Bubblegum Crash (1991) Anime OVA Series Review

Bubblegum Crash is a 1991 action science fiction Cyberpunk OVA series. It's a direct continuation of Artmic's anime series Bubblegum Crisis, with designs by Kenichi Sonoda, with additional guest character design work by Hiroaki Gōda. The series was done after anime production company Youmex split with Artmic and the later began production on a continuation series, some fans theorizing these last three episodes were originally intended to be the finale. Toshimichi Suzuki created the original story but writing duties went to Emu Arii this time and the series also changed directors since Crash was directed by Hiroshi Ishiodori and Yukihiro Matsushita. The cast includes Yoshiko Sakakibara, Ryôko Tachikawa, Michie Tomizawa, Akiko Hiramatsu and Toshio Furukawa.

Set one year after the events of the original series, the Knight Sabers are now living life peacefully after the extermination of the boomers. Priss seems to be doing well as a singer and her career is about to blow up according to her manager, Linna became a stockbroker and got rich and Nene still works for the AD Police and is constantly on the lookout for any strange event. Sylia comes out of the shadows and reunites the team when powerful boomers begin having violent encounters in the streets, prompting the girls to get back into their exo-suits and battle the mechanical menaces.

A very faithful and respectable sequel to the original show that picks up the interesting parts of it and runs with them immediately and without much to lose. There aren't that many iconic fights or needle drops as in the first one but the most recognizable elements shine in this continuation. Since it has the hindsight of knowing when it will end the episodes have a more concise and recognizable structure to them, the writers know how to organize the episodes and what beats to touch at different points of the extensive episodes. It's not self-conclusive like each chapter of the first show but it's also not a strongly cohesive plotline either, being a very weird middle ground between the two.

Most of the characters come back and they recapture their charm and lovable attitude. I would even say that I am glad they dedicate more time to the leading girls as a group as we see them interacting once more together as friends. Their bond is strong and their chemistry is quite wonderful. There are no sudden shifts in their personality or their backstories, mostly just sticking to the characterization we already knew. They don't alter the status quo as much either, whatever changes we are presented with are mostly irrelevant or minor.

The animation is just as solid as ever and the team really did their best to keep it in line with the visual style and flavor of the first series, it feels mostly the same but you can tell some corners were cut for the sake of keeping the workflow going. It's barely noticeable but some people might see some minor flaws or odd frames here and there. Other than that the animation skills on display are on the upper tiers even if it's not outstanding or groundbreaking. 

With a nice soundtrack, attractive visuals and the same cyberpunk spirit that gave its predecessor its charm, Bubblegum Crash is a highly recommended piece of sci-fi anime with cool battle sequences and a nice handling of its inherited, but memorable, characters. If you enjoyed Crisis you will definitely enjoy this one, even if part of its edge was diluted.

Gall Force: New Era (1991-1992) Anime OVA Series Review

Gall Force: New Era is a science fiction anime OVA series that was released from 1991 to 1992 and has only two episodes, forty minutes each. It 's the sixth entry in the Gall Force media franchise and is the last one to feature the same creative team that involves writer Hideki Kakinuma and director Katsuhito Akiyama. Voice actress Naoko Watanabe returns as Catty but we also have in the cast Miki Ishioka, Chisa Yokoyama, Yuri Shiratori, Kaoru Shimamura and Nozomu Sasaki.

In a futuristic Earth in the year 2085, reincarnations of all of the girls (now called Ruby, Crys, Pearl and Diamond) with slightly different designs (by Kenichi Sonoda again) meet after a disaster caused by the GORN, AI that wants to destroy humanity, rises after 200 years to attack the new world. Led by Catty, the group escapes their city in a starship and must now battle the machines.

Going from space battles to post-apocalyptic ground combat, we now found ourselves in another conventional setting: the futuristic, technologically advanced world on the edge of crisis. While several space operas and pulp stories had space as setting, we never quite saw anything like the original Gall Force setting and world, but by the time we arrive at the sixth entry in the series it's very evident that it slowly turned more and more traditional and borderline indistinguishable from other science fiction stories like Dirty Pair or Bubblegum Crisis (the Kenichi Sonoda designs help to make it feel part of that series as well), but while it manages to find some ways to relate it to the Gall Force mythos and lore, it does feel like a natural evolution.

If you noticed, the girls resemble their original versions a lot more in their designs, and they were also given more outward gestures or reactions that add personality to the girls with their exaggerated expressions (this was never “missing” from other entries but it was increased here). Their roles are also more faithful to Eternal Story but since we now get to have a "fall of civilization" type of story we get to see some of their previous normal lives before joining the war against the robots. This context was pretty much missing from almost every other entry since all of them dropped us in the middle of their armed conflicts. With this in mind, I can see why some people might get more invested and might enjoy this one if they felt Eternal Story lacked explanations and strong characterizations.

The conflicts and clashes between the characters are a bit more pronounced than in Eternal Story but it usually doesn't really go anywhere particularly new or different, they are mostly there to give you a sense of how the team behaves and what they are able to do in such an extreme situation. The villain isn't anything interesting and he's the lamest part of the two episodes. Also, the animation from episode to episode is inconsistent and there’s a drop in quality in the second episode, things look flatter, movements are a bit stiffer and the colors arent quite there. This isn't a dealbreaker for me because I thought the designs were cute and I understood that the budget issues and time constraints are normal in anime so I was more forgiving but it could be distracting for others.

New Era highlights an idea inherent to Gall Force and that was an important subtext to its stories: the value and importance of human life (as a collective, a group, a race) on earth, and the sacrifices we are willing to make in order to fight for our species. The ending is kind of bittersweet, in part because of the nature of the story but also because, while a beautiful idea, it's not really much of an ending, it's more of a way to do the same set up we have seen in the first three movies. So it feels sort of like a lot of steps just to get to the same place or repeat the same old thing.

I can probably recommend this one if you had some issues with the first movie. This one has a few drawbacks, mostly because it’s a long set-up rather than a complete epic storyline, but it’s more than watchable. If you liked the previous series and OVA’s then you will most likely have a good time with New Era as well.