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‘Bubblegum Crisis’ Blu-Ray Review: A Mecha Cyberpunk Classic
Arguably one of the classics of anime from the latter half of the 80s, the new release of Bubblegum Crisis on Blu-ray has a lot to offer. Set in the year 2032, this series takes all the 80’s tropes surrounding cyberpunk and tries to do something different and interesting with them.
The main protagonists in the show are the Knight Sabers, an enigmatic group of women who wear bespoke power armor to take down a new threat known as Boomers on the future streets of Mega Tokyo. Created by the Genom Corporation, Boomers are used in all walks of life, but they also have a habit of going berserk. Normally, the A.D. Police would handle this threat, but they are oddly underfunded to counter this menace.
Throughout the eight-episode run of the series, more becomes clear behind what is driving the Boomer outbreaks and what Genom is really up to. Bubblegum Crisis is an interesting show on several counts, from Shinji Aramaki’s great mechanical designs to Kenichi Sonoda’s excellent character designs. It also used the then-current popular music of its time to really drive the whole setting home.
What truly sets this series apart, however, is the mecha design by Aramaki. This follows his work on MOSPEADA and Megazone 23, both of which feature motorbikes transforming around their riders into mecha. This is one of the highlights in Bubblegum Crisis, as the transformable Motoslave bikes are impressively designed.
While creator Toshimitsu Suzuki did not entirely succeed with his vision for the series and its sequels, this new Blu-ray release mostly delivers where similar shows failed to deliver. The story behind those sequels is quite involved, with Suzuki wanting royalties for the use of his ideas, which unfortunately didn’t work out as he had hoped.
In terms of this new Blu-ray release, apart from a new and nicely chunky book tucked into the case, there are a lot more extras this time around. Not least an all-new interview with Kenichi Sonoda recorded in 2024. The image transfer is also excellent, as is the audio, which is pristine throughout. What with this being an AnimEigo release, the translation is also handled well, and fans of the series will be happy to see the dialogue dealt with properly.
It feels only fitting that this series is readily available again in the West, and at such high quality, considering it was more of a hit internationally than back home in Japan. Bubblegum Crisis has undoubtedly found its international audience over the years, and this Blu-ray release is an excellent opportunity for new fans to discover it.
If you’re new to anime cyberpunk, then Bubblegum Crisis is one of its stronger entries and the 80’s artstyle and designs are still as punchy as ever.
