Bubblegum Crisis (1987-1991) OVA Review and Retrospective - Episode 7: Double Vision

Double Vision is the seventh episode of the original Bubblegum Crisis series. It's directed by Katsuhito Akiyama, Hiroaki Gôda, Hiroki Hayashi, Masami Ôbari and Fumihiko Takayama; and written by Toshimichi Suzuki, Katsuhito Akiyama, Shinji Aramaki, Emu Arii, Hideki Kakinuma and Ken'ichi Matsuzaki; with the voices of Yoshiko Sakakibara, Kinuko Ômori, Michie Tomizawa and Akiko Hiramatsu.

A new combat Boomer is being produced by GENOM and the Gulf & Bradley Corporation. Meanwhile, popular singer Vision is coming to town, but this is a front, her real name is Reika and she is here to kill the people responsible for the Boomer who murdered her sister (as seen in episode 2 Born to Kill), however, Reika is too soft to murder anyone and hesitates when it comes to pull the trigger. The stakes are raised and the Sabers are in crisis with Priss having a broken arm, Nene is on the case at the A.D Police headquarters and Linna getting involved with Reika since she was a personal friend of her dear departed sister, Irene, persuading the well known singer to drop her plans for vengeance.

Another solid episode, one that returns to the musical roots of the show, but not with Priss, which would have been cool. I do think that having the main leads go through a lot of obstacles that knock them down a few notches in order to increase the tension of the conflicts is a very effective and well implemented trick to make the story more impactful and engaging due to its increased dramatic charge and having Linna become more of a focus is a also a very good decision because we get to spend some needed time with a mostly sidelined character in the past couple of episodes.

The weak spots are the routinary and dull stuff going on with Leon and the A.D Police, but that actually ends up paying off in the end. Some of the internal conflicts with the antagonists is interesting to a satisfying degree and a lot of it is more than necessary to the plot but it nearly always runs the risk of slowing down the pace and burying the main character's screentime, their development.

In addition to the usual well-crafted combat and riding sequences, we also have a few new tricks and flourishes such as the flashing and brief inside look at the exo suit when Priss gets her arm broken and some overly gory and brutal moments that are very in tune with the rest of the action but that are somewhat more highlighted here, increasing the despair and the misfortune of the characters. I also gotta commend the writers and directors for spicing up every battle scene and climax in the series making them feel distinct and never dragging on for long.

A very intriguing and captivating episode, giving some needed continuity to the show and closing some loose ends before the very last entry.

Bubblegum Crisis (1987-1991) OVA Review and Retrospective - Episode 6: Red Eyes

Red Eyes is the sixth episode of the original Bubblegum Crisis series. It's directed by Katsuhito Akiyama, Hiroaki Gôda, Hiroki Hayashi, Masami Ôbari and Fumihiko Takayama; and written by Toshimichi Suzuki, Katsuhito Akiyama, Shinji Aramaki, Emu Arii, Hideki Kakinuma and Ken'ichi Matsuzaki; with the voices of Yoshiko Sakakibara, Kinuko Ômori, Michie Tomizawa and Akiko Hiramatsu.

Mega Tokyo and the GENOM company are under attack by... The Knight Sabers? The Sabers have been committing crimes against the company but they are only Boomer imitators impersonating the main leads, tarnishing their reputation and putting GENOM's Executive Board in a desperate situation. The seedy Largo created these Boomers and a new breed of super-Boomers in order to deliver a steady strike against the Knight Sabers by pulling some GENOM strings. Largo also met with Anri and framed Priss for Sylvie's death. The humanoid bots were led by Largo to conquer humanity but the group seen in the last episode defected as they only wanted to live a prosperous life without hurting anyone. Meanwhile, Sylvie's death has marked Priss and she decides to quit the team deep in her grief. 

This episode was quite interesting considering how they decided to follow up the events of the previous chapter, giving us much stronger continuity than we have seen before in the series. The best part is that the consequences feel earned and organic, driving the tragic events in the last episode to the most logical conclusion and uniting them with the main storyline in a very potent dramatic thread that's as surprising as much as it makes sense, ending up being very effective. The feelings of guilt Priss has after her traumatic event are explored and resolved in a highly emotional and powerful manner, giving redemption and closure to more than one character.

On the flip side, we don't get much screentime for some of the other girls, most of them are sidelined because the plotline of the past episode didn't directly involve them. So much of the plot resides on Largo and his machinations as he navigates and manipulates the GENOM board members, setting his devious plans in motion. It's a bit captivating but it's not particularly what should have taken most of the runtime, in my opinion.

Aside from that, the animation in the blasting and shooting sequences is expertly handled once again, everything involving the mecha combat is magnificent. The fluid and explosive action thrills are well crafted and they are also supported by a great emphasis on sentimental conflicts and catharsis rather than just spectacle for the sake of it. The ending is kind of weak though, as some of the resolutions don't feel very strong or earned.

A mostly very emotionally driven episode with a good amount of excellent drama and action.