Customer Reviews

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, Collection 2 - Ghosts and Demons

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If you've already seen the excellent OVAs and follow-up "Bubblegum Crash Series" & are expecting much of the same with Bubblegum Crisis 2040, then you are in for a big disappointment. With many changes from its 2 predecessors, BGC 2040 is an inferior re-make in every way. The wise and elder Sylia Stingray is now 24-years old with long hair. She is less prudent than her original counterpart, and suffers from vioelnt mood swings. Nene now dons short, blonde hair, and is mostly stuck at AD Police HQ where she still works. Linna has been relegated to a coffee-serving secretary office worker who has her hands full trying to ward off the unwelcome advances of her boss. Priss is essentially the only one unchanged from the original. She, along with Linna, are always out fighting GENOM and the Boomers. Nene usually gives them reconnaissance support from her station at AD Police. Sylia, for her part, directs the Sabers' actions from homebase. Also gone are the humorous banter and cameraderie that would always unite are beloved heroines in Battle. In its place are 4 individuals with streaks as dark as their cynicism for life, and who are more than interested in fighting for their own personal gains than a common goal.The animation is very lackluster. It may be cleaner than the original as 2040 supporters will claim, but is also less consistent. The world of BGC 2040 is a sterile one. There are hardly any movements other than those by the principal characters; they seem to makeup the entire populace of Tokyo 2040(where have all the crowds from the original BGC Crisis & BGC Crash gone?). Any other background movement consists mostly of the camera panning back and forth over still images. People and Boomers might seem detailed one moment, and cartoonish the next. In contrast, the original's animation was more lively with people and objects moving, lights flashing in the background. The original also had a better plot and great soundtrack, which were noticible missing from 2040. AnimEigo, the U.S. distributor of the original BGC and BG Crash, was actually given first crack at BGC 2040, but passed when they found it was below their standards. I find it very annoying that whenever AnimEigo releases a classic animated series, ADV follows up by acquiring then horrible re-makes. Such is the case with the wonderful "You're Under Arrest", resurrected as insipid, 5-minute "mini-specials" that ended up making ADVs catalog. ADV should stop relying on the past glory of products, and get back to the basics that made it a well-repsected importer of Anime during the early 1990s. That was a time when it introduced us to such memorable fare as "Devil Hunter Yokho", "Battle Angel", and the endearing "All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku"! Unless you are willing to slog through 11 boring hours of bland and uninspiring TV, I can't find any other good reason to recommend this watered-down dreck. 1 out of 5 stars.