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Bubblegum Crisis
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Title Info
- seen: 1-8 of 8
- type: OAV
- grade: watchable
- Other elements of this title:
- This title has been commercially released in Australia.
- made: 1987
- Review created: A while ago, i'll revise it eventually.
- mod: none
This is another anime that earns a place partly based on its history both in its genre and in bringing anime to the attention of the west, despite the fact that it is very uncool to like this series amongst the hardcore anime fan's. And there are reasons for this outlook, the animation has dated, many elements of the design seem `quaint' and the english dub does nothing to help the episodic and somewhat flawed script. On the other hand the core tech and design for this world has survived time very well and it does a good effort at representing the world of the cyberpunk genre. This world is full of wondrous technology, but it is always open to abuse. The city is sometimes clean and prosperous, but there are many dark corners and danger can strike anywhere. The plot follows a mercenary group called the knight sabers, four fairly well realised characters (and one character's brother) who are often in opposition with an immense organisation called Genom. Since Genom makes much of its money out of military androids (called boomers) and shady deals this conflict is not suprising. Most of the stories deal with this conflict, but also attempt to say something about what it is like living in this world. Of course now the whole `dark future' stuff seems dated, but this was an early and skilled vision of how it could work. Sadly they still sell this stuff at one episode per tape, which it really isn't worth, but for those who want the complete anime experience this is a series worth seeing. The greatest tribute I can give this show is that it has aged so well.
There is a long and positive review at Akemi's Animeworld which gives an honest view of some of the shows weaknesses (and why) while acknowledging its legendary status. In this case the episode synopsis is actually useful, because the stories are largely independant. There's a short, but similar in tone, review at the Anime Critic. There's also a review at THEM which rhapsodizes over Nene (scary) but otherwise agree's with the others. The Anime Movie Guide gives it 4 stars and concludes, "Almost a decade after its appearance it remains not simply a huge fan favourite, but a genuinely enjoyable show".
Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:16 WST 2009