This new Vampirella Christmas Special was written by Frank Tieri (several Deadpool comics, Red Sonja comics, Vampironica New Blood) and illustrated by Mariano Benitez Chapo (Savage Tales 2022) and Pasquale Qualano (Hell Sonja, Samurai Sonja, Gargoyles Quest, Harley Quinn Road Trip Special).
First we see Vampirella arrive at a house just in time to save some kids from an evil, bloodthirsty Santa Claus with fangs. We are introduced to the narrator: Snowman Steve, who tells the story of how this came to be. Elves and workers at Santa's workshop have been dying recently, a vampire is the prime suspect. However, Ms. Claus doesn't believe it. Vampirella is then called in to stop the newly vampiric Santa Claus once and for all.
It's a hilarious and irreverent Christmas satire, it hits all the expected bits (Santa's workshop being exploitive, Santa being sleazy with a bad marriage) but executes the jokes with such good writing that it makes them refreshing once more. Some quick and witty humor, sometimes with references but never to an annoying degree.It's short but charismatic, Vampirella is her usual cheeky self and causes a lot of carnage.
It's a clever and well done alternative Christmas special that its audience can appreciate. If you like Vampirella, you can get this one and have a good time.
Bubblegum Crisis was a Japanese OVA cyberpunk series created by Toshimichi Suzuki. It follows a group of women who dress up in mechanical exoskeletons, they are known as the Knight Sabers, and battle against biomechanical villains (mainly robotic beings named Boomers) in a futuristic Japan in the not-too-distant future year of 2032. The concept was tested by Suzuki in 1982 as Techno Police 21C, which had a similar concept. Suzuki took inspiration from a variety of sci-fi action media like Streets of Fire, Blade Runner and maybe a bit of Mad Max, to the point of recreating the opening sequence of Streets of Fire in this first episode, which makes for a highlight.
The central characters are all distinct and colorful (literally), all of them designed by the great Ken'ichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats, Gall Force, Wanna-Be’s).
We have Priss, a singer and dancer who also likes motorcycles and is sort of the focus of the show. There's Sylia, the leader of the Knight Sabers and daughter of the scientist who created the Boomers. Syl has the technology to fight the creatures and runs a lingerie shop as a cover. Linna is a stylish but formal woman, an aerobics instructor who was recruited. Nene is a short, pink haired girl who works for the police force. Mackie is the male of the team and he is an assistant (works mostly from the headquarters). A very lovely line up that we will explore in the following retrospectives.
This first episode introduces us to the world in quite an astounding way. A lot of establishing shots and a captivating sequence that features Priss preparing for her show and singing Hurricane. At the same time, there's a boomer attack that's stopped by one of the Knight Sabers in their iconic armor. After the concert, Priss encounters policeman Leon McNichol, who develops a crush on her.
The girls meet and discuss their next mission: to rescue a mysterious little girl named Cynthia, but the strange thing is that the kidnappers happen to be Boomers (that's not the only surprise).
It's hard to do justice to these classics, but I gotta say that it's praised and placed among the very best OVA anime series that you can find for many good reasons. I loved the simple but effortlessly conveyed story that is impeccably illustrated and expressed by its gorgeous visuals, via dynamic, detailed and fluidly animated action sequences. The tone that it manages to create purely on audiovisual terms is both melancholic, energetic, dazzling and rhythmic.
You can see that Priss takes pretty much center stage here, indicating that she is gonna be the main character, the director seems to be very much in love with her as well. Not a bad choice but, as we will see, all of the girls will get their time to shine. We get to see some of their dramatic backstories (mostly Sylia's) as well as comedic moments done through silly decisions that say a lot about the characters involved.
At 47 minutes this episode is a bit packed because it has to establish and set up a lot of stuff, like the world, the characters, backgrounds, the politics, the lore and the dynamics between all of those things and how they relate to each other. A great start that I totally recommend to anyone interested.
