Baburugamu kuraishisu (1987) (V)

Directors:

Katsuhito Akiyama
Hiroaki Gôda

Writers:

Katsuhito Akiyama (writer)
Shinji Aramaki (writer)

Release Date:

25 February 1987 (Japan)

Genre:

Short | Sci-Fi | Animation

Plot:

A female mercenary team, armed with unique power armor suits, battle the forces of the corrupt mega-corporation, Genom in futuristic Tokyo.

Plot Keywords:

Power Armor | Anime | Cyberpunk | Superhero | Artificial Intelligence

Cast

Yoshiko Sakakibara	...	Sylia Stingray (voice)
Kinuko Ômori	...	Priscilla S. Asagiri 'Priss' (voice)
Michie Tomizawa	...	Linna Yamazaki (voice)
Akiko Hiramatsu	...	Nene Romanova (voice)
Nozomu Sasaki	...	Mackie Stingray (voice)
Toshio Furukawa	...	Leon McNichol (voice)
Kenyû Horiuchi	...	Daley Wong (voice)
Shûichi Ikeda	...	Brian J. Mason (voice)
Kiyoshi Kawakubo	...	Quincy (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Arnold	...	Quincy (voice: English version) (as David J. Arnold)
Elizabeth Becka	...	Linna Yamazaki (voice: English version)
Nicholas Bottom	...	Executive B (voice: English version)
Jack Bowden	...	Sings Of The Replicants, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Joyce Leigh Bowden	...	Interviewer, Sings Of The Relicants (singing voice)
Pierre Brulatour	...	Largo (voice: English version)
Jay Bryson	...	Captain, Ebisu Worker, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Dick Bunting	...	Miriam (voice: English version)
Katherine Burton	...	Ann (voice: English version) (as Katherine Kopec Burton)
Marshall Carroll	...	Dailey Wong (voice: English version)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Dr. Miriam Yoshida (episode 8) (voice)
Sean Clay	...	Company Man B, Executive A, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Annabelle Clifton	...	Harmonies For The Replicants, Sings Of The Replicants (voice: English version)
Clifton Daniel	...	Frederick (voice: English version) (as Daniel Clifton)
Ted Davis	...	Sho (voice: English version)
Chuck Denson Jr.	...	Announcer, Newscaster, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Kevin Dowling	...	Professor Stingray (voice: English version)
Jemila Ericson	...	Sylia (voice: English version)
Hadley Eure	...	Meg, Sings For The Replicants, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Mark Fincannon	...	Mr. Chang (voice: English version) (as Mark Finncannon)
Marc Garber	...	Retort, Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Mark Garber)
Nathan Gray	...	Guard 1 (voice: English version)
Susan Grillo	...	Nene (voice: English version)
Jon Gutman	...	Flint (voice: English version)
Kyôko Hamura	...	Sho (episode 3) (voice)
Zach Hanner	...	Gibson, Boomer, Kou, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Eddie Harrell	...	McLaren (voice: English version)
Maiko Hashimoto	...	Vision / Reika Chang (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara	...	Nam (episode 5) (voice)
Aya Hisakawa	...	Lisa Vanette (episode 8) (voice)
Tom Holmes	...	Doctor (voice: English version)
Geoffrey Honaker	...	Fargo (voice: English version)
Jean Hrdlicka	...	Irene Chang (voice: English version)
Miki Itô	...	Irene (episodes 2 & 7) (voice)
Hiroko Kasahara	...	Cynthia (episode 1) (voice)
Belinda Keller	...	Female Boomer, Nam, Naoko (voice: English version) (as Belinda Bizic)
Chuck Kinlaw	...	Kaufman, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
David Kraus	...	Chopper 3 Pilot, Police Chief, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Steve Lalla	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
J. Patrick Lawlor	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Barbara C. Lewis	...	ADP Commander (voice: English version)
David Long	...	Ebisu President (voice: English version)
Mindi L. Lyons	...	Naomi, Vision, Reika (voice: English version)
Tomoko Maruo	...	Meg (episode 5) (voice)
Loren Mash	...	Young Sylia (voice: English version)
Marc Matney	...	Bogey, Funk, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Yasunori Matsumoto	...	Kou (episode 7) (voice)
Michael McGovern	...	Manager (voice: English version) (as Mike McGovern)
Yûko Mizutani	...	Anri (episodes 5 & 6) (voice)
Brad Moranz	...	Leon McNichol (voice: English version)
Senri Nakajima	...	Sho's Mother (episode 3) (voice)
Sinda Nichols	...	Priss Asagiri (voice: English version)
Patt Noday	...	Deputy Commander, Outrider (voice: English version)
Kenichi Ogata	...	Raven
Teiji Ômiya	...	USSD Chief (episodes 1 & 2) (voice)
Eric Paisley	...	Mason (voice: English version)
Amy Parrish	...	Sho's Mother, Lisa, Harmonies Of The Replicants (voice: English version)
Elliot Preschutti	...	Ebisu Operator, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Steve Rassin	...	Checkpoint Guard, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Kevin Reilly	...	Staffer A, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Silivea Robinson	...	Sings Of The Replicants (voice: English version)
Masaharu Satô	...	Chief (voice)
Martha Ellen Senseney	...	Sylvie (voice: English version)
Kaneto Shiozawa	...	Gibson
Mayumi Shô	...	Naomi (episode 4) (voice)
Gray Sibley	...	Yamada, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Scott Simpson	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Sinterniklaas	...	Young Mackie, AD Police Officer, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Kazuyuki Sogabe	...	Largo (episodes 5 & 6) (voice)
Tammy Starling	...	Lou (voice: English version)
Matt Sullivan	...	Company Man A (voice: English version)
Yoshino Takamori	...	Sylvie (episode 5) (voice)
Urara Takano	...	Kate Madigan (voice)
Amanda Tancredi	...	ADP Receptionist, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Titterton	...	Dr. Raven (voice: English version)
Sophia Tolar	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Yumi Tôma	...	Lou (episode 5) (voice)
Frank Trimble	...	Mackie Stingray (voice: English version)
Hank Troscianiec	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Steve Vernon	...	Callahan, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Timothy J. Walsh	...	C&G Chairman (voice: English version)
Michael S. Way	...	Commander Swarz (voice: English version)
Cyndi Wheeler	...	Sings Of The Replicants (voice: English version)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Fargo
Emily Young	...	Kate (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Bubblegum Crisis

Runtime:

USA:25 min (8 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:12 (episodes 4-8) | UK:PG (episodes 1-3)

Trivia:

The scene in episode 6, where Largo shoots Quincy and discovers that he's an android, was a reference to a scene in Blade Runner which was scripted but not shot. After Roy killed Tyrell, he discovered that he was a replicant. The real Tyrell had been critically wounded in an accident, and was in cryogenic suspension.

Quotes:

Largo: Dead, eh? Or rather, I imagine it would be more exact to say it has ceased functioning. It IS a machine after all.
Priscilla S. Asagiri "Priss": You bastard!
[fires railgun]
Largo: [catching the spike] Is this all your anger amounts to?

Movie Connections:

References Streets of Fire (1984)

Soundtrack:

Bara No Soldier

Good stuff, but...

In a "Blade Runner" like future, four vigilante women - the Knight Sabers - assist the AD Police in fighting boomers, living machines not unlike the Replicants from "Blade Runner". The Knight Saber ring leader is Sylia Stingray, a rich, mysterious brunette who is the daughter of the man who created the boomers and whom might actually be a boomer herself. The others include rebellious biker girl Priss Asagiri, aerobics instructor Linna Yamazki and ADP computer hacker Nene. Other characters include ADP man Leon McNichol, a Brad Pitt like pretty boy with high ideals and a jerky attitude as well as a thing for Priss and with Leon is his hilarious partner Daley Wong. Oh and Sylia has a pervert whiz kid for a brother by name of Mackey. The villains include Quincy, chairman of GENOM, the company that produces the boomers, his right hand man Brian J. Mason (killed off too soon) and an obnoxious boomer man named Largo.

A good series overall, but being dated is the least of its problems. Originally slated for 13 episodes, it was cut short at episode 8, leaving many series plot threads unresolved. A sequel series, Bubblegum Crash, was concocted to solve this problem but it didn't help. Also the characters are never as well developed as you would like them to be. The most interesting character, the Knight Saber ringleader Sylia, is never completely explored. Linna had potential, but her subplot involving a friend who was apart of a mafia family was never resolved and most of the time Linna was just ignored. Nene was cute and funny but only had one episode to call her own, the last one. Sadly, most of the series attention was centered on Priss, who somehow became the most popular character of the series, so much in fact that although she was originally suppose to die, a fan backlash saved her; I think this was due partly to the fact that she was voiced by a then popular Japanese singer. But Priss herself was not that interesting of a character: all her episodes basically revolve around her seeking revenge for a minor character friend that we the audience sometimes didn't even get to know in depth. Priss became repetitive and dull after a certain point. I could never quite figure out what Leon saw in her.

But the series itself is not inherently bad. Animation is still pretty good in most of the eps (excluding the first one, which is a bit herky jerky, and the last one, in which the characters are drawn much too thinly) and it had an interesting theme on humanity VS technology.

Remade for TV as "Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040" in 1999. Hate to say it, but 2040 was superior in many ways, though not completely perfect in and of itself.