As usually happens when Humanity treats it's machine offspring like trash, violence against their creators ensues. But the how and whys of this rebellion lie at the heart of Bubblegum Crisis' storyline. The name "Bubblegum Crisis" refers not to chewing gum, but of the act of blowing said treat into a bubble. The bubble, like the growing problems with the Boomers, grows bigger and bigger, until finally reaching the breaking point. That's when the bubble pops, and things all go to hell.
The tone of the series came from fears of the increasing encroachment and importance of technology in the lives of those living in the increasingly dense urban centers of Tokyo in the 1980s. In fact its hard to look back at the original, in this day and age where practically everything shares inter connectivity of some sort, and not feel an eerie sort of foreboding.
The original Bubblegum Crisis establishes an atmosphere of oppresion, rebellion, and dread, which is perfectly summed up by the first episode's iconic introduction:
And now, compare the opener to every episode of BGC Tokyo 2040:
To say the nineties reimagining is different from the original is like calling day "somewhat bright" in comparison to night. And it is very much a creation of the nineties, when Anime was becoming increasingly mainstream as it gained larger and larger followings in the west. Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 in general has a much brighter and more cheerful atmosphere, even at it's darkest points, than the 1980's original did even at it's most optimistic.
That is not to say that 2040 doesn't get dark. Very dark. The latter half of this series is essentially a never-ending struggle for survival, with all of the horrors and desperation that go with living in what very well may be the twilight of one's species. Combine this with some truly grisly demises, copious amounts of body horror, and eyefulls of female skin later on, and you've got a show that even western animated action blocks such as Toonami and the original incarnation of Adult Swim wouldn't touch.
Fortunately for westerners, Showtime, who have a history of airing Anime such as Dirty Pair, it's re-imaging Dirty Pair Flash, and Fist Of The North Star, also aired Tokyo 2040 back in the day. I'd originally stumbled upon it while in Junior High, and I was quickly held spellbound by the power armor clad vigilante quartet known as the Knight Sabers. By both their personal struggles, and their desperate fight to prevent a looming catastrophe that the omnipresent MegaCorp Genom is doing everything within it's power to cover up.
While the animation in the original did have the tendency to go off model occasionally, the animation in Tokyo 2040 generally remains consistent throughout. There is the occasional mid-90s CGI, but those occasions are fairly brief. Action scenes manage to remain fairly fluid and good looking despite the sometimes sheer crazyness of the background, and with rare exceptions the fight scenes are well choreographed and visceral.
This show's major weakness, at least at first, is in the voice acting. The beginning chapters of Tokyo 2040 are told mostly from Linna's point of view, as she meets the other main characters for the first time and develops close friendships with a few. The problem that occurs is that in the early episodes the voice acting for quite a few of these characters can be at times obnoxious. Even on repeat viewings, Linna's first few lines are still delivered jarringly over the top.
However, the voice cast does eventually settle into their roles, and Linna does become one of the more interesting characters in the show. Her voice actress does a good job of portraying the transition from daydreaming office lady turned strong-willed superhero Linna undergoes over the course of the series. As for the rest of the voice cast, perhaps the most recognizable are none other than Christine Auten of Fullmetal Alchemist fame in one of her early roles as Priss Asagiri, and Spike Spencer, AKA Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion, as the enigmatic youth Makki Stingray.
In the end, though, is Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 as revolutionary or influential as the original was? No.
Does it ever capture the feelings of oppression and corruption that permeated the plot of the original? Well, no.
Is it a dark but entertaining cyberpunk series with plenty of twists and shocking swerves? Is it worth watching or owning? The answer to both is an emphatic yes, absolutely. For any fans of science-fiction or cyberpunk storytelling, or even casual to hardcore fans of anime, I would highly recommend giving this show a look.
Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 was originally dubbed by ADV, but is now available for streaming or purchase from Funimation as part of it's Anime Classics line for about $26.99 USD. It is also available for streaming on Hulu and YouTube, although in all cases most of the streamed episodes aside from the first few are in Japanese with English subtitles. But that shouldn't bother most anime fans, many of whom prefer subs over English dubbing anyways.
That is not to say that 2040 doesn't get dark. Very dark. The latter half of this series is essentially a never-ending struggle for survival, with all of the horrors and desperation that go with living in what very well may be the twilight of one's species. Combine this with some truly grisly demises, copious amounts of body horror, and eyefulls of female skin later on, and you've got a show that even western animated action blocks such as Toonami and the original incarnation of Adult Swim wouldn't touch.
Fortunately for westerners, Showtime, who have a history of airing Anime such as Dirty Pair, it's re-imaging Dirty Pair Flash, and Fist Of The North Star, also aired Tokyo 2040 back in the day. I'd originally stumbled upon it while in Junior High, and I was quickly held spellbound by the power armor clad vigilante quartet known as the Knight Sabers. By both their personal struggles, and their desperate fight to prevent a looming catastrophe that the omnipresent MegaCorp Genom is doing everything within it's power to cover up.
While the animation in the original did have the tendency to go off model occasionally, the animation in Tokyo 2040 generally remains consistent throughout. There is the occasional mid-90s CGI, but those occasions are fairly brief. Action scenes manage to remain fairly fluid and good looking despite the sometimes sheer crazyness of the background, and with rare exceptions the fight scenes are well choreographed and visceral.
This show's major weakness, at least at first, is in the voice acting. The beginning chapters of Tokyo 2040 are told mostly from Linna's point of view, as she meets the other main characters for the first time and develops close friendships with a few. The problem that occurs is that in the early episodes the voice acting for quite a few of these characters can be at times obnoxious. Even on repeat viewings, Linna's first few lines are still delivered jarringly over the top.
However, the voice cast does eventually settle into their roles, and Linna does become one of the more interesting characters in the show. Her voice actress does a good job of portraying the transition from daydreaming office lady turned strong-willed superhero Linna undergoes over the course of the series. As for the rest of the voice cast, perhaps the most recognizable are none other than Christine Auten of Fullmetal Alchemist fame in one of her early roles as Priss Asagiri, and Spike Spencer, AKA Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion, as the enigmatic youth Makki Stingray.
In the end, though, is Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 as revolutionary or influential as the original was? No.
Does it ever capture the feelings of oppression and corruption that permeated the plot of the original? Well, no.
Is it a dark but entertaining cyberpunk series with plenty of twists and shocking swerves? Is it worth watching or owning? The answer to both is an emphatic yes, absolutely. For any fans of science-fiction or cyberpunk storytelling, or even casual to hardcore fans of anime, I would highly recommend giving this show a look.
Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 was originally dubbed by ADV, but is now available for streaming or purchase from Funimation as part of it's Anime Classics line for about $26.99 USD. It is also available for streaming on Hulu and YouTube, although in all cases most of the streamed episodes aside from the first few are in Japanese with English subtitles. But that shouldn't bother most anime fans, many of whom prefer subs over English dubbing anyways.