BUBBLEGUM CRISIS
"Rock n' Roll Adventure" defined
Review by: Stan
Length: 8 episodes
Genre: Sci-fi, Action
Watched: All, subbed
From Hulkamania to hair bands, the 1980s has given us much to rejoice over. This era also spawned a little anime series by the name of Bubblegum Crisis that has managed to capture my attention in record time. The term �Rock and Roll Adventure� seemed to come about with the release of The Transformers: The Movie (it was billed as �The greatest rock and roll adventure of all time�), the very concept of giant robots battling is very Metal and the film featured a hard rock/heavy metal soundtrack. As a major proponent and enthusiast of all things heavy and metal, this phrase has really stuck with me. The movie is one of my favorites, it gives me this adrenaline-charged feeling, and I seek out other things that also yield this feeling. BGC is one of those things. I�m going to go out on a limb and call Bubblegum Crisis a �Rock and Roll Adventure� much like the Transformer movie.
Plot Synopsis: The place, Mega Tokyo. The year, 2032. It is a world that has been devastated by natural disasters and war. But Tokyo keeps rising from destruction. In this day and age a mega-corporation known as Genom manufactures many of world's products and dominates Mega Tokyo. Genom has spent most of their efforts in the development of Boomers (androids). Several of these Boomers have been going mad and embarking on homicidal rampages beyond what the AD Police, the Police force charged with dealing with Boomers, are able to control. Enter the Knight Sabers, an all-female vigilante group equipped with state of the art Hard Suits, and the only thing that is able to keep Genom from completely taking over the world.
Artwork: The animation quality is very good, given the time period. The city backgrounds and overall futuristic presentation are a sight to behold, and the character designs themselves are excellent. As with all "old-school" anime, it could be argued that BGC is showing its age, but BGC is a series to which time has been pretty kind.
Music: Music is a very important part of this series. The soundtrack is flat-out, late '80s style rock with ballads and some instrumental pieces interlaced within. Most episodes begin in a 'rock video' manner, with a song (usually with vocals) playing in the background while showing a montage of what's going on to get you ready for the actual story. The songs themselves usually connect with the general theme of the episodes and as a result really draw you into the experience. Many of these songs (such as �Hurricane� and �Mad Machine�) have given me some of the better �rock out� sessions I�ve had. Vocal tracks also creep their way into many parts of the series, even action scenes. Again, these further engage the viewer (although admittedly I needed to rewind certain parts of fights because I missed something due to reading lyrics). The ending theme is also not constant, each episode has its own closing, usually taking the form of some sappy, '80s style ballad that I usually skip. The exception is the ending theme to Episode 6, "Rock Me," one of the best rock tracks I've heard in quite some time. Some may scoff at the whole ��80s� thing, and while you actually like the songs or not is based on opinion, there is no denying how well they are intertwined into the storytelling and help to enhance the overall experience. The only problem is that BGC is billed as a �cyberpunk� series, and today the music really doesn�t scream �cyberpunk� to me, though it may have during its initial release. To sum it up, the ballads are nice when you're in that sort of mood, and the hard-rock tracks have a nice layer of pop gloss but enough meat on their bones to get your head banging and your fist pumping. I give this soundtrack two horned fists up.
Characters: The Knight Sabers are the central characters of the series. If you've ever seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or any other show with a hero group, you should have a pretty good idea of the formula here. Sylia is the cool-headed leader. She's the one that makes all of the business decisions concerning their jobs and the one that gives the orders. Nene is a tech-head; anything involving computers, call her. She also doubles as the cute one of the group. Linna is pretty much the social one, she works at an aerobics club and goes through boyfriends like Kleenex. Then there's Priss, the bad-ass biker (much, MUCH more on her in the CHICKS! section). While they sound cookie-cutter at first, each of them develops quite a nice personality as you get ample opportunity to see them when they are not kicking Boomer ass. Each of them has their day lives: Sylia owns a lingerie shop, Nene works at the AD Police station, Linna has her aerobics club, and Priss sings in a rock band. Even little things, like the four of them just hanging out and partaking in idle chit-chat give you even more opportunities to know and love them. Then there's the AD Police, which is almost exactly like every other TV police station you've ever seen, complete with the asshole chief. The loose cannon cop is Leon, who on occasion puts on his sunglasses at night and often gets the last shot in battles even if he does absolutely nothing else. He also has eyes for Priss, but he constantly gets served left and right in that department. Leon's buddy is Daley, who may or may not want Leon to be a 'loose cannon' in a sense that I really don't want to think about. Quincy is the head of Genom, a real bastard that will do anything to ensure the success of his company. Other Genom employees include the equally bastardly Brain J. Mason and Madigral. There are several other, lesser characters such as Dr. Raven, a mechanic that works at a garage that houses the Knight Sabers HQ. Some of them stay, and some of them only have a single episode about them so the character roster never feels too cluttered.
Plot: You gotta give the makers of this series credit for packing so much stuff into so few episodes. There are only eight of them, with three arcs, but in that time they manage to do what most series takes anywhere from two to four times that amount and beyond to accomplish. This is a bad thing because the series is so damn short. But it's a good thing because a series that burns as hot as this runs the risk of burning itself out really quickly. Extending this to a more standard 13 or 26 episode format would possibly lead to some filler episodes. I guess you could say BGC cuts the crap and delivers hard and fast. Still, it's only eight episodes, and I finished the series wanting more of this. The characters and story are well developed given the length, but I get the feeling that they could have been more so given some more time.
CHICKS!: For years the coveted spot of "Top Anime Chick in My Eyes" was dominated with an iron fist by Cammy White of Street Fighter fame. We had some good times, I've seen some good pictures. All in all, it was a good thing. But like all good things, Cammy's reign would come to an end when Priss waylaid her with a vicious right hook to face and claimed the position as her own. Words cannot describe how head over heels I've fallen for her, but I'll try. Priss is the hottest chick in an armored suit since Samus Aran. As if the fact that's she a hot biker chick who looks drop-dead sexy in red and black leather wasn't enough. She has to be a rocker whose voice, whose presence, whose attitude, and whose songs move me to the point of experiencing a full-blown rock-gasm. Other guys may go for the soft and sweet chicks, and to them I say, "To hell with that!" I want a girl who can rock my world and Priss is that girl. Nene runs a close second because she is so damn cute I wanna just glomp her (among other things) and claims she can get a man or two anytime she wants (yeah: me and ME). Linna is a little too bland, but she IS in aerobics club and is very athletic and presumably flexible, making the idea of sex with her rich with all sorts of fun possibilities. Sylia...is not hot at all, sorry. She's got a cool head, but the overall look about her doesn't do anything for me. The only other chicks I'd like to mention are Sylvie and Anri, who escape from a space station in Episode 5. Sylvie is another biker chick who hangs out with Priss and meets Nene and Linna. In this episode, Nene and Sylia have a conversation that is just plain weird. Here's the relevant highlight: Nene thinks Sylvie is "hot", Priss gets along "unusually well" with her, and she is someone who Sylia "would like to meet". Now...I can't way where I think this could go, but I can say that I like it. I like it A LOT!
Overall: Bubblegum Crisis grabs you within the first minute and doesn't let go for the duration. In a time where the word "classic" gets thrown around a lot, BGC is truly deserving of this title and is right up there on the big 'Must Watch' list of anime. I laughed, I cried, I stood in awe, and when all was said and done I was thoroughly rocked to the core of my very soul. All rock references aside, this is a great sci-fi anime, there are some problems given its length and age, but as far as I�m concerned these issues are virtually negligible. As of right now, this IS my favorite series ever.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Great characters
+ Fast paced action
+ Quality animation (for the time)
+ Kick-ass soundtrack
+ PRISS!
- It ended too soon
- It�s an old series
Overall Rating: 9/10
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