Essential Anime: Bubblegum Crisis 2040 DVD, Vol. I

El Cosmico here, with a review of an anime DVD that is not to be missed. Essential anime viewing.

Released this week on DVD from ADVFilms, are the first four episodes of Bubblegum Crisis 2040, the lengthier, more thorough version of the original (1987) Bubblegum Crisis series, which is still available from Animeigo, and is highly recommended as well, comprising a total of three discs, for a total of thirteen episodes.

BGC 2040 is a bit lengthier, and made in 1998. It takes the original concept, and completely retells it, starting earlier, and ending later, all the while being more linear than the first series as well. The length? Well, the first two VHS tapes had three episodes each, the following NINE tapes have two episodes a piece. Twenty-four episodes. Here's some more math for you...with each VHS tape costing 24.95US for the English dub and 29.95US for the Japanese sub version, well, I think you can see the economy of getting four episodes at a time on DVD at an MSRP of 29.95US. Not only does it look much better, you'll save a ton of money collecting the whole series. Now, the company line, the liner notes for the first few episodes:

In the aftermath of the great earthquake, one ruthless corporation stands ready to take over the devastated city of Tokyo with an army of synthetic monsters. Only one small band of female mercenaries is ready to stand against the monolithic power of Genom, but in this case four women are all it takes! Armed with the most incredible combat suits ever designed, the Knight Sabers wage a desperate war in the shadows, combating the monstrous by-products of technology run amuck with courage, sweat and blood. It's a deadly trial by fire as the acclaimed cyberpunk masterpiece is reborn in a new action-packed series!

Face to face with the automated insanity of a mad boomer, the newest Knight Saber learns the limit of her hard suit in a traumatic exchange of mechanical fury. Genom unleashes a new wave of rogue Boomers, and the AD Police declare open war on the Knight Sabers! A bloody street battle is the only way out as, trapped in a maze of intrigue carefully laid by conspiring foes, the vigilante heroines fight to survive. Sylia's brother Mackey joins the team as the whole town goes up in flames in the second stunning volume of Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040!

BGC 2040 is hardcore. While the series gets notably slower in the middle, the beginning of this series is so thoroughly satisfying, I found myself having trouble deciding whether I like it or the original series better. Of course, I highly recommend the original series, and I urge you to get it as well. There are so many things to appreciate, cool characters, generally faster pacing, and a better assault on the ADPolice tower, so this new series by no means serves as a complete replacement. What it does well, though, is go into greater detail, back story, use an actual story arc, and use more modern animation and audio recording methods. In other words, the two series complement each other well, and to be honest, I consider both the old AND new series to be essential parts of the serious anime collector's library. In any case, the original series has long been considered a defining element of modern anime.

First off, we meet the characters earlier, and their designs are slightly re-done. For those of you who've seen the original series, well, in 2040, Leon is more frustrated and hard-core, Linna Yamazaki is a newcomer from out of town, and only gradually joins the Knight Sabers (the team of tricked-out chicks in Mech-Suits that fights evil). Silia is, well, still moody, running a boutique, Nene still doesn't fight too well, and still works for the ADP, and Priss, well, Priss is a bit more of a mercernary, a bit more sexy. All of the characters are more well-defined.

Basically, the liner notes tell the tale, without giving too much away. Four chicks in badass mech-suits what kick butt for justice. The disc itself is a product of quality and care. Solid (not spectactular, but solid) audio tracks, the Japanese track is of course preferable and excellent, but the English track was surprisingly good, with some... interesting translations. For example, "Leon-chan kowaii." (Leon's so scary) is dubbed in English as "Leon's a great big poo-head." Sounds odd, but it works. One of the things that impressed me the most about the dub was the good sense with which the dialogue was re-written into English. Unlike a great many dubs, this dialogue actually sounds like natural, native-spoken American English. Well done. The English voice actors, too, deserve a great deal of credit for providing good work all around.

Most delightful on this disc, though, is the excellent, well, just about flawless video transfer. There's not a whole lot more to say, other than, it's a shame to watch this series on tape when the DVD looks so beautiful. Menus are fine, the layout is simple, with character profiles, episode and audio track selections. Sort of bare-bones. Hopefully future discs will improve on the menu situation.

Anyway, this disc is awesome because of the content and transfer quality, not the menus. It's a fine series with plenty of mainstream appeal, that remains true to its anime roots, and the lot of you should check it out. It hits the stores this week. GO!