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Technically any good? Some people complain about the abrupt ending of the original BGC series. I don't know what they're talking about. The final episode is just the final episode. Granted there is no grand resolution that so many anime series have these days, but it doesn't really effect the quality or enjoyment of the anime.
All the high-standards are represented, quality-wise. Great acting, great animation (downright stunning for the time period), incredible mecha designs from Kenichi Sonoda and very tight stories. There were only a few times when I had to shrug off a contrived moment or two. The violence level is high, but the themes in Bubblegum Crisis are pretty mature, so kids won't get much braintertainment out of the series, anyway.
However, the pretty ladies in the robot suits might look attractive to them, so if you're a parent, don't let them have access to this series. There is nudity (not excessive) and violence (fairly excessive).
How did it leave me feeling? Very happy. Bubblegum Crisis is the reason I fell in love with anime in the first place. Something about the no-holds-barred atmosphere of it makes it really stick to your ribs. It was great to watch it again for the first time in about fifteen years (only saw it the one time in college).
Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now! If you like robot anime or hot women in robot suits anime, see this series. Hell, even if you just like anime, you should see this historic series.
BGC is still one of my all-time favorites and the very first new anime OAV series I followed when I became a new fan. At the time I was paying about $98 an episode on LaserDisc imported from Japan in 1987, that's how much me and my fellow fans loved it. Heehee
ReplyDeleteAnyway, regarding Bubblegum Crisis' story; Well the show never had a sustained story arc because it was never known from one episode to the next if another episode would be produced. There were no regular release dates for this show. We fans never knew if we were getting another one or not. That's why most all of the episodes never have "coming next" notices, etc.
Sometimes a new one would show up in three months. Sometimes a year. You never knew.
I also enjoyed the TV series remake of the show. A lot of BGC fans may crab about it, but I thought the TV show had one major superior aspect: a developing story arc. The other part I loved is that it actually featured much more of Priss' developing music career outside her Knight Sabers time.
I'm personally going to re-tour the series and all the spin-offs soon.
An interesting bit of trivia: AIC had two planned OAV series to take over after BGC stopped. A lot of this was due in part to Kenichi Sonoda crabbing that the show was dominating his career and he left in a huff (he has a bit of a reputation of being difficult to work with). The OAV series "Genesis Survivor Giarth" was considered by AIC's producers to be a kind of far future result of Bubblegum Crisis...So you could consider it a very loose sequel. Also, another show created to capture BGS' fan demographic after BGC stopped was the original "Burn Up!" one-shot OAV. Burn Up!'s original incarnation never took off, but I loved it (never saw the remade OAV series, because it was just too different). I thought Giath's first episode was fantastic, but the subsequent two kinda stunk. And it seems most fans felt the same.
Tom Mitchell’s last blog post: tomzer1: @vrtualme Well darn. Still having 'net connection blues?
That's funny, because I remember sitting through a LOT of Priss music videos back in college when I would think "let's get to the robots!!" The first time I watched the BGC remake series I wasn't upset with the amount of the music, though--it was well balanced. I also feel like an over-arching storyline doesn't always help a series. Frankly, it's getting a little old, watching series-after-series where the characters have one big adventure in their lives. My life is a series of small adventures, so it'd be nice to see that reflected once in a while.
ReplyDeleteDamn $98 per episode?? I hope you guys were pooling your funds!!
I'll have to see if I can find Genesis Survivor Giarth. That's not related to "Genesis Climber Mospeada" is it?
Ha.
No more connected than "Full Metal Alchemist" is to "Full Metal Panic" I'm betting.
Thanks for the comment, as always, Tom!