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.
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