Amazon.com

In 2040 heavy labor in Tokyo is done by the Genom Corporation's robot "Boomers." But 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 take down a rogue Boomer. Klutzy Linna Yamasaki comes to Tokyo to join them. The group comprises rock singer Priss Asagiri, police officer Nene Romanova, and lingerie boutique owner Sylia Stingray, who heads the squad. A series of attacks sends the quartet looking for the lab where Sylia's father used members of his family in the bio-technical experiments that created the Boomers--and a creature so dangerous that Genom triggered an earthquake that destroyed most of Tokyo to imprison it. The vice president of Genom releases it: Galatea, the Sotai. An innocent-looking girl, Galatea somehow "merges her consciousness" with the Genom skyscraper and launches it into space. Gaining control of a satellite power network will enable her to spread madness to Boomers throughout world and become the master of mankind. The Knight Sabers suddenly develop the power to bond with their armor suits, and instead of destroying Galatea, they cause her to merge with the universe: she rains onto the Earth as a shower of glittering particles. Bubblegum Crisis owes its popularity to its no-holds-barred action by tough female characters, without the theological speculations of a series like Evangelion. Galatea's transformation into a benevolent visionary feels as incongruous as Darth Vader's deathbed repentance in The Return of the Jedi. Rated 15 Up: Violence, profanity, nudity; alcohol and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (28)

Great Mecha Series
"Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040" is a remake of the 80's OAV anime "Bubblegum Crisis 2032" and it's TV sequal "Bubblegum Crash". I've not seen the originals, but I know "2032" is considered a classic.

Storywise, we follow the antics of a group known as Knight Sabers. These are four girls who have day jobs but at night, they come together to destroy rogue boomers. Boomers are androids that can look like machines all the way to nearly human. While an organization known as AD Police was created to deal with the boomer problem, only the vigilante Knight Sabers have any luck dealing with them.

The story at first feels very much like a female version of Batman. You have the rich Sylia Stingray who's the Bruce Wayne/Batman. Priss, Nene, and Linna are the Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl. However, after several episodes, the series lost the Batman feel as the series begins to shift into an almost non-stop action fest. There is some humor and some romance to make this series better rounded than it otherwise would have been.

DVD-wise, I wasn't that impressed with the Engish dub. The Engish subtitles for the Japanese audio is pretty good though I wish that at times the font color/shading had been clearer. Some fansubbers do a better job at subtitles than the official ones.

There are 6 DVD's in this set. Discs 1-4 contain 4 episodes and discs 5-6 contain 5 episodes. Be warned that each DVD starts with ADV previews so you'll have to hit "Menu" to bypass all that. There are no real extras to speak of. Surpising to me is the fact that there is a Spanish dub in addition to the English dub. So those who want to watch this in Spanish may do so.

Bottom line: This is a really good mecha anime title with a story that will keep you glued to your seat most of the time.

The Perfect Collection at the Perfect Price
I first caught BGC Tokyo 2040 at a local anime convention, and proceeded to start hunting around for the DVDs as soon as I could. As a remake of the original Bubblegum Crisis, it does a good job of updating it with better animation and good mecha and character designs and the Perfect Collection's price is perfect, being far lower than the individual discs as there's only one large box and only one insert. While I miss the cover art on each disc, this is a good investment for someone who wants to get the whole series but doesn't want to spend twice the money getting it individually.

My main complaints with this collection would probably stem from two things: the ADV trailers which take up about fifteen or so minutes at the front of each disc, and some of the English voice acting. There are times when I switch to the Japanese just to avoid some of the voices, but some purists would argue this is the only way to enjoy the series.

Is it worth the money? Yes, I'd say the collection is worth it for the relatively low price and good entertainment value it represents. It's not the best anime, but it's fun and is slickly done.

Not bad, Not great.
As a remake of the original series it isn't bad but not great either, the characters just don't have the depth the originals did, that and they are done quite a bit different. As a big series you'd figure there would be ALOT of in depth character development, nope. It has a bit but not as much as could have been. Don't be discouraged from buying this series as I am NOT bashing it. Now on to what makes it worth the money, The show is fun and a fun watch, however if youre a fan of the original Bubblegum crisis/crash you might be disapointed, if trying it new you'll have fun with it. It has good action and fun dialogue that can be downright silly at times as the eyes get huge and a giant teardrop appears..what the?!??
The good begins on disc 2 as disc 1 doesnt really take off, discs 2,3 and 4 are the best and the final disc has a decent ending but just not a jaw dropping one. It's a fun series packaged nicely in one giant box that holds all 6 discs. Give it a try if a true fan of BGC and if wanting to try something fun and new. I give it 4 stars instead of 5. With more character development it could have been a GREAT series instead of just a "good" one.

Highly recommend this series!!
Well....I am going to keep this short and sweet, this is a great series and if you are a fan of action adventure anime, this is for you.

In a nutshell...the animation is generally very good, although it does sort of trail off in a few of the lst episodes. The main strengths are the fleshing out of the world the characters themselves live in, the music (the several different soundtracks are awesome), and mainly the characters themselves. You just gotta root for the girls.

Not going to be longwinded, but I love this series, it is one of my favorites. I think you probably will too, if you are even looking at these review things at all. Enjoy!

Sexy and Deadly
After the ovas of Bubblegum Crisis, this tv series was released. Set within the same universe, but the characters look and act differently than previously. Changes were especially noticeable with Sylia, the rich mistress which funds the Knight Sabers (she used to be one of them, but retired her hard suit). All the quality from the other series continues, but this is one of my favorite animes. The writers improved BGC by creating more interesting stories and dramatic situations which were not present in the other series. The robot manufacturer advanced by creating Boomers with organic matter (living tissue), they even had a real beating heart to power them. The new Boomer models were mass produced and sold to the public as pieces of machinery. Sometimes I felt sorry for the Boomers because they were more than just machines, they were intelligent almost to the point of self awareness (a human trait), but they were treated like garbage by the general public. This continued to cause a lot of malfunctioning Boomers, that ended up killing the their owners and innocent people. Also since they contained organic matter, the malfunctioning Boomers usually mutated into monsters- a new challenge for the Knight Saber in every episode. The Knight Sabers themselves underwent some changes and added some new members not present in Bubblegum Crisis 2030. I especially enjoyed the character 'Nene' a perky and funny, pink haired girl. Priss, the leader of the Knight Sabers is beginning to hate her job, thinking that it's too dangerous and not worth the money. We also get more insight into Sylia and her motives for creating the Knight Sabers. We also learn of the enemy company -Genetech, responsible for manufacturing and selling boomers to the public and their hidden agenda. Blood and gore, light profanity and nudity- for teens and adults. Great action sequences and great stories make for a great anime! Ends on episode 26 then connects to the anime Bubblegum Crash. ... Read more

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Sylia continues to direct the battles that Knight Sabers Linna, Priss, and Nene wage against the increasing numbers of Boomers (robots) that go berserk. The AD Police should destroy the rogue machines, but they're hopelessly inept. In flashbacks, the viewer learns that Sylia's father created the Boomers and may have used her tissue in his experiments. Her younger brother Mackie arrives unexpectedly from wherever he'd been staying. His mechanical aptitude enables him to bond with Nigel, the gruff technician who maintains the Knight Sabers' armor suits and repairs Priss's motorcycle. Soon Mackie is helping the Knight Sabers, despite Sylia's initial objections. The main story line suffers from weird incongruities. Quincy Rosenkreutz, the evil president of Genom, wants everyone to love his Boomers, even the Knight Sabers. Yet Rosenkreutz has his staff working on a way to make the Boomers "go rogue" on command. Rosenkreutz's lieutenant Brian Mason is heading the Showhamm Project, an orbital system that would give Genom control of much of the world's power supply. But Mason, who is carrying on a kinky affair with a Boomer, is an unlikely candidate for such an important job. There are also some strange differences between the dubbed dialogue and the subtitles. Episodes: 5. "Rough and Ready," 6. "Get It On," 7. "Look at Yourself," 8. "Fireball." Not rated; suitable for ages 13 and up for violence, profanity, brief nudity, and sexual situations. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The characters get deeper as the action gets more frantic
After a bit of a slow start, the series warms up in these episodes. We're delivered another four episodes, and while still not anything special, the series remains enjoyable, with a nice element of mystery.

First up we have a great two-parter in which the Knight Sabers are lured into a trap involving the AD Police and one massive Boomer. This exciting pair of episodes sees the onscreen debut of Sylia's hardsuit. The other two episodes are short rogue boomer encounters - it's fairly episodic.

Despite being episodic, there's little threads running through each episode that hint at a larger plot. For instance, Sylia's brother Mackey arrives, and while he's perfectly normal at first glance, the show somehow makes things seem really awkward, giving the viewer the feeling that there's something here they're not being told. This is something this show does excellently.

At this point in the series, I wasn't completely hooked, but all the little hints and mysteries urged me to buy the next volume to investigate. A good set of episodes in a promising series.

Good Remake
I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

crusade.....
All hell breaks lose as Linna's hardsuit malfunctions during her first deadly mission. Genom unleashes a new wave of rogue boomers and the AD Police declare open war on the Knight Sabers!

Sylia's brother Mackey joins the team as the whole town goes up in flames in the second stunning collection of BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040!

Contains the following episodes - "Rough and Ready", "Get It On", "Look At Yourself" and "Fireball".

It grows on you...
This series is starting to grow on me. I gave the first disc three stars, but this one gets four.

Why? The characters have started to develop, and they're deeper than they originally appear.

For example, we start to get hints of Sylia's past, and witness some increasingly severe mood swings from her, for reasons that are as yet unclear. (Sylia also wears her hardsuit for the first time in the series.) The episodes also introduce Mackey, Sylia's younger brother. There are hints that Mackey is not what he appears, which adds to the intrigue. We also learn some interesting things about Mason, who is having an affair with a boomer, yet somehow seems to hate boomers.

As with the first disc, the video and sound quality are very good, and although the dub is mostly accurate, I can't seem to get into the English voices (especially Nene's). As with the first disc (and most anime for that matter), I recommend watching it in Japanese (with subtitles if you need them) first.

In summary, if you hated the first disc, you won't like this one any better; if you thought the first disc was "ok" (like me) this disc may get you interested in the rest of the series. (If you loved the first volume, why are you reading this? Just buy it already!)

The characters grow on you the more you watch!
In my review on Volume 1: Genesis, I noted that I was disappointed with the way the re-make portrayed the characters as compared with the original. However, I must say that Volume 2: Crusade, is MUCH BETTER because the characters are beginning to have similar traits as their original counterparts. I'm also very pleased that they brought Mackie back (Sylia's brother), although he hasn't shown his perverted side yet. The storyline is good and the soundtrack still rocks! All in all, I'm very happy with Crusade and I'm now looking forward to the remaining episodes. If you saw Genesis and are ready to give up on the girls, don't because the more you watch, the more they start to grow on you! BUBBLEGUM CRISIS IS BACK! ... Read more

Amazon.com

While rogue Boomer robots under the telepathic command of Galatea the Sotai ravage 21st-century Neo-Tokyo, romance unexpectedly flowers for the members of the all-female vigilante posse, the Knight Sabers. Sylia rediscovers her affection for the mechanic Nigel, who worked with her father to create the Boomers; tough-as-press-on-nails Priss accepts the advances of hard-bitten cop Leon; Mackie continues his pursuit of ditsy computer wizard Nene. (Linna, the newest member of the crew, hasn't met anyone yet, but there are several potential candidates on hand.) Mason, the sinister vice president of the Genom Corporation, freed the mysterious Galatea to help the Boomers reach the next stage of their evolution and supplant humanity, but she proves difficult to control. The robot Boomers begin as standard-issue zombies with glowing eyes but quickly mutate into bizarre forms, ranging from a giant fanged monster to a writhing mass of tentacles large enough to engulf a skyscraper. When they infiltrate Genom's massive system of power cables, they metamorphose into a enormous creature that is half serpent, half lamprey. There are plenty of gun battles, martial arts moves, and scenes of the characters riding to each other's rescue, but the storytelling is less interesting than the visuals and the plot borrows a little too heavily from Akira and other series. "Suggested 15 Up" for violence, profanity and brief nudity; alcohol and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Rock, passion and courage
BGC: Tokyo 2040 is a continuation of a great cyberpunk series Bubblegum Crisis/ Crash. This anime is telling a story about four brave girls fighting crime in MegaTokyo (everyone have their own reasons). Their 'crusade' is possible thanks to advanced Power Siuts they're wearing. There's only one problem - limited armour's power supply of and countless enemies to fight! Main plot in earlier series was berserker boomers (technologically advanced androids) - but only on the first sight. Everything was schemed by powerful yet mysteriuos international corporation - GENOM. In this bunch of new episodes our girls are still dealing with boomers, but this time their madness is caused by horrible work conditions and their treatment by humans? Want to know more - WATCH IT YOURSELF! Excellent graphic, good music and great story are undeniable advantages of this series. However, orginal Bubblegum is still much more better. If you haven't seen any of BGC saga episodes try to watch them from the begining (Bubblegum Crisis/ Bubblegum Crash/ Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040). You'll be amazed how good can be OLD, REAL ANIME!

It gets better and better!
This series continues to get better and better and with the fifth DVD installment, the series focuses on relationships and betrayal.

This DVD features five episodes (episodes 17-21) and do things get interesting. With the first few episodes continuing where it was last left off, Nene stuck in the AD Police HQ with a few of her bosses trying to fend off boomers, you have the Galatea and Mason storylines. This is where the biggest difference between the old series and this series is evident. Although Mason is a baddie, the true baddie is Galatea. Also, the secret is pretty much revealed who the Knightsabers are.

People might be upset that the these episodes somewhat end the storyline for a few of our male bad guys but the concentration is on Galatea. I'm enjoying the progression of these episodes and I enjoyed this DVD.

As for the DVD itself, the menu is pretty cool and the sound is great for a TV series. Colors are beautiful in terms of video quality. As for special features, as before....hardly anything. Character design sketches for each character. Not much.

All in all, I'm used to anime DVD's having squat in terms of special features and another thing, I know there are previews for AD vision series, but I guess I'm not finding them anywhere on the series DVD's.

All in all, a must have for BGC 2040 fans. A great series!

Awesome!
This part of the six DVD is well done. The story takes on a more "OH my god! The world is in Peril!" theme. It kept me on th edge of my seat just waiting for the next scene.

Good Remake
I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

flesh and metal....
Tokyo becomes a killing field as a living wave of bio-organic metal sweeps through the city like the hands of a mad god! As Galatea's power continues to grow, the Knight Sabers must join with the remnants of the AD Police in a desperate battle to stop the boomer onslaught. But will even their combined forces be enough when the boomers outnumber the humans by a million to one? An all-new series of hardsuits with spectacular advanced capabilities may be mankind's only hope, but the new technology is untested and potentially lethal.

Human flesh melds with liquid metal to form the ultimate fighting machine in the fifth collection of BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040!

Contains the following - "Moving Waves", "We Built This City", "Are You Experienced?", "One of these Nights" and "Close to the Edge". ... Read more

Amazon.com

Tensions rise as Nene's reckless behavior leads Priss to question whether she belongs in the Knight Sabers. Nene redeems herself in a two-part adventure that pits the Knight Sabers, the AD Police, and Genom agents against a gargantuan blue monster that eats robot Boomers. Hacking into an ancient database, Nene finds the creature's only weak point and learns that it emerged from a biotechnical lab that was buried in the earthquake that destroyed much of the original Tokyo. Family histories come to the fore in episodes 11 and 12. Linna returns to her parents' home in the country and meets a handsome candidate for her hand. The lure of the Knight Sabers proves stronger, and she returns to Tokyo. Mason, the sinister vice president of Genom, searches for the Wiz Lab, where Sylia's father created the Boomers. He attempts to buy the assistance of Nigel, the Knight Sabers' taciturn mechanic, who worked in the lab years ago. Sylia is terrified that her father's lab may not have been destroyed in the great quake. Concerned about the nascent affection she and Mackie feel, Nene searches the Stingray family files and discovers that Mackie's appearance hasn't changed in 10 years. Episodes: 9. "My Nation Underground," 10. "Woke Up with a Monster," 11. "Sheer Heart Attack," 12. "Made in Japan." Not rated; suitable for ages 13 and up for violence, profanity, and sexual situations. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (11)

much deeper than the original
i... like so many others enjoyed first version of bubblegum crisis...and upon viewing this version for the first time was initially disappointed,it was not the bubblegum crisis i was used to...but after watching it i noticed that it is the sameit just shows more of the behind the scenes lives of the knight sabers. except for the music i thouroghly enjoy this rendition more. where as the first series was dedicated to action this series is very charachter driven...allowing for the viewer to get to know a deeper side to the knightsabers. enjoy this for what it is and not what it is not.. ja mata tomodachi

monsters in the earth.....
The adventure deepens in this fourth chapter of BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040.

A new horror envelopes Tokyo in a web of fear as a mysterious entity runs amok, pulling its victims into the sewers and devouring them. Can even the combined forces of the Knight Sabers, Genom and the AD Police stop the monster before it chooses its next victim?

Then, with Linna missing and Sylia and Nene out of action, Priss finds herself facing her most deadly adversary yet, a gargantuan military boomer that she cannot possibly stop on her own. Time is running out for both the Knight Sabers and the city of Tokyo.

Character development = Yay :D
This third installment is easily my favorite so far. Finally, we are delivered the thing that makes a good series - character development.

There's plenty of it, too. Not to mention plenty of action. The main characters we explore here are Nene and Linna. Nene's place on the team has been questioned before, but now it gets serious as Nene faces being kicked out of the Knight Sabers. This excellent two-parter left me feeling extremely satisfied - it's about time Nene was in the spotlight.

The other two episodes are another two-parter, this time about Linna as she visits her family and must make an important choice. While I find Linna kinda boring, I still enjoyed these episodes, because we finally learn more about her. The military boomer fight was pretty good, too.

The show gets deeper as its characters get deeper and its mysteries get more intruiging. This volume was the hook for me; I NEEDED the next volume. Excellent and very addictive.

Good Remake
I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

Fun but Lacking
Pretty cool, the world could use some more cyber punk epics like this one. The english dub's pretty good but I recommend listening to it in japanese at least once later on, it's just better that way man!

My sole complaint for the series is the lack of action. The fight scene on the first disc "Genesis" kicks extreme robotic keester, but it never follows up with more. Not to the same degree anyway. This would be everyone's favorite dvd set if they had just made the fight scenes a little more interesting.

It's a fun series anyway, with likeable characters and an exciting concept... though I wonder if the original is better...? (This is a remake of an older, eight episode series named Bubblegum Crisis) ... Read more

Amazon.com

As the adventures of the female vigilante posse the Knight Sabers conclude, director Hiroko Hiyashi has too little story to fill too much time, and the last five episodes feel padded. In "Hydra," the increasingly powerful and insane Galatea somehow "merges her consciousness" with the skyscraper of the Genom Company, transforming it into a likeness of herself and launching it into space. Her objective is the Showhamm Project, a network of solar energy-collecting satellites: controlling them will enable her to spread madness among Boomer robots throughout world and make herself the master of mankind. Sylia, from whose tissue Galatea was created and who has sworn to destroy her, withdraws from the conflict, leaving Nene, Linna, and Priss to save the planet.The filmmakers try for an Evangelion-style metaphysical ending. The Knight Sabers suddenly develop the power to bond with the hard suits that give them superpowers, and instead of destroying Galatea, they cause her to merge with the universe; she rains onto the Earth as a shower of glittering particles. The Bubblegum Crisis series owes its popularity to no-holds-barred action and tough, capable female characters, not theological/philosophical speculations. "Suggested 15 Up" for violence, profanity, and nudity; alcohol and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Better than the original
I will not review the plot here as there are plenty of other places to get that info. I just want to say that I thought this version of Bubblegum Crisis and the Knight Sabers was better than the original series. I know there are plenty of purists that will argue with me on this and the orignal series was the anime that got me interested in anime. Still this series has a much better and more consistant storyline than the original and, or course, has more time in which to develop the story.
The ending of the series, which this DVD is about, is more philosophical than most but I found that refreshing. It was more of a conclusion than the original series.
I do wish the publishers had added more interesting information in the extra features, though. The character profiles were OK but I have come to expect so much more on DVD.

Remakes can be better than the original
I'm sure some hardcore original BGC fans will hate me for this, but I think the 2040 series is better than the original series. This final DVD has a much better ending and brings a real conclusion to the series. In this version the watcher gets a stronger and tighter story to follow, and a real sense of beginning, development, climax, and end. The original BGC could be watched out of order and still make sense, that's harder with the remake. SPOILER: Priss and Leon FINALLY hook up! Watch out for the release of the remakes of AD Police coming soon!

Good Remake
I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

suicide mission.....
Like a multi-headed serpent, the branches of the Dragon Line become the arms with which Galatea seeks to crush the last vestiges of human resistance in Tokyo. Now the city is abandoned. Only the Knight Sabers remain, mankind's last line of defence against the nightmarish spawn of man and machine. But can even the Knight Sabers defeat a beast with a million eyes and the mind of an insane child? The war against Galatea moves to the highest frontier as the Sabers stage a final desperate assault in the mind-shattering conclusion to BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040!

Contains "Physical Graffiti", "Hydra", "Light My Fire", "Walking on the Moon" and "Still Alive and Well".

KINDA LOST ME!!!!
After the turn to evangelion type technology which was a good take on the whole "remake" thing,the two shows are completely different (the 1987bgc and the 1996bgc). After vol.4 the show became a totally alternative take on the story.Boomers had their side of the story told in Galatea's prologue to ep.25, which was indeed a smart move. Giving Motoslave a part did look good even though unexpected when the "kill'em all" Priss actually asked for it's help very nicely.
But when the philosofy started i lost it!!!
Why did Galatea stop when she was winning,i mean if the only thing she needed was a kind word and a speech about "one making their own destiny" then they should have just done that from the beginning not start chasing each other like resident evil.
She lost too fast too easy with too many unanswewred questions like:
1)How did the Knight sabers make it home after they landed on earth(i mean they were naked and in deserted areas)?
2)Why didn't Priss just kick Galatea's [behind] with the giant Eva like boomer?
3)Does Priss have the healing time of X-men's Wolverine or is she even faster,she had been pierced by the Hardsuit and got kicked around on the rubble AND had no air to breathe(Motoslave had no air supply).
And finally did Tokyo survive all of this. ... Read more

Reviews (62)

80's cyberpunk rock video mecha girl classic
Future post-earthquake Tokyo has all-powerful corporation Genom taking complete control, were it not for interference from a vigilante mercenary super hero girl group called the "Knight sabers".

This is one of the best anime series projecting beautiful, sexy women in a non-degrading way. The Knight Sabers leader (Dr. Stingray) is a super-genius who designed (and keeps improving) the hard suits which are the only thing that can defeat Genom's android fighting units. Anime pinup idol Priss, the toughest one, is as daring on a motorcycle as she is beautiful. Linna is a great athlete while Nene is a computer hacker. Inter-personal relationships between these 4 are done really well.

There are lots of fighting scenes for those into that, but the story is really about the state of society (a possible future for us) and why the girls put their buts on the line and try to change what they can.

The music is like what MTV used to play, back when they actually played music videos. Those really into this (Or fans needing to see more of the Knight Sabers in action) will love the "Hurricane Live" bonus DVD. Kind of nostalgic, but not obnoxious as some 80's revival stuff tends to be.

Overall this MegaSeries is a great value with all 8 "OAV" episodes in this box set. The animation is a bit dated compared with more recent releases, but the story line is still better than most recent releases.

Anime doesn't get much better than this. A must for "best of class" collectors. (Word on the 'net is that this OAV series is superior to later derivatives).

Must-have '80s Anime!!!
This DVD presents the first three episodes of the Bubblegum Crisis series. The first episode presents the post-earthquake world of MegaTokyo in 2032, with Genom Corporation's Boomers wreaking havoc in the city, and a band of four women (the Knight Sabers) in hardsuits protecting the innocents. The second episdoe focuses on one of the women, Linna, and a close friend who is targeted by a Genom executive. In the final episode, the conflict between Genom and the Knight Sabers escalates.

The series, inspired by Blade Runner and itself a tremendous influence on following anime, is full of fast-paced action and incredible music. This DVD provides anime newcomers with an excellent introduction to the world of anime.

GREAT
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
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, 'Leon' 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

I want my bubbleguMTV
As you should know, most of J-pop and MTV music video are worthless. Then, how surprising that Hurricane Live, which features songs in music video format with images culled from the series Bubblegum Crisis, comprises some of the best pop songs and cool visuals ever.
For admirers of Bubblegum Crisis it's a well-known fact that the series is great on many levels, not least in its musical department. Songs range from hard rock to love ballads, from catchy pop tunes to elegiac lamentations. Also, the singer for the first Hurricane Set, Omori Kinuko, had a truly rare quality, almost extinct in today's pop music culture: a quality simultaneously tough and vulnerable, fierce and gentle.
Songs like Mad Machine are as thoughtful and complex in laying out sci-fi themes of technology out of hand; other songs are about being lonely in a faceless crowd, the irrepressible life spirit, the romance of rebellion, sad love for a lost friend, the power to overcome hopelessness and face the new day.
Comparable to Beatles' Rubber Soul, Stone's Between the Buttons, and Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. ... Read more

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 ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Interesting, but somewhat unappealing characters
A short description of Bubblegum Crisis 2040 is armored female vigilantes called the Knight Sabers battling humanoid robots gone bad. This DVD contains the first 4 episodes (out of 26 or so). It is an interesting introduction to this series, and sets out the differences between it and the original Bubblegum Crisis. (This and the original are two entirely different stories.) There is some good action, the acting is fair to good in the English dub (although Nene's voice actress has an unappealing voice), and the story starts to move fairly quickly. The animation is fluid for a television show, and the hard suits (the Knight Sabers' armor) looks great. The best description of the character designs I can think of is that they're sterile--they really lack life, especially Priss. They aren't ugly, but there is something missing; it's hard to describe.

In addition to the character designs, the characters themselves are not terribly appealing in these first 4 episodes. Nene is childish and silly; the little we see of Sylia suggests she is flighty; and Priss is all but autistic in how far she is detached from the people around her. Linna is the only appealing character of the main four, mostly for her determination. For these first four episodes, the characters aren't a problem--we're just meeting them and we don't know that much about them, so the problems may resolve themselves. But this isn't a disc you're likely to walk away from dying to know what happens to these characters. It gets 4 stars overall because basically everything except the characters is 5 star quality.

Future Classic? Maybe. Entertaining? Yes!
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".

All in all, what fandom has on its hands here is a very good series, with a little of everything. "Tokyo 2040" is not a fine wine, like a studio Ghlibi film might be, but maybe it can be a tall, refreshing mug of beer. Or, if you prefer, a sweet glass of Coca-Cola. Now go out and give it a shoot.

A nice introduction
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.

Good Remake
I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

A fantastic beginning.
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 ... Read more

Reviews (62)

80's cyberpunk rock video mecha girl classic
Future post-earthquake Tokyo has all-powerful corporation Genom taking complete control, were it not for interference from a vigilante mercenary super hero girl group called the "Knight sabers".

This is one of the best anime series projecting beautiful, sexy women in a non-degrading way. The Knight Sabers leader (Dr. Stingray) is a super-genius who designed (and keeps improving) the hard suits which are the only thing that can defeat Genom's android fighting units. Anime pinup idol Priss, the toughest one, is as daring on a motorcycle as she is beautiful. Linna is a great athlete while Nene is a computer hacker. Inter-personal relationships between these 4 are done really well.

There are lots of fighting scenes for those into that, but the story is really about the state of society (a possible future for us) and why the girls put their buts on the line and try to change what they can.

The music is like what MTV used to play, back when they actually played music videos. Those really into this (Or fans needing to see more of the Knight Sabers in action) will love the "Hurricane Live" bonus DVD. Kind of nostalgic, but not obnoxious as some 80's revival stuff tends to be.

Overall this MegaSeries is a great value with all 8 "OAV" episodes in this box set. The animation is a bit dated compared with more recent releases, but the story line is still better than most recent releases.

Anime doesn't get much better than this. A must for "best of class" collectors. (Word on the 'net is that this OAV series is superior to later derivatives).

Must-have '80s Anime!!!
This DVD presents the first three episodes of the Bubblegum Crisis series. The first episode presents the post-earthquake world of MegaTokyo in 2032, with Genom Corporation's Boomers wreaking havoc in the city, and a band of four women (the Knight Sabers) in hardsuits protecting the innocents. The second episdoe focuses on one of the women, Linna, and a close friend who is targeted by a Genom executive. In the final episode, the conflict between Genom and the Knight Sabers escalates.

The series, inspired by Blade Runner and itself a tremendous influence on following anime, is full of fast-paced action and incredible music. This DVD provides anime newcomers with an excellent introduction to the world of anime.

GREAT
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
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, 'Leon' 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

I want my bubbleguMTV
As you should know, most of J-pop and MTV music video are worthless. Then, how surprising that Hurricane Live, which features songs in music video format with images culled from the series Bubblegum Crisis, comprises some of the best pop songs and cool visuals ever.
For admirers of Bubblegum Crisis it's a well-known fact that the series is great on many levels, not least in its musical department. Songs range from hard rock to love ballads, from catchy pop tunes to elegiac lamentations. Also, the singer for the first Hurricane Set, Omori Kinuko, had a truly rare quality, almost extinct in today's pop music culture: a quality simultaneously tough and vulnerable, fierce and gentle.
Songs like Mad Machine are as thoughtful and complex in laying out sci-fi themes of technology out of hand; other songs are about being lonely in a faceless crowd, the irrepressible life spirit, the romance of rebellion, sad love for a lost friend, the power to overcome hopelessness and face the new day.
Comparable to Beatles' Rubber Soul, Stone's Between the Buttons, and Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. ... Read more

Amazon.com

After 12 episodes of this female mecha adventure, the main plot finally begins to unfold amid a welter of revelations. Sylia continues her search for the Wiz Lab, the site where her father created the Boomer robots that perform the heavy labor in 21st-century Neo-Tokyo. But the Boomer Project was more significant and more sinister than the other characters realized. At its center was Sylia's father, who used members of his family for bio-technical experiments, like Dr. Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion. He created a creature so dangerous, the powerful Genom Corporation deliberately triggered the earthquake that destroyed much of Tokyo to imprison it: that was a less threatening scenario than allowing it to escape. Sylia's dogged efforts to seal off the ruined lab lead Mason, the icy vice president of Genom, to the site beneath the rebuilt city. He outmaneuvers the Knight Sabers, the A.D. Police, and Sylia's eerie brother Mackey, and releases Galatea the Sotai, an innocent-looking little girl who threatens the future of mankind with her powers. This edition of Bubblegum Crisis delivers the mecha action and empowered heroines that earned the series its following, although the story may feel very familiar to anime fans. "Suggested 15 Up" for violence, profanity, and brief nudity. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Simply put: Wow
The earlier volumes were good; this one's great.

The story begins to open up as we are hit with mysteries, dangers, and revelations. From the word go I was glued to the television, itching for the answers to my questions. I swear, I thought the suspense was going to kill me.

This volume doesn't have as much action as the earlier volumes, but it doesn't need it. There's excellent drama here. I especially like how Nene's place seems reversed; in the last volume, Nene was looked down upon, but here, she's the one who becomes disgusted and disappointed. It's an interesting reversal of roles.

To sum up, this volume is fantastic. Careful though; you'd better buy volumes 5 and 6 while you're at it, or you'll be left hanging, desperate to find out what happens next. Highly recommended.

Good Remake
I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

out of the ashes....
Mysterious clues about Sylia's past begin to surface as the Knight Sabers are drawn into a deadly race to discover a missing research facility. But even as they near their objective, the team starts falling apart as the real reasons for the Knight Sabers' existence come into question.

Underneath the ruins of old Tokyo, the ultimate nightmare begins to awake as an long-buried secret turns into a deadly trap. The last relics of law and order are blown to ashes and dust as Mason unleashes Dr Stingray's most horrifying creation - Galatea.

The stunning fourth installment of BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040.

Bubblegum Crisis fans must have this!!!
If you have seen the original Bubblebum this is 10 years later and the gang has some new toys. The 2040 series is more in-depth into the creation of the boomers and the Knight Sabers. If you thought Priss hated Boomers before check this one out. If you are a first time Bubblegummer all the DVDs are great seperate but all tie together for a blast and crash filled show that will make you rush for the next episode. In 3 words "GET IT NOW"

The begining of the end.
This is where the series gets good. You have to see the previous episodes to really appretiate the events that unfold here. The previous episodes were seemingly just that. Episodes. However in the main stories, they were always giving bits and pieces to the puzzle of the main agenda of the story arc. If you've seen the other series before this part, and are wondering if this is worth the buy...then wonder no longer. This is truely where the story, and the action gets good. ... Read more

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 ... Read more

Reviews (62)

80's cyberpunk rock video mecha girl classic
Future post-earthquake Tokyo has all-powerful corporation Genom taking complete control, were it not for interference from a vigilante mercenary super hero girl group called the "Knight sabers".

This is one of the best anime series projecting beautiful, sexy women in a non-degrading way. The Knight Sabers leader (Dr. Stingray) is a super-genius who designed (and keeps improving) the hard suits which are the only thing that can defeat Genom's android fighting units. Anime pinup idol Priss, the toughest one, is as daring on a motorcycle as she is beautiful. Linna is a great athlete while Nene is a computer hacker. Inter-personal relationships between these 4 are done really well.

There are lots of fighting scenes for those into that, but the story is really about the state of society (a possible future for us) and why the girls put their buts on the line and try to change what they can.

The music is like what MTV used to play, back when they actually played music videos. Those really into this (Or fans needing to see more of the Knight Sabers in action) will love the "Hurricane Live" bonus DVD. Kind of nostalgic, but not obnoxious as some 80's revival stuff tends to be.

Overall this MegaSeries is a great value with all 8 "OAV" episodes in this box set. The animation is a bit dated compared with more recent releases, but the story line is still better than most recent releases.

Anime doesn't get much better than this. A must for "best of class" collectors. (Word on the 'net is that this OAV series is superior to later derivatives).

Must-have '80s Anime!!!
This DVD presents the first three episodes of the Bubblegum Crisis series. The first episode presents the post-earthquake world of MegaTokyo in 2032, with Genom Corporation's Boomers wreaking havoc in the city, and a band of four women (the Knight Sabers) in hardsuits protecting the innocents. The second episdoe focuses on one of the women, Linna, and a close friend who is targeted by a Genom executive. In the final episode, the conflict between Genom and the Knight Sabers escalates.

The series, inspired by Blade Runner and itself a tremendous influence on following anime, is full of fast-paced action and incredible music. This DVD provides anime newcomers with an excellent introduction to the world of anime.

GREAT
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
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, 'Leon' 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

I want my bubbleguMTV
As you should know, most of J-pop and MTV music video are worthless. Then, how surprising that Hurricane Live, which features songs in music video format with images culled from the series Bubblegum Crisis, comprises some of the best pop songs and cool visuals ever.
For admirers of Bubblegum Crisis it's a well-known fact that the series is great on many levels, not least in its musical department. Songs range from hard rock to love ballads, from catchy pop tunes to elegiac lamentations. Also, the singer for the first Hurricane Set, Omori Kinuko, had a truly rare quality, almost extinct in today's pop music culture: a quality simultaneously tough and vulnerable, fierce and gentle.
Songs like Mad Machine are as thoughtful and complex in laying out sci-fi themes of technology out of hand; other songs are about being lonely in a faceless crowd, the irrepressible life spirit, the romance of rebellion, sad love for a lost friend, the power to overcome hopelessness and face the new day.
Comparable to Beatles' Rubber Soul, Stone's Between the Buttons, and Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. ... Read more

Reviews (62)

80's cyberpunk rock video mecha girl classic
Future post-earthquake Tokyo has all-powerful corporation Genom taking complete control, were it not for interference from a vigilante mercenary super hero girl group called the "Knight sabers".

This is one of the best anime series projecting beautiful, sexy women in a non-degrading way. The Knight Sabers leader (Dr. Stingray) is a super-genius who designed (and keeps improving) the hard suits which are the only thing that can defeat Genom's android fighting units. Anime pinup idol Priss, the toughest one, is as daring on a motorcycle as she is beautiful. Linna is a great athlete while Nene is a computer hacker. Inter-personal relationships between these 4 are done really well.

There are lots of fighting scenes for those into that, but the story is really about the state of society (a possible future for us) and why the girls put their buts on the line and try to change what they can.

The music is like what MTV used to play, back when they actually played music videos. Those really into this (Or fans needing to see more of the Knight Sabers in action) will love the "Hurricane Live" bonus DVD. Kind of nostalgic, but not obnoxious as some 80's revival stuff tends to be.

Overall this MegaSeries is a great value with all 8 "OAV" episodes in this box set. The animation is a bit dated compared with more recent releases, but the story line is still better than most recent releases.

Anime doesn't get much better than this. A must for "best of class" collectors. (Word on the 'net is that this OAV series is superior to later derivatives).

Must-have '80s Anime!!!
This DVD presents the first three episodes of the Bubblegum Crisis series. The first episode presents the post-earthquake world of MegaTokyo in 2032, with Genom Corporation's Boomers wreaking havoc in the city, and a band of four women (the Knight Sabers) in hardsuits protecting the innocents. The second episdoe focuses on one of the women, Linna, and a close friend who is targeted by a Genom executive. In the final episode, the conflict between Genom and the Knight Sabers escalates.

The series, inspired by Blade Runner and itself a tremendous influence on following anime, is full of fast-paced action and incredible music. This DVD provides anime newcomers with an excellent introduction to the world of anime.

GREAT
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
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 th