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Bubblegum Crisis is an anime OVA series that takes at least part of its inspiration from Philip K. Dick's and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.

Bubblegum Crisis is a cyberpunk-style anime that takes place in the future in a post-disaster Tokyo, now known as Megatokyo. The series has a manga adaptation.

The original OVA series was eight episodes long. It was originally slated to run for thirteen episodes, but due to legal problems between the two studios who jointly held the rights to the series, Artmic and Youmex, the series was discontinued. The problems may have been brought on by the series' lackluster sales in Japan. In North America, however, the series did comparatively well, and has remained a fan favorite.

In Japan, a number of manga were produced that featured characters and storylines based in the BGC (a common abbreviation for the series name) universe. Some were very much thematically linked to the OVA series, others were "one shots" or comedy features. A number of artists participated in the creation of these comics, including Kenichi Sonoda, who had produced the original Knight Saber character designs. A North American comic based in the Bubblegum Crisis Universe was published in English by Dark Horse Comics.

The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all woman group of superheroes/mercenaries, who don powered armor and fight various problems, most frequently rogue boomers. Boomers are humanoid robots designed to perform a variety of tasks, from construction and firefighting to combat; a particular model of Boomer, the BU-33S "Sexaroid", is designed for sexual purposes.

One of the central themes of the series, showing its Blade Runner influence strongly, is the exploration of what "human" really means. As in Blade Runner, this is often done by using the mechanical characters, especially focusing on BU-33S.

Bubblegum Crisis was notable also in that it was one of the few early anime series that were brought over from Japan unedited and subtitled with English captions that still have a great deal of popularity today. While anime has become much more popular in the intervening years, in 1991 it was still mostly unknown as a storytelling medium in North America. In 1997, a new series was created, titled Bubblegum Crisis 2040, but was not a sequel to the original OVA series. Headed by Chiaki J. Konaka, it was a standalone television series, and while it used similar themes to the original, it employed new designs for the characters and the mechanical devices. This series ran for twenty six episodes. Some discussion has taken place between the production companies for a second season, tentatively titled Bubblegum Crisis 2041, although many people suspect that the franchise owners have lost interest in it (it is still listed among their assets, however).

Despite the age of the original series, a non-Japanese fandom still exists for it (further research is necessary to determine the size of a possible Japanese one), and throughout the years there have been many debates on parts of the series that were unclear or deliberately arranged as to provoke discussion. The community of fans have produced large quantities of "fan fiction" and "fan art" based on both the OVA and television series, though there is a preponderance of works and discussion based on the original series. This is partly due to the longer period of time that it has been out, but it is also partly due to a large portion of the fandom expressing a preference for the original series. It is unclear as to how the proportions of preference will change as further time passes.

Bubblegum Crisis has many features that have proven attractive to many viewers of anime. The mecha designs, cyberpunk characters, and post-apocalyptic city of Megatokyo are well-realized and leave a lasting impression. The storylines are varied and complex, and are (sometimes deliberately, sometimes not) filled with parts that have multiple possible interpretations. The series was also one of the earliest anime to have a strong yuri fandom.

The music throughout the original OVA series is one of the most recognizable in anime fandom and generates a strong feeling of 1980's nostalgia. The opening song and sequence for the first OVA, as well as many of the other songs throughout the series, clearly draw inspiration from the 1984 movie Streets of Fire. Nearly all of the music is available, as there are 8 soundtrack releases (one per OVA).

A roleplaying game based on the series was published by R. Talsorian in 1997 under the Fuzion system. It contains many original sketches of the characters, mecha and settings, as well as detailed background informations about them.

A digitally-remastered compilation of the original series' episodes, featuring bi-lingual tracks and production extras, was released on DVD in 2004 by AnimEigo Inc.

Plot outline

The eight-episode series spans the years of 2032 to 2033, starting in early 2032, seven years after the great Kanto earthquake which split Tokyo - and its people - in two. During the introductory scenes of the first episode, disparities in wealth and power were shown to be pronounced than in previous periods in post-war Japanese history, and over all loomed the shadow of the mega corporation Genom's babylonical tower.

Genom is a fictional corporation that was shown to have immense power in the Bubblegum Crisis world. Genom's main merchandise were the Boomers - artificial beings used in place of humans for manual labor. But while the Boomers were intended to serve mankind, they also became deadly instruments in the hands of ruthless individuals working for their own goals, as shown throughout the OVA series. The AD Police, who were employed to deal with matters that the regular police departments could not, and this included Boomer threats. A recurring theme of the series was the inability of the department to deal with the threats, owing to political infighting, red tape and an insufficient budget.

With the sub-title, "The Story of Knight Sabers", the viewer could be certain that a new force would appear in order to deter the attacks of the various boomer and super-powered criminal organizations. The Knight Sabers are analogues of the all-male sentai fighting teams, and as such were depicted as having tremendous combat abilities (though these were thanks to their powered armor hard-suits), along with secret identities. Throughout the OVA series, they battled against long odds to overcome grave threats and preserve the overall safety of Megatokyo, though we are shown tremendous destruction to the surrounding environs on numerous occasions (most notably in Episode 6, where we see the destruction of an R & D facility, and in Episode 1, where the abandoned "Aqua City" facility was destroyed entirely in a complex and likely expensive animation sequence)

Episodes

  1. Tinsel City - The Knight Sabers are hired to rescue a little girl from a group of kidnappers, but the girl is far more than she seems...
  2. Born To Kill - A friend of Linna's threatens to expose Genom secrets that led to the death of her fiancé, but Genom plans to silence her, first.
  3. Blow Up - The Knight Sabers attack Genom Tower to put an end to the machinations of Genom executive Brian J. Mason.
  4. Revenge Road - A racer modifies his car into a weapon of vengeance against the biker gangs of Megatokyo, but the car soon develops a mind of its own.
  5. Moonlight Rambler - A killer is draining victims of their blood, but this is no vampire. And what do a pair of escaped love-doll androids have to do with it?
  6. Red Eyes - A group of fake Knight Sabers are ruining the group's reputation, leading to a fight against a returning foe.
  7. Double Vision - A singer with a vendetta comes to Megatokyo, and brings some heavy firepower with her.
  8. Scoop Chase - An ambitious scientist and an aspiring reporter both plan to make their names at the expense of the Knight Sabers, and Nene is caught right in the middle.

Sequels and spin-offs

Some images also were taken to be used in the CCG Ani-Mayhem.

Major characters

Note: all character information is for the original OVA series. There are some differences in character background for BGC 2040.

Genom

In the Bubblegum Crisis Universe, Genom or GENOM is the primary manufacturer and distributor of the bio-organic constructs known as boomers, which makes GENOM the primary enemy of the Knight Sabers, led by Sylia Stingray, daughter of the man who created the boomers. In both versions of the series, GENOM is run by a mysterious figure named Quincy, though the depiction of Quincy varies from one continuity to another (in the original series he was a dangerous, hands on owner, while in 2040 he is almost a puppet vegetable of a man, so old and decrepid he needs tubes and wires to keep himself alive while insanely dreaming of a boomer/human paradise). Brian J. Mason also works for GENOM, and his schemes are either off shoots or interference to Quincy's.

To show the power and domination of Genom, the viewer was shown the gargantuan Genom Towers, which stood in many of that world's most important cities. These towers bear a resemblance to the Tower of Babel, both in appearance and in symbolism, as well as the Tyrell Corporation's tower in Blade Runner.

Sylia Stingray

An enigmatic billionaire, and the founder and leader of the Knight Sabers. Sylia runs and operates the Silky Doll Lingerie shop, which is more of a front for the Knight Sabers. Sylia frequently engages in close combat with boomers.

Sylia is the daughter of Dr. Katsuhito Stingray, the man who invented boomers. He was murdered by Genom executive Brian J. Mason and his death covered as an accident, but he managed to send Sylia a data unit which provided her with the technological means of creating the Knight Sabers' hardsuits.

  • Height: 179cm
  • Age: 23

Several questions about Sylia and her origins are raised in the series, but never answered. Some fans believe that Sylia is a boomer herself, or at least enhanced with boomer technology. The comic by Adam Warren "Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal" revolves around Warren's idea that Sylia has a nanotechnologically-enhanced brain. Suzuki Toshimichi of Artmic has been quoted as saying that Sylia has an augmented brain, and is said to have approved of Warren's comic.

Original OVA voice actress: Yoshiko Sakakibara.

Priscilla S. Asagiri

We are first introduced to Priss at the beginning of the first episode of the series. She was depicted as a rather angry, violent person. We are later shown that she is a member of the Knight Sabers, when she suits up for combat against a rogue boomer. She is the lead singer in the rock band "Priss and the Replicants", a reference to the movie Blade Runner, but also an homage to the movie Streets of Fire. Her family name means "morning mist", but interviews with the creators of the series have proven fruitless in determining the meaning of her middle initial, "S".

According to the B-Club special, Priss lost her parents in the great Kanto earthquake in 2025 and was raised in an orphanage. However, she soon ran away and teamed up with a biker gang. When her boyfriend, the gang leader, was murdered and his death declared an accident by the police, she intended to hunt down the killers by herself, but was discovered and taken in by Sylia as the Knight Saber's assault specialist, as shown in the music video "Asu E Touchdown".

According to the Bubblegum Crash! based PC-Engine game, "Crime Wave!", Priss had the following statistics:

  • Height: 168cm
  • Age: 20

Priss' voice actress in the original OVA is, in real life, a singer in the rock band which performed much of the music for Bubblegum Crisis. Originally, because her contract didn't allow her to participate in the series for too long, her character Priss was slated to die in episode six, Red Eyes, and be replaced by the character Vision (Reika Chang) who appears in episode seven, Double Vision. However, Priss was saved by fan and staff complaints.

Original OVA voice actress: Oomori Kinuko

Nene Romanova

In the original OVA series, Nene Romana was depicted as a perky hacker, employed as a dispatcher for the AD Police from where she can occasionally update Sylia on AD Police investigatons. She is also a member of the Knight Sabers. Nene does little fighting, focusing on sensor ops, battlefield communications, ECM and ECCM. She was shown to have a more notable combat role and capacity in the first episode, but this ability was diminished considerably in the later episodes, and a reason was not supplied. In the eighth episode, she demonstrated her high levels of computer skill, by out-hacking a boomer competitor.

Nene filled the role of the cute and idealistic bubblehead in the series. In the B-Club Special, we find out that she was a runaway from a strict home, and had been hacking into databases from a very early age. In the "Asu E Touchdown" video, the viewer was shown that she was recruited to the Knight Sabers after she had cracked an online code set up by Sylia. While she ran away from home, she seems to have mended fences by the eighth episode, when her mother wakes her up via video-phone so that she does not arrive late for work.

From the AIC 15th Anniversary artbook, which includes both artwork and descriptive text, the following information regarding Nene was translated (with conversions from metric to imperial added):

  • Height: 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
  • Weight: 48 kg (105.84 lb)
  • Born: 2014-08-31
  • Age (Series Start): 18
  • Three Sizes: 80–60–85 cm (31–24–33 in) (these are also the measurements of the voice actress that voiced Nene)
  • Blood Type: O Type
  • Personality: (English approximation) A little naïve. A big space case and a follower of each new fad.
  • Interest/Taste/Hobby: Eating cake after showering
  • Special Skill: Computer hacking
  • Birthplace: Tokyo the Anniversary Artbook describes this as "conjecture"
  • Explanatory Notes: Nene oversees the gathering and analysis of the Knight Saber's Military Intelligence.

These are not the only stats regarding Nene. The ones derived from the BGC crash game, "Crime Wave", state the following:

  • DoB: August 31, 2014
  • Height: 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
  • Weight: 42 kg
  • Chest: 84 cm (33 in)
  • Waist: 58 cm (23 in)
  • Hips: 86 cm (34 in)

Nene was rated, in the 15th Anniversary book, as the second best in the top ten list of favorite AIC female characters. Catty from Gall Force took the top spot.

Original OVA voice actress: Hiramatsu Akiko

Linna Yamazaki

Works various jobs including aerobics instructor, Linna once hoped to pursue a career in professional dancing. She switches to stock-broker consulting in Bubblegum Crash. She is a member of the Knight Sabers, focusing on hand-to-hand combat. Her name means "mountain headlands".

Linna is an orphan; her parents were killed in a Boomer rampage following the Kanto earthquake. She developed her dancing skills, but her first tryout was unappreciated - by all but Sylia, who recruited her into her team as the close combat specialist. She is portrayed as the perhaps most worldly of the Knight Sabers: she goes after money and breezes through a lot of relationships with an ever-increasing number of ex-boyfriends.

  • Height: 176cm
  • Age: 22

Compared to the other major characters, Linna got very little character development in the original series. However in BGC 2040 Linna was perhaps the most developed character.

Original OVA voice actress: Tomizawa Michie

Inspector Leon McNichol

AD Police officer. Leon is a dedicated cop, with a tendency to rush in without thinking. He is a skilled powered armor pilot, one of the AD Police force's aces in its K-11 and K-12S powered suits.

Leon has a crush on Priss, which she does not like since she has reasons to despise the AD Police (see Priss' profile). As the series progresses he discovers that she is a Knight Saber, but does nothing with that knowledge; instead he helps the team as best as he can. Priss and Leon's relationship grows closer during the series, and in a side story audio drama, she confesses that she loves him.

Original OVA voice actor: Toshio Furukawa

Deputy Inspector Daley Wong

AD Police officer. Daley is Leon's partner, and a highly skilled investigator. Daley is also openly homosexual, which is worth noting because at the time the original OVA was produced male homosexual characters were quite rare in anime. Also notable is the ease and comfort of Daley and Leon's working relationship: Daley flirts openly with the heterosexual Leon, and Leon often reciprocates with good humor.

Daley is not developed much in the series. He is, however, portrayed to be loyal and highly competent both as Leon's underling and as a commander in his own right (in the final episode he is shown commanding his own AD Police squad). Daley's sense of humor is very dry and understated.

Original OVA voice actor: Kenyuu Horiuchi

Brian J Mason/Largo

The primary villain of the first three episodes, Mason, a high-level executive in the GENOM corporation is the man who killed Dr. Stingray and stole his boomer technology. As with Sylia, certain mysteries are created around Mason which are never resolved in the series. It is generally accepted that Mason somehow transferred his personality into a boomer body some time prior to his death in episode 3. Most likely he succeeded in transferring his memories into the ultimate boomer, thus creating a God-like being (as you'd call one person able to blast down 8 Genom major branch in a single instant) with the mind and the dreams of a man. Largo resurfaces to become the primary villain of episodes 5 and 6.

See "The Mason/Largo Theory" at http://www.ravensgarage.com/garage/maslargo.htm for more details on how Mason may have transferred his consciousness to Largo.

Original OVA voice actor: Shuuichi Ikeda. Largo: Kazuyuki Sogabe

Quincy

The Chief Executive and founder of Genom. He is an enigmatic old man who hides many secrets under the face of an unfazeable and ruthless business man. His company participates in the manufacture of many necessities around the world, but he wants more - total domination of the world.

While he makes several appearances in the series, he is never truly met personally. He is killed twice, only to be revealed as an android double. It is speculated by fans that he may have downloaded his personality into Genom's main database; several clues to this are offered in the AD Police manga series.

Original OAV voice actor: Kiyoshi Kawakubo.

Mackie Stingray

Sylia's younger brother and ward. He serves as the Knight Saber's mechanic - along with Sylia's friend Dr. Raven - and youthful mascot. He is also a peeping tom, watching the Knight Sabers - even his own sister - in the nude as much as he can.

He has his own powered suit to assist the Knight Sabers on occasion, but rarely has to use it. He develops a close relationship with Nene.

Original OAV voice actor: Nozomu Sasaki.

Chief Todo

The Afro-American Chief of the AD Police (his name could be a mispronunciation of Todd) is a bad-tempered man who has to put up both with official restrictions and rebellious underlings, Leon in particular. But he cares for his men; he has gone so far as granting Leon the freedom he needs without his 'official' knowledge or approval on several occasions. He has a niece, Lisa, who plays a central role in episode eight, Scoop Chase.

A review of powered armor present in the series

K-11 Combat Armor

The K-11 series of powered armor units was developed by the military, but has since been purchased and employed by policing organizations in order to combat the growing Boomer problems. The ADP utilized the K-11 for operations against more powerful and dangerous boomers, such as the Bu-12b, which is a full combat model. The K-11 was eventually replaced with the improved K-12S model.

Noted by the USSD as inferior to the Knight Saber's hard suits, the K-11 was introduced to the viewers in the first episode, though only via a line-art diagram displayed on a monitor.

The K-11 makes its return in episode 3 of the OVA series, where a pair are used to stop a rampaging Bu-12b heavy combat boomer. While both suits were destroyed presumably, both operators killed or incapacitated, the boomer rampage was halted through their operators' selfless actions. The difficulty of combatting a powerful boomer like the Bu-12b was compounded by the need to minimize collateral damage, as the battle took place in a built-up area.

The K-11 is used in the same way as the Knight Saber's hard suits; a soldier or police officer is inside the armor and the arms and legs of the person are placed in the respective armor parts. This means that the K-11 is directly controlled via the users body- if the user moves his arm, for example, the armor follows the movement.

K-11 Specifications

The K-11 is equipped with a large conventional rifle, capable of penetrating heavy armor at close range, though its efficacy at longer ranges appeared to be low. It could be considered an autocannon, as the series depicted it firing at a low rate of fire, but continuously.

The armor of the K-11 is not proof against the powerful cannon that equips the heavy Bu-12b, but had some resistance versus the associated machine gun, which suggests at least light armor protection.

Equipped with a pair of flight wings a back pack and lift thrusters in the legs, the K-11 has a hover capability, though not high above the ground, and likely cannot leave ground effect flight. For deployment, it can be air-dropped via transport helicopter, and uses a parachute to slow its descent.

Trivia Both the K-11 and K-12 are listed to be based on an Armor called MADOX (from an anime with the same name). Since all three armors share simliar design parts.

K-12 Battle Trooper

Unlike the K-11 which was built by and for the Military, but later given to police units, the K-12 was developed from the beginning to be a heavy Powered Armor suit built specifically for organizations like the ADP.

The K-12 unit was intended more for a defensive, rather than offensive purpose. This is unlike the K-11, and as such, it has heavier armor and reduced portability/deployabilty. Most notably, it seems to lack the hovering capability that the K-11 possessed.

The K-12 was first introduced at the end of Episode Five, when Detective Leon McNichol tried to stop a military-grade Battle Mover (the DD) with it. The K-12 was no match for the far more powerful DD, and only the timely intervention of the Knight Sabers saved both Leon and the city from disaster.

In Episode 6 the K-12 made another appearance in form of the K-12S, also used by Leon McNicol, and was again in battle versus far more powerful opponents, leading to a predictable defeat despite a valiant effort. It should be noted that even the Knight Sabers encountered great difficulty in defeating the Superboomer foes that the AD Police faced.

Crew

The original character designs were done by Kenichi Sonoda, a manga artist most known for his Gunsmith Cats series. He was selected after Amano Yoshitaka declined to participate in the development of the series.

Directors: Katsuhito Akiyama, Hiroaki Goda, and Masami Obari.

Megatokyo

Some people believe that the Megatokyo webcomic created by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston is based on the anime. This is in fact, false: the comic is named after its internet domain (previously hosting one of Caston's short-lived news sites), which in turn took its name from the city.

See also

External links

Anime dubbed into English | Anime series | Bubblegum crisis | Manga series | Cyberpunk

Bubblegum Crisis | Bubblegum crisis | バブルガムクライシス | Bubblegum Crisis | Bubblegum Crisis | 吹泡糖危机

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Bubblegum Crisis".

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