Bubblegum Crisis
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese cyberpunk
direct-to-video animated series
. It displays strong influences from Blade Runner
, also making occasional references to it.
geographically and culturally in two. During the first episode, disparities in wealth are shown to be more pronounced than in previous periods in post-war Japan.
The main antagonist is Genom, a megacorporation with immense power and global influence. Its main product are boomers - cyberdroids used for manual labor and military purposes. While Boomers are intended to serve mankind, they become deadly instruments in the hands of ruthless individuals. The AD Police are tasked to deal with Boomer-related crimes. One of the series' themes is the inability of the department to deal with threats due to political infighting, red tape, and an insufficient budget.
The Knight Sabers are an all-female mercenary
team and have considerable combat abilities using highly advanced suits of powered armor. They battle against long odds to overcome grave threats throughout the OVA series and preserve the overall safety of Mega Tokyo.
series is eight episodes long. It was originally slated to run for 13 episodes, but due to legal problems between the two studios who jointly held the rights to the series, Artmic and Youmex, the series was discontinued. The problems may have been brought on by the series' lackluster sales in Japan
. In North America
, however, the series did comparatively well and has remained a fan favorite.
In Japan, a number of comic books were produced that featured characters and storylines based in the BGC (a common abbreviation for the series name) universe. Some were very much thematically linked to the OVA series, others were "one shots" or comedy features. A number of artists participated in the creation of these comics, including Kenichi Sonoda
, who had produced the original Knight Saber character designs. A North American comic based in the Bubblegum Crisis Universe was published in English
by Dark Horse Comics
.
The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all woman group of mercenaries who don powered armor and fight various problems, most frequently rogue boomers. Boomers are humanoid robots designed to perform a variety of tasks, from construction and firefighting to combat; a particular model of Boomer, the BU-33S "Sexaroid", is designed for sexual purpose, and also in need of human blood, as been revealed in episode 5
One of the central themes of the series, showing its Blade Runner
influence strongly, is the exploration of what "human
" really means. As in Blade Runner, this is often done by using the android characters, especially focusing on BU-33S.
Bubblegum Crisis was notable also in that it was one of the few early anime series that were brought over from Japan
unedited and subtitled with English
captions that still have a great deal of popularity today. While anime has become much more popular in the intervening years, in 1991 it was still mostly unknown as a storytelling medium in North America.
In 1997, a new series was created, titled Bubblegum Crisis 2040, but was not a sequel to the original OVA series. Headed by Chiaki J. Konaka
, it was a standalone television series, and while it used similar themes to the original, it employed new designs for the characters and the mechanical devices. This series ran for twenty six episodes. Some discussion has taken place between the production companies for a second season, tentatively titled Bubblegum Crisis 2041.
Despite the age of the original series, a non-Japanese fandom still exists for it. The community of fans have produced large quantities of Fan fiction
and Fan art
based on both the OVA and television series with the current estimated count of fanfiction in English language alone well exceeding four hundred texts, though there is a preponderance of works and discussion based on the original series.
Bubblegum Crisis has many features that have proven attractive to many viewers of anime. The mecha designs, cyberpunk characters, and post-apocalyptic city of Megatokyo are well-realized and leave a lasting impression. The storylines are varied and complex, with some elements left deliberately unexplained and open to interpretation.
The music throughout the original OVA series is one of the most recognizable in anime fandom and generates a strong feeling of 1980's nostalgia. The opening song and sequence for the first OVA, as well as many of the other songs throughout the series, clearly draw inspiration from the 1984 movie Streets of Fire
. Nearly all of the music is available, as there are 8 soundtrack releases (one per OVA), as well as numerous "vocal" albums which feature songs "inspired by" the series as well as many drawn directly from it. As a consequence Bubblegum Crisis, with its better than 1:1 soundtrack album to episode ratio (when one considers the "vocal" albums), may arguably have among the highest number of album-length
music collections (percentage-wise) which may be attributed to any single title in contemporary anime.
A roleplaying game based on the series was published by R. Talsorian in 1997 under the Fuzion
system. It contains many original sketches of the characters, mecha and settings, as well as detailed background information about them. A supplement detailing the 1997 series was planned, but could not be completed before RTG's license expired in 2002.
A digitally-remastered compilation of the original series' episodes, featuring bi-lingual tracks and production extras, was released on DVD in 2004 by AnimEigo
Inc.
. The film is expected to be released late 2012 and is consulting the original anime's staff members Shinji Aramaki
and Kenichi Sonoda
to help tie the film with the original anime.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
direct-to-video animated series
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
. It displays strong influences from Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, also making occasional references to it.
Setting
The series begins in the late 2032, seven years after the Second Great Kanto Earthquake has split TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
geographically and culturally in two. During the first episode, disparities in wealth are shown to be more pronounced than in previous periods in post-war Japan.
The main antagonist is Genom, a megacorporation with immense power and global influence. Its main product are boomers - cyberdroids used for manual labor and military purposes. While Boomers are intended to serve mankind, they become deadly instruments in the hands of ruthless individuals. The AD Police are tasked to deal with Boomer-related crimes. One of the series' themes is the inability of the department to deal with threats due to political infighting, red tape, and an insufficient budget.
The Knight Sabers are an all-female mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
team and have considerable combat abilities using highly advanced suits of powered armor. They battle against long odds to overcome grave threats throughout the OVA series and preserve the overall safety of Mega Tokyo.
Production
The OVAOriginal video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
series is eight episodes long. It was originally slated to run for 13 episodes, but due to legal problems between the two studios who jointly held the rights to the series, Artmic and Youmex, the series was discontinued. The problems may have been brought on by the series' lackluster sales in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, however, the series did comparatively well and has remained a fan favorite.
In Japan, a number of comic books were produced that featured characters and storylines based in the BGC (a common abbreviation for the series name) universe. Some were very much thematically linked to the OVA series, others were "one shots" or comedy features. A number of artists participated in the creation of these comics, including Kenichi Sonoda
Kenichi Sonoda
is a comic book artist and animation character designer.-Professional career:Sonoda moved to Tokyo in 1984, at the age of 21, and began work at Artmic, an anime studio. During this time, he worked on Bubblegum Crisis, producing the original Knight Saber character designs...
, who had produced the original Knight Saber character designs. A North American comic based in the Bubblegum Crisis Universe was published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
.
The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all woman group of mercenaries who don powered armor and fight various problems, most frequently rogue boomers. Boomers are humanoid robots designed to perform a variety of tasks, from construction and firefighting to combat; a particular model of Boomer, the BU-33S "Sexaroid", is designed for sexual purpose, and also in need of human blood, as been revealed in episode 5
One of the central themes of the series, showing its Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
influence strongly, is the exploration of what "human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
" really means. As in Blade Runner, this is often done by using the android characters, especially focusing on BU-33S.
Bubblegum Crisis was notable also in that it was one of the few early anime series that were brought over from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
unedited and subtitled with English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
captions that still have a great deal of popularity today. While anime has become much more popular in the intervening years, in 1991 it was still mostly unknown as a storytelling medium in North America.
In 1997, a new series was created, titled Bubblegum Crisis 2040, but was not a sequel to the original OVA series. Headed by Chiaki J. Konaka
Chiaki J. Konaka
, born April 4, 1961) is a Japanese writer and scenarist best known for Serial Experiments Lain, and later for the Digimon season, Digimon Tamers....
, it was a standalone television series, and while it used similar themes to the original, it employed new designs for the characters and the mechanical devices. This series ran for twenty six episodes. Some discussion has taken place between the production companies for a second season, tentatively titled Bubblegum Crisis 2041.
Despite the age of the original series, a non-Japanese fandom still exists for it. The community of fans have produced large quantities of Fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
and Fan art
Fan art
Fan art or fanart is artwork that is based on a character, costume, collage, item, or story that was created by someone other than the artist, such as a fan, from which the word is derived from. The term, while it can apply to art done by fans of characters from books, is usually used to refer to...
based on both the OVA and television series with the current estimated count of fanfiction in English language alone well exceeding four hundred texts, though there is a preponderance of works and discussion based on the original series.
Bubblegum Crisis has many features that have proven attractive to many viewers of anime. The mecha designs, cyberpunk characters, and post-apocalyptic city of Megatokyo are well-realized and leave a lasting impression. The storylines are varied and complex, with some elements left deliberately unexplained and open to interpretation.
The music throughout the original OVA series is one of the most recognizable in anime fandom and generates a strong feeling of 1980's nostalgia. The opening song and sequence for the first OVA, as well as many of the other songs throughout the series, clearly draw inspiration from the 1984 movie Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire is a 1984 film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It was described in previews, trailers, and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable." It is an unusual mix of musical, action, drama, and comedy with elements both of retro-1950s and 1980s...
. Nearly all of the music is available, as there are 8 soundtrack releases (one per OVA), as well as numerous "vocal" albums which feature songs "inspired by" the series as well as many drawn directly from it. As a consequence Bubblegum Crisis, with its better than 1:1 soundtrack album to episode ratio (when one considers the "vocal" albums), may arguably have among the highest number of album-length
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
music collections (percentage-wise) which may be attributed to any single title in contemporary anime.
A roleplaying game based on the series was published by R. Talsorian in 1997 under the Fuzion
Fuzion
Fuzion is a generic role-playing game system created by the collaboration of R. Talsorian Games and Hero Games. Fuzion is a combination of the Interlock System, , and the HERO system...
system. It contains many original sketches of the characters, mecha and settings, as well as detailed background information about them. A supplement detailing the 1997 series was planned, but could not be completed before RTG's license expired in 2002.
A digitally-remastered compilation of the original series' episodes, featuring bi-lingual tracks and production extras, was released on DVD in 2004 by AnimEigo
AnimEigo
AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. The company was founded in 1988 in Ithaca, New York by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams, III. It is now based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and run by Natsumi Ueki, Robert's wife...
Inc.
Episodes
| # | Title | | Release date |
|---|---|---|
Related media
- AD Police FilesAD Police FilesA.D. Police Files is a three-part original video animation produced by Artmic and AIC. The story is set five years before the events of Bubblegum Crisis. It showcases three early cases of A.D. Police: Dead End City and features Leon McNichol's origin.- Episodes :...
(1990): A prequel OVA set five years earlier and focusing on the A.D. Police and the start of the Crisis. - Bubblegum CrashBubblegum Crashis a three-part original video animation sequel to Bubblegum Crisis.After the split between Artmic and Youmex, Artmic proceeded to make a sequel on their own, Bubblegum Crash, which ran three OVA episodes and is conjectured that it was a shortened version of how Crisis was to end...
(1991): A three-episode OVA sequel. Reputedly an attempt to resolve the final five planned, but unproduced episodes. - Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040is a Japanese anime series produced by Anime International Company and funded by ADV Films. A retelling of the 1987 original video animation Bubblegum Crisis, the series premiered on TV Tokyo on October 8, 1998 where it ran for 26 episodes until its conclusion on March 31, 1999...
(1998-99): A 26 episode TV series remake of the original OVA series. - AD Police: To Serve and ProtectAD Police: To Serve and Protectis a Japanese animated television series set in the Bubblegum Crisis universe.A.D. Police began as a three-part OVA series seen as a prequel to the Bubblegum series that was called A.D. Police Files released in 1990. Nine years later the production team decided to use the world view/ background of...
(1999): A 12 episode TV series prequel to Bubblegum Crisis and sequel to A.D. Police Files. - Parasite DollsParasite Dollsis a three-part original video animation produced by the Anime International Company and IMAGICA Entertainment, and written by Chiaki J. Konaka and Kazuto Nakazawa.The series, set in the Bubblegum Crisis universe, focuses on a special "Branch" of the A.D...
(2003): A three-episode OVA about Branch, a secret division of the A.D. Police. - Scramble Wars released with Ten Little Gall ForceGall Forceis a metaseries of science fiction anime OVA by the studio Artmic, with production by Youmex and AIC. The original character designs were by Kenichi Sonoda, though these were dropped for the Gall Force Revolution remake .-Star Front Gall Force:This was the origin and precursor to the Gall Force...
- Holiday in Bali special (live action)
- Hurricane Live 2032
- Hurricane Live 2033
Video games
- Crime Wave: game for PC-88, set in Megatokyo and featuring Knight Sabers as the main characters (an overview of the game can be found here http://www.anime-games.co.uk/bgc98.php)
- Bubblegum Crash: game for TurboGrafx-16TurboGrafx-16TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
(an overview of the game can be found here http://www.anime-games.co.uk/bubcrashpce.php)
Comic book
- Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal produced by Adam WarrenAdam WarrenAdam Warren is an American comic book writer and artist who is most famous for his adaptation of the characters known as Dirty Pair into an American comic book, and for being one of the first American commercial illustrators to be influenced by the general manga style...
via Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
.
Live-action movie
In May 2009 it was announced that a live-action movie of "Bubblegum Crisis" was in the early stages of production. A production agreement was signed at the 2009 Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. The film is expected to be released late 2012 and is consulting the original anime's staff members Shinji Aramaki
Shinji Aramaki
is a Japanese anime director and mechanical designer, born in Fukuoka Prefecture. He was a member of Artmic.He is noted for work on powered exoskeletons and his mecha and CG design on several anime series.-As director:...
and Kenichi Sonoda
Kenichi Sonoda
is a comic book artist and animation character designer.-Professional career:Sonoda moved to Tokyo in 1984, at the age of 21, and began work at Artmic, an anime studio. During this time, he worked on Bubblegum Crisis, producing the original Knight Saber character designs...
to help tie the film with the original anime.
Other
- Bubblegum Crisis role-playing game produced by R. Talsorian Games. It introduces an alternate setting named "Bubblegum Crossfire", basing on a premise that data units with hardsuit blueprints have been sent to more individuals than just Sylia Stingray, resulting in that by 2033 there are numerous Knight Saber-like groups spread all over the globe. RTG's license to produce this game has expired and at present all copies of back stock have been sold.
-
-
- "Bubblegum Crisis: Before and After" (covering material from A.D. Police Files and Bubblegum Crash)
- "Bubblegum Crisis EX" which includes completely new materials (also incorporating early design concepts for BGC mecha and hardsuits as new variants)
- Ground Zero Games produces four sets of 28 mm scale miniatures based on Bubblegum Crisis:
- Knight Sabers
- Boomers (actually BU-55 combat boomers)
- A.D. Police officers
- "GENOM bosses" (pack contains Quincy, Mason and GENOM battlesuit)
- "Soldier Blue" novel by Toshimichi Suzuki. Translated into English language in 1997 by R.Talsorian Games. A copy of the translation can be found here.
- Some images from BGC also were used in the CCGCollectible card gamethumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
Ani-MayhemAni-MayhemAni-Mayhem was an anime-based collectible card game first released in 1996 in the wake of the CCG boom created by the popularity of Magic: The Gathering. Produced by the merchandising arm of Pioneer Animation and published by Upper Deck, Ani-Mayhem's cards featured images from a variety of anime...
. - Nerdcore Rapper mc chrisMc chrismc chris is an American rapper, voice actor, writer and improvisational comedian....
references Bubblegum Crisis in his song Japanese Maid stating "She could be my Bubblegum Crisis. I don't know what that means."
-
Official websites
- AnimEigo's Bubblegum Crisis website Bubblegum Crisis – AIC's official Bubblegum Crisis page.
Articles and information
- Anime in Retrospect: Bubblegum Crisis
- Animerica article
- http://web.archive.org/web/20040407164515/www.animerica-mag.com/features/bgc.html
- Website listing all the soundtracks