This article is part of a web-original series
Marco Cian (Hyogo)
And we’re back! And so are the girls.
Yes, while the original Bubblegum Crisis DVD box set still sits lovingly on my shelf, I confess I had never even heard of this sequel to the original series until I started this review series. Once I realized there was a continuation of the story that had ended on such an open note, I at once felt a mixture of anticipation and wariness. Anticipation, because at last, here was the chance to finally give everybody a proper conclusion to their stories. But wariness because after so many years of loving the original BGC, how could any conclusion live up to my expectations? I remember the backlash to the Samurai Jack finale. But then again I quite enjoyed that. So who knows, thought I as I popped the library DVD into my player. Maybe I’ll enjoy this as well.
Bubblegum Crash
It’s been a full year since we last left our heroines. And in that interim, they’ve broken up. Sylia has disappeared. Priss’ band is finally starting to take off. Linna has gotten into the stock market. And only Nene seems truly invested in keeping the group together. Nene’s prayers are answered when Sylia returns out of the blue and announces that there’s something fishy going on with a recent spate of boomer malfunctions. Something fishy that perhaps only the Knight Sabers can deal with. Sylia has no idea how right she is, and as the band gets back together for one last ride, they’ll have to face their deadliest and most powerful foe yet!
The thing is, even though this is clearly a sequel to the original BGC, what with the time skip and the “Hey, remember this character?” style intros for each of the main cast, it fits right in as just another three-parter to add onto the original 8 episodes.
The only thing that really makes it stand out as a proper sequel installment instead of another batch of episodes in the same installment is that it’s clearly taking cues from ideas in the AD Police prequel series, as well as other cyberpunk works like I, Robot and Max Headroom (almost as though “Bargain Bin Blade Runner” was a common critique of the original series and the showrunners took it to heart). I know I ragged on AD Police for all its weird sex stuff, but honestly, if making that was what allowed the production team to make Crash what it was, I consider the whole exercise worth it.
It was great seeing the girls and the pigs boys again. This time around everyone knows that they’re the strongest parts of BGC, and so the showrunners are intent on giving them focus and satisfying endings. But they also take time to focus on the effects that boomer tech has had on society.
GENOM, funnily enough, is never even mentioned in this series, but we get to see boomers being used for various functions, and how normal humans interact with them on a daily basis. We also see some Dickish ways (as in, reminiscent of the works of Philip K. Dick, of course) in which society has gotten suckier, what with the shooting range at the AD Police being replaced with an arcade shooter because the new chief has a stake in the game company, or how the response from the government when news of an incoming disaster breaks is to immediately and publicly head for safety shuttles instead of trying to help.
Also, Crash answers the great, gaping plot hole left from the previous series of just who the hell that mysterious purple-haired dude was. Y’know, the one with superpowers who showed up, wrecked a bunch of GENOM shit, and then promptly fucked off, never to be seen again? Yes, at last in this grand finale, all is revealed!
However, this leads into the series’ biggest weakness.
See, the purple-haired dude leads a slave revolt of boomers against their oppressors. And while it’s made clear that the boomers are only revolting because purple guy’s virus got into them, all the time spent showing how boomers are exploited by society means that I actually found myself sympathizing with the robots. They really are an oppressed slave class, and when you have our heroines being not just complicit in this system, but in Priss’ case actively hostile towards boomers, they start to look not all that heroic.
It reminds me of a criticism that that Hbomberfellow talked about with RWBY, how the show can’t actually delve too deeply into the idea of Faunus oppression, because doing so would highlight the protagonists’ complicity in that oppression, thus making them less sympathetic. And sure, the whole “boomers only revolt when a virus gets into them” plot point mitigates this somewhat, but not enough in my opinion.
All that said, I wouldn’t call this a dealbreaker, just a weakness of the series. I still loved watching this. With a set plan, confidence, and knowledge of what works for these characters and world, the showrunners are able to deliver a really satisfying story in the BGC world, and a perfect finale to things. To quote Priss’ manager, I’d call Bubblegum Crash “ultra dyna mega bitchin’!” It’s everything I could have hoped for, and I’m glad this is the note things ended on.
So, with that out of the way, let’s get to
Is this a Cyberpunk?
Cyberpunk is about the little people – Moreso than in BGC, but that’s kind of a problem, since Crash establishes how in this world, the boomers are the real little people. Even the poorest human trash in this world enjoys privilege over them. But in this world the slave revolt must be put down.
Cyberpunk is pessimistic – Yes, but purely unintentionally. The intent of this story was highly optimistic, trying to give our girls a happy ending and conclusion to their arcs and everything. But the implications about the system of exploitation continuing is a bit of a downer.
Cyberpunk isn’t about changing the world – “Sigh” True that. And I thought TekWar was pro-establishment cyberpunk.
Cyberpunk is set in today, turned up to 11 – Well, it’s a continuation of a world that was the 80s turned up to 11, but this came out in the 90s, after Japan’s own bubble economy had burst, so in some ways it’s actually kind of nostalgic. Like, instead of a future that could be, it’s one that might have been.
Cyberpunk wants to look cool – And when it’s the Knight Sabers, you know it succeeds!
So long girls. I guess I’ll see you in the reboot.
So, now that the pattern of this series is pretty well-established, you’re probably wondering what the next, non-BGC cyberpunk anime I’ll be covering here is. However, the answer may surprise you.