AD Police aren’t enough to bring them down.  That’s where they come in.  They are the Knight Sabers: four beautiful women from various walks of life battling these cybernetic terrors in state of the art armored mech suits known as Hard Suits.  Together, these four beautiful warriors might be the only thing keeping both parts of Tokyo in one piece as a shadowy conspiracy threatens to tear it all down.

It’s been a bit hasn’t it Bubblegum Crisis?  Back in 2017, at the request of a good friend, I reviewed Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, the 90’s iteration of the OVA im about to take a look at over the next couple of weeks.  I praised the animation, action, soundtrack and most of the titular Knight Sabers but felt the villains, a couple of main characters and the ending were low points that weighed it down.  Back then, I wasn’t sure how Tokyo 2040 stacked up to its originator.  Now I get the chance to see.  On the whole though, I’m gonna try my best to not compare this OVA against its TV Series successor and instead judge it by its own merits.  That being said…the TV Series is looking oddly the superior though that’s just in the very beginning.  By Episode 2 things are starting to look better for Bubblegum Crisis.

The OVA just throws you right into the middle of things without a lot of explanation.  We don’t know how long the Knight Sabers: Rockstar Priss; Aerobics teacher Linna; AD Police hacker Nene; and fashion designer Sylia have been together nor how they met.  Their relationship with the Police isn’t as volatile seeing as how theyre vigilantes with advanced tech operating on their own terms.  And the Knight Sabers seem to be more Mercenaries than super heroines, working for rewards and taking on various jobs, two of which are offered by the AD Police in a first for them.  I can only hope some of this gets detailed a bit more because as fun as the first couple of episodes can be, Bubblegum Crisis lacking any proper setup feels like a rookie storytelling mistake.

Indeed, the Bubblegum Crisis OVA seems more intent on showing off it’s late 80’s OVA/Cyberpunk style whenever it gets the chance. From the sexy mecha suits to aerobics uniform sporting assassins to the hair styles to the rocking tunes, this is as 80s an Anime as you can possibly get.  No one shows off more of this aesthetic than Priss and, much like her Tokyo 2040 counterpart, she totally steals every scene she’s in.  Priss is sexy, strong willed and a no nonsense taker.  She’ll rock your heart on stage with her band, The Replicants (definitely not the last Blade Runner reference I’ll see, I’m sure) and then kick your ass six ways to Sunday whether she has her Knight Saber Suit or not.  Priss also seems to have the most heart of her teammates.  When their mission to track down a young girl ends in tragedy, Priss is the only one to show any sort of emotion over this while Nene yawns and Linna complains about the fact that they cant collect their payment.  This was very off putting, especially in Linna’s case.  Even when the true nature of the lost kid is revealed, it’s still a kid caught in the crossfire but all Linna can think about is her payday.  You know it’s a scary day when a character I complained about in Tokyo 2040, team leader Sylia, is shown far more composed and compassionate than Linna.  Linna did get a bit of a do over in the second episode when a close friend was targeted by Genom after her fiancée was killed.  Hopefully this more compassionate and less money hungry Linna is the one we stick with from now on.

On the mecha side of things, everything looks pretty nice.  The 80’s were the heyday for this genre thanks to Gundam and Macross.  And while the Knight Sabers may face building size foes at times, they are still the normal human sized bad asses they’ve always been.  The suits look very Sentai inspired and fit their heroines like a glove.  I will say that Nene’s suit design feels kind of lazy.  The top portion looks like a more tricked out version of Priss’s suit, save for a slightly different color scheme.  Also, most of the Boomers have the same bio exoskeletal design underneath their human disguises and could use some more variation.  That said, the stand out fight scene from these opening two episodes was the one where the Knight Sabers square off against some workout leotard sporting assassins.  The fight is well animated and all of the girls get to show off just how serious they can be when the time calls for it.  There’s also a fun sequence where Priss flies into a sizeable Boomer with a really big gun to blast the heck out of its core.  If it’s action you seek, you’ve come to the right OVA.

And yes, for those curious, the music is pretty damn awesome.  Bubblegum Crisis has been hailed as a fusion of two 80s classics: the scifi legend (and my favorite movie of all time) Blade Runner; and the rock opera Streets of Rage.  Priss and the Replicants can be seen performing jamming rock and roll tunes at various night clubs while rogue Boomers run rampant in the rundown parts of Tokyo  the music and action tend to overlap a lot, which is fine.  The action scenes thus far have been given great music to back it up and definitely get the blood pumping.  It helps that Priss has one helluva stage presence with her sexy outfits and incredible voice.  No wonder loveable AD Police cop Leon is so desperate for dinner and occasionally more with her.

If you can ignore that this OVA doesn’t really have a proper set up or establishment of the world it inhabits, Bubblegum Crisis is off to a decent beginning.  The setting is classic 80s Cyberpunk with a bit of rundown dystopia; the music is excellent and the action pretty top notch.  The Knight Sabers are a mixed bag in the beginning but are showing signs of improving, though Priss is flawless right out the gate.  I have high hopes for this series and hope it can be just as good, if not better than, the TV Series that was flawed but fun nonetheless.  See you back here Friday for more Bubblegum Crisis right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.

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