Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Buried Secrets (Vol. 4)

Rating:
Summary: Good Remake
Review: I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Good Remake
Review: I just finished watching this series, so I've decided to review it. This series is a remake of the original 8-episode "Bubblegum Crisis" OAV series. It's 26 episodes long and spans six DVDs. The first four DVDs contain four episodes each, and the fifth and sixth DVDs contain five episodes each. There are some nice extras, such as character profiles and voice actor credits. However, there is no credits list for the English Sylia voice actor. Credits for the Spanish voice actors would have been nice, too. The DVDs are trilingual, containing Japanese, English, and Spanish audio tracks. The opening and closing songs are in Japanese on all three tracks, and the in-episode songs are dubbed into English only. The Spanish track contains the Japanese audio of the songs. The English dub isn't quite as accurate as for the original "Bubblegum Crisis". My advice is to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles first and then in English. Sometimes, I like to watch DVDs in English with English subtitles. It allows me to easily see the changes in dialogue. With only two songs for the opening and closing credits, it would have been nice to dub them into English, but this wasn't done. As for the series itself, I won't say that it's better than the original series. It isn't, but it isn't worse either. Some things are the same, and some things are different. All of the character designs and voice actors (Japanese and English) are different. My one complaint about the character designs is that some characters, most notably Priss, have pale skin with no explanation, though Priss does sometimes appear darker. The series takes place in another universe than the original series. There is plenty of character development. The series doesn't focus on music as much as the original does, and the 2040 techno remix of "Konya wa Hurricane" doesn't appear in the series. The music that does appear is more techno and punk than the original music. Unfortunately, the final episode suffers from the same problem as the final episode of "Street Fighter II V". Too much time is devoted to fighting and visual effects. While the ending of this series is more satisfying (all of the characters return to Earth alive and well) than that of SF2V, they could have cut a lot of the visual effects and shown the Knight Sabers reuniting. Instead, the series ends with Sylia, Mackie, and Nigel at Sylia's old house; Leon apparently in a bar somewhere else; Nene and Linna on a tropical island; and Priss in the desert, singing. While we can assume that Sylia will go out looking for the others and find them, we aren't shown this. All of the hard suits except for Sylia's are trashed. Will she make new ones? Unlike SF2V, this series doesn't waste time with redundancies or episode recaps. Also, each episode is longer than episodes of SF2V. So, while this series is three episodes shorter than SF2V, it's actually longer. Overall, this is an enjoyable series, but the ending could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Bubblegum Crisis fans must have this!!!
Review: If you have seen the original Bubblebum this is 10 years later and the gang has some new toys. The 2040 series is more in-depth into the creation of the boomers and the Knight Sabers. If you thought Priss hated Boomers before check this one out. If you are a first time Bubblegummer all the DVDs are great seperate but all tie together for a blast and crash filled show that will make you rush for the next episode. In 3 words "GET IT NOW"

Rating:
Summary: out of the ashes....
Review: Mysterious clues about Sylia's past begin to surface as the Knight Sabers are drawn into a deadly race to discover a missing research facility. But even as they near their objective, the team starts falling apart as the real reasons for the Knight Sabers' existence come into question.

Underneath the ruins of old Tokyo, the ultimate nightmare begins to awake as an long-buried secret turns into a deadly trap. The last relics of law and order are blown to ashes and dust as Mason unleashes Dr Stingray's most horrifying creation - Galatea.

The stunning fourth installment of BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040.

Rating:
Summary: out of the ashes....
Review: Mysterious clues about Sylia's past begin to surface as the Knight Sabers are drawn into a deadly race to discover a missing research facility. But even as they near their objective, the team starts falling apart as the real reasons for the Knight Sabers' existence come into question.

Underneath the ruins of old Tokyo, the ultimate nightmare begins to awake as an long-buried secret turns into a deadly trap. The last relics of law and order are blown to ashes and dust as Mason unleashes Dr Stingray's most horrifying creation - Galatea.

The stunning fourth installment of BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040.

Rating:
Summary: Simply put: Wow
Review: The earlier volumes were good; this one's great.

The story begins to open up as we are hit with mysteries, dangers, and revelations. From the word go I was glued to the television, itching for the answers to my questions. I swear, I thought the suspense was going to kill me.

This volume doesn't have as much action as the earlier volumes, but it doesn't need it. There's excellent drama here. I especially like how Nene's place seems reversed; in the last volume, Nene was looked down upon, but here, she's the one who becomes disgusted and disappointed. It's an interesting reversal of roles.

To sum up, this volume is fantastic. Careful though; you'd better buy volumes 5 and 6 while you're at it, or you'll be left hanging, desperate to find out what happens next. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A strong show gets even stronger
Review: This is the fourth BGC 2040 DVD, containing episodes 13 through 16. Where the previous episodes were largely individual and episodic (with a glimpse here and there of the larger world), this volume expands the focus and starts to reveal what's going on. The main plot arc, somewhat buried, now clearly predominates. Sylia's mood swings, Mackey's reason for returning to Sylia's life, the origin of the hardsuits, and Mason's obsession with the buried work of Sylia's father--all of these are explained.

What's left, you might ask, since there are ten more episodes? Without spoiling anything, as good as this collection is--and continuing the pattern, it's the best so far--the pieces are only now in place for the real conflict. Even if you just casually liked the show up to this point, you will not want to wait for the conclusion. Additionally, on a technical level, the show is much slicker: the animation gets better with later episodes (usually the opposite is true), and those rather cheesy 3D computer graphics effects are gone or nearly so. It's a rare show that consistently improves, as BGC 2040 does. The first disc left me a doubter, but having continued through this point, BGC 2040 is one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: A strong show gets even stronger
Review: This is the fourth BGC 2040 DVD, containing episodes 13 through 16. Where the previous episodes were largely individual and episodic (with a glimpse here and there of the larger world), this volume expands the focus and starts to reveal what's going on. The main plot arc, somewhat buried, now clearly predominates. Sylia's mood swings, Mackey's reason for returning to Sylia's life, the origin of the hardsuits, and Mason's obsession with the buried work of Sylia's father--all of these are explained.

What's left, you might ask, since there are ten more episodes? Without spoiling anything, as good as this collection is--and continuing the pattern, it's the best so far--the pieces are only now in place for the real conflict. Even if you just casually liked the show up to this point, you will not want to wait for the conclusion. Additionally, on a technical level, the show is much slicker: the animation gets better with later episodes (usually the opposite is true), and those rather cheesy 3D computer graphics effects are gone or nearly so. It's a rare show that consistently improves, as BGC 2040 does. The first disc left me a doubter, but having continued through this point, BGC 2040 is one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: The begining of the end.
Review: This is where the series gets good. You have to see the previous episodes to really appretiate the events that unfold here. The previous episodes were seemingly just that. Episodes. However in the main stories, they were always giving bits and pieces to the puzzle of the main agenda of the story arc. If you've seen the other series before this part, and are wondering if this is worth the buy...then wonder no longer. This is truely where the story, and the action gets good.