Bubblegum Crisis, Vol. 1

Starring:Yoshiko Sakakibara, Kinuko Ã”mori, Michie Tomizawa, Akiko Hiramatsu, Nozomu Sasaki, Toshio Furukawa, KenyÃ» Horiuchi, ShÃ»ichi Ikeda, Kiyoshi Kawakubo, Brad Moranz, Masaharu SatÃ´, Ted Davis, Tammy Starling, Shigeru Chiba, Kevin Dowling (II), Michael Sinterniklaas, Joyce Leigh Bowden, Eric Paisley, Elizabeth Becka, Hadley Eure
Director: Fumihiko Takayama, Masami Obari, Katsuhito Akiyama
Studio: Multimedia 2000
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
These OAVs were among the first Japanese series released as such in the U.S. and are remembered fondly by fans. An early example of cyberpunk that borrows heavily from Blade Runner and Robocop, Bubblegum Crisis depicts the adventures of the female vigilante group the Knight Sabers. In form-fitting, high-heeled mecha suits, Sylia, Priss, Linna, and Nene fight the rogue cyborgs of the sinister Genom Corporation in MegaTokyo, 2032. Sylia's brother Mackie, and A.D. Cop Leon, Priss's long-suffering suitor, assist them. The first three episodes (1987) form a single continuity; "Revenge Road" (1988) depicts a battle between an embittered man and a motorcycle gang. "Moonlight Rambler" (1988) and "Red Eyes" (1989) pit the Saber Knights against vampire cyborgs prowling MegaTokyo. "Double Vision" (1990) introduces the mysterious pop star Vision, and "Scoop Chase" (1991), in which a high school journalist tries to unmask the Knight Sabers, ends the series on a silly note. The direction and design in the first trilogy look decidedly old-fashioned, but the later adventures grow increasingly sophisticated. Odd notes include suggestions of lesbianism, officer Daley's homosexual passes at Leon (who gets better-looking in each redesign), and Mackie trying see his sister in her underwear. Included in the set are Hurricane Live! 2032 and 2033, collections of music videos, and concert footage of the Japanese voice actresses singing the pop songs used in the series. Unrated; suitable for ages 16 and up: Violence, grotesque imagery, profanity, brief nudity, tobacco use, and sexual situations, including prostitution. --Charles Solomon

Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Genesis (Vol. 1)
Average customer rating:

Will Blow You Away

A nice introduction

A fantastic beginning.

So starts the legacy

Future Classic? Maybe. Entertaining? Yes!

Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Genesis (Vol. 1)
Starring: Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 , Satsuki Yukino , Rio Natsuki , Hiroko Konishi , and Kiyoyuki Yanada
Director: Hiroki Hayashi
Manufacturer: Adv Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Crusade (Vol. 2)

Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Buried Secrets (Vol. 4)

ASIN: B00004VVOJ
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Amazon.com

The latest adventures of the four women of the Knight Sabers are not a continuation, but an alternate version of their earlier escapades. In 2040, much of the labor in Tokyo is done by Boomers, robots initially manufactured by Genom to rebuild the city after a devastating earthquake. Unfortunately, Boomers sometimes go berserk and attack humans. Only the Knight Sabers, a cadre of female vigilante mercenaries who fight in high-heeled armor suits, can really tackle a rogue Boomer. Klutzy Linna Yamasaki comes to Tokyo hoping to join the Knight Sabers. A rampaging Boomer brings her into contact with the women of the squad: motorcycle-riding rock singer Priss Asagiri, AD Police officer Nene Romanova, and lingerie-boutique owner Sylia Stingray, who heads group. Linna eventually persuades them to give her a tryout. Despite the hard-hitting action scenes, the story begins very slowly, and the characters aren't terribly appealing. Priss is given to sullen silences, Nene sounds like a case of arrested development, and Linna inexplicably shifts between small-town innocent and defiant rebel. The men are all jerks and/or lechers. The settings look less like the blighted dystopia of the earlier entries in the series and more like a standard-issue Tokyo-of-the-Future. Episodes: 1. "Can't Buy a Thrill," 2. "Fragile," 3. "Keep Me Hanging On," 4. "Machine Head." Not rated; suitable for ages 13 and up for violence, profanity, and brief nudity. --Charles Solomon

Description

In the aftermath of the great earthquake, one ruthless corporation, Genom, stands ready to take over the devastated city of Toyko with an army of synthetic monsters, called Boomers. Only one small band of female mercenaries is ready to stand against the monolithic power of Genom, but in this case four women is all it takes! Armed with the most incredible combat unit suits ever designed, the Knight Sabers wage a desperate war in the shadows, combating the monstrous by-products of technology run amuck with courage, sweat and blood! It's a deadly trial by fire as the acclaimed cyberpunk masterpiece is reborn!

Customer Reviews:

Will Blow You Away.......2004-09-03

Bubblegum Crisis: Toyko 2040 Vol. 1 has the first four episodes of this modern remake of the original OVA. The episodes are:
1. Can't Buy a Thrill
2. Fragile
3. Keep Me Hanging On
4. Machine Head

Bubblegum Crisis 2040 is an action-packed, futuristic, techno, cyber-punk, female-centered anime, with some additional elements of mystery and family. The hard-driving, pulse-pounding music blends seamlessly with the breathtaking action scenes.

Volume One centers mainly on the changes Linna goes through as she wants to become one of the Knight Sabres. The Knight Sabres are a group of female vigilantes in high-powered robotic suits. Viewers can really relate to and root for Linna. The pretty young woman is beginning a tedious desk job at a mega-corporation in Tokyo. Linna is from the country and unused to the big-city life. A highly unpleasant chance encounter during lunch break on her first day of work leads to an adventure she never dreamed of.

This first volume is a little slow moving as it is mostly character development. Many other characters are introduced, including Priss, Sylia, and Nene, the other members of the Knight Sabre team. Priss is the hard-boiled, street-smart punk singer who gives Linna the hardest time. Nene is the bubbly computer whiz whose day job is with the Police Department. Nene is an inside spy, as the police hate and want to capture the Knight Sabres. And Sylia is the beautiful, wealthy, and mysterious power and purse of the vigilante team.

The Knight Sabres fight rougue Boomers, that is, robots who have mysteriously gone haywire and are wreaking havoc. Sylia has a deep-seated hatred of robots. More about that will be revealed in volume two.

A nice introduction.......2003-11-18

I've always been curious about this show, so when I finally took the plunge and bought it, I was pleased to find myself not disappointed.

We are introduced to this series through Linna, who has come to Tokyo under the pretense of getting a job, but who is actually looking for the Night Sabers. Why? She wants to join, of course! These early episodes are a little slow, but still good, as we learn about Tokyo and the Night Sabers through Linna's eyes. It almost feels as if the viewer is trying to join the Night Sabers, too.

Things pick up when Linna goes into battle with her hardsuit for the first time, but of course it's never that easy as her newly-built suit malfunctions, leaving her at the mercy of a rogue boomer.

So far, things are looking interesting, as we are introduced to characters and get subtle hints at future mysteries. I was looking forward to the next volume after this, but the slowness of this volume might turn some people off. If you don't like it, at least give volume 2 a chance - that's where things get more interesting. Recommended.

A fantastic beginning........2002-08-31

The year is 2040, it's been 6 years since the devastating Tokyo earthquake, the city has been rebuilt with the help of the Genom corporation. Genom is the leading manufacturer of Boomers, bio-organic machines that are used for all sorts of purposes: construction, janitors, waitresses, etc. Unfortunetly every once in a while a boomer will have a small glitch....and go on a killing spree. The city has formed the A.D.Police a special unit designed to stop rogue boomers. The A.D.P are ill-equipped to deal with the savagness of the rogue boomers,a team of women with different agendas has formed to stop the boomers and the evil Genom corporation. The animation is very crisp and clean and very vibrant. The episodes are edited in a peculiar fashion, sometimes ending abruptly, sometimes wrapping things up to quickly. I enjoy the fact that the series is an ensemble of the four main characters focusing on different characters at different times. The DVD consists of four episodes, and they focus mainly on Lina Yamaguchi a country girl who arrives in the big city determined to investigate an urban legend of boomer fighting heroes, The Knight Sabers, with the intent of joining their ranks and the trial by fire she must endure to obtain her dream. With a good dose of action and suspense Bubblegum Crisis proves to be a very enjoyable experience. EP

So starts the legacy.......2002-07-15

This first DVD is awesome. I"m a big fan of Bubblegum Crisis and to see it out on DVD is tight. Even though it only shows how the Knight Sabers basically get to gether and interact with on another, it sets up for awesome action packed series...it's easy to get hooked on..I recommend this for anime gurus and beginners

Future Classic? Maybe. Entertaining? Yes!.......2002-06-30

The year is 2040 (as if you couldn't tell) and the Knight Sabers are back in their very own 26 episode TV series! Nene is still a lovable hacker ditz, Sylia's still the mysterious leader, and Priss is still the kind of girl you really don't want to take home to mother. In this new reincarnation of the golden age classic, one character, Linna is pretty different from her late 1980's early 1990's counterpart. Considering how Linna's personality from the original series wasn't really all that memorable, that's not a problem.

The plotline starts to unfold along similar lines. The 'rogue boomers' are the centerpiece of the early episodes, the characters make friends and fight crime, and Genom lurks in the background. About half way through the series, however, the climax approaches, simplicity begins to give way to a much deeper story, and mysteries about the entire team are revealed. And really, some of them are truly Evangelion worthy revelations.

While this new Bubblegum Crisis boosts great J-Rock music, good character designs, and excellent color and animation, 2040 is a successful series because it combines the better elements of the late 80's anime, with the more challenging plotlines of the post Evangelion era. While some critics will point that it panders to the audience, a little pandering now and then is healthy. Yet more critics will be befuddled that a series could be in one episode described as "cute, trashy fun" can turn into something closer to "cerebral thrill ride".

Amazon.com

These OAVs were among the first Japanese series released as such in the U.S. and are remembered fondly by fans. An early example of cyberpunk that borrows heavily from Blade Runner and Robocop, Bubblegum Crisis depicts the adventures of the female vigilante group the Knight Sabers. In form-fitting, high-heeled mecha suits, Sylia, Priss, Linna, and Nene fight the rogue cyborgs of the sinister Genom Corporation in MegaTokyo, 2032. Sylia's brother Mackie, and A.D. Cop Leon, Priss's long-suffering suitor, assist them. The first three episodes (1987) form a single continuity; "Revenge Road" (1988) depicts a battle between an embittered man and a motorcycle gang. "Moonlight Rambler" (1988) and "Red Eyes" (1989) pit the Saber Knights against vampire cyborgs prowling MegaTokyo. "Double Vision" (1990) introduces the mysterious pop star Vision, and "Scoop Chase" (1991), in which a high school journalist tries to unmask the Knight Sabers, ends the series on a silly note. The direction and design in the first trilogy look decidedly old-fashioned, but the later adventures grow increasingly sophisticated. Odd notes include suggestions of lesbianism, officer Daley's homosexual passes at Leon (who gets better-looking in each redesign), and Mackie trying see his sister in her underwear. Included in the set are Hurricane Live! 2032 and 2033, collections of music videos, and concert footage of the Japanese voice actresses singing the pop songs used in the series. Unrated; suitable for ages 16 and up: Violence, grotesque imagery, profanity, brief nudity, tobacco use, and sexual situations, including prostitution. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

Bubblegum Crisis, an Original Classic.......2006-01-18

The Bubblegum Crisis franchise in one of the strongest anime franchises out, with numerous spin-offs and a release of a new Bubblegum Crisis series, and there's no wondering why in my book. The characters, for there time, were original, the story was well-done and plotted excellently, the world in which the series was based was thoroughly thought out, and the music, though dated, works well with the anime.

In 2032-33, we get to meet the original four girls: Sylvia, Lena, Nene, and the ever popular Priss, as they battle Genom made Boomers from episode to episode in order to protect MegaTokyo. The first three episodes deals with the Knight Sabers battle with Brian Mason, the evil leader of Genom bent on destroying these four girls at all costs. The next episode gets away from the Genom story as the girls must fight a car infected with the Boomer virus, which is determined to destroy the Outriders, a biker gang. When Priss becomes a target, the Knight Sabers are forced to act. The fifth and six episodes gets back to the battle with Genom, and the Knight Sabers find themselves fighting some powerful new enemies: themselves, and the mysterious Largo. This is essentially the end of the series, yet two more movies follow that are almost entirely unrelated to the first six. In Double Vision, they must figure out a series of terrorist attacks against Boomer engineers. These attacks somehow involve Vision, an American singer. In Scoop Chase (my personal favorite) we follow Nene in her job as an AD Police officer while she watches over Lisa, a young girl who seems to idolize the Knight Sabers. That's when a new group of Boomers attack the AD Police headquarters and the Knight Sabers must act in order to save allies and friends from the ongoing Boomer threat. Also included in this collection is the Hurricane Live DVD containing thirteen music videos from the series.

What's great about this series is that it's actually a huge collection of short films. None of these episodes are less than a half-hour, and some are near to an hour or more. It makes it much more watchable, in the end, since there is never a "to be continued." You see one conflict resolve itself before moving onto the next, without ever truly escaping the core storyline.

This is a classic anime series that should be picked up by any person who truly wants to call themselves a hardcore fan. This is one of the founders of the cyberpunk genre and without this series, great anime like Akira may have never been. I recommend this to everyone.

Please be well aware..........2004-10-05

There isn't much I can add to all the other reviews but one: The original 3 DVD's gave you the option to either listen to the English or Japanese soundtracks. Personally I hate the English track but if for some reason you preferred English over Japanese, for the serie as well as the music, then this DVD is not for you.

This blast from the past houses all the music from the Bubble Gum Crisis but only in their original language. If you never listened to the Japanese tracks on the BGC DVD's before now would be a good time to do so (after putting this disk in your wishlist, believe me: you'll need it later on :-)).

GREAT.......2004-03-30

This is one of the pioneering shows of Anime! I remember shelling out $35 to $40 for ONE tape! Blech..what a rip off! But it got me hooked on the "Knight Sabers"! This show is fun and shows it's age with the clothes they wear etc but is a GREAT show and is the BEST in the series. If you are a fan buy THIS edition, the casing is junky as its a big clunky box with plain ol jewel cases etc but its well worth the price alone for fans of the show. The characters were done very well in this show amidst some sillyness, but not as silly as the new show 2040.

Blade Runner Anime Style.......2004-02-18

Takes place in the same universe "Bubblegum Crisis", but before Knight Sabers existed. Robots called Boomers, look just like humans, are very intelligent and work in the cities for the humans doing a variety of tasks such as construction, cleaning and even sexual services. Sometimes these robots malfunctioned and ended up killing innocent people. The A.D. Police force was created to destroy malfunctioning boomers. What I liked about this series was the good quality of animation, action, sound fx, and tense story telling, it has all the makings of a great anime. With its futuristic cities and noire over-tone it has a similar look and feel like the movie, Blade Runner. The Boomers are robots that look and act like humans; they are like the Replicants. In a way, the A.D. Police are like Blade Runners. I also enjoyed this anime because the cop, ýLeoný is a good character, and I always wanted some background on him. Blood and gore, nudity, for adults only. Each episode is self contained so you can watch any of them and not feel lost in the story. Ends on 3 then connects with the anime Bubblegum Crisis 2030

Eeesh...........2003-07-23

This series was pretty good. The animation isn't the greatest and it goes by a little slow for me and my brother, but over all not too bad. I wouldn't really recommend buying it unless you like classic anime.

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