Product Details

• Actors: Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, Satsuki Yukino, Rio Natsuki, Hiroko Konishi, Kiyoyuki Yanada
• Format: Animated, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Unknown), Spanish (Unknown)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Section 23
• DVD Release Date: September 12, 2000
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004VVOJ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,378 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Genesis (Vol. 1)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Adv Films Release Date: 09/12/2000 Run time: 100 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic anime series reborn for the 21st century., July 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Genesis (Vol. 1) (DVD)

BUBBLEGUM CRISIS is one of the most beloved anime series of all time. It features the exploits of four beautiful vigilantes in powered armor-suits battling renegade androids and the evil Genom corporation. BGC 2040 is not a continuation of the original series, but rather a brand-new re-telling of the story with an expanded plotline, more mature themes, a darker mood, and start-of-the-art modern animation. The characters are basically the same, but they are given new appearances and attitudes.

Anyone who loved the original BGC will probably love BGC 2040 even more--it has everything the original series had, but more and better. BGC 2040 is so well-done that even people who didn't care for the original might like this new series. The DVD release doesn't appear to promise much in the way of extras, but it will feature multiple voice channels and subtitles. The Japanese voice actors are so superior that they must be heard for the maximum viewing experience--it's worth putting up with the subtitles to hear them voice their wonderful characters Sylia, Linna, Priss, and Nene.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome back Bubblegum Crisis!, November 6, 2000

By 

M. Scott Walters "-mscott-" (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Genesis (Vol. 1) (DVD)

The hard suits may look the same, but the faces have changed...

Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 is not a sequel to the classic Bubblegum Crisis, but a recreation of the characters and story concept into a new series. The hard suits will look familiar to fans of the original Bubblegum Crisis (BGC), but almost everything else has been re-done. Fans of an original always fret (and rightfully so) when a re-make appears on the scene, but this first release in the series is quality work and prime anime.

So what's the same and what's different? Looking just at the broad strokes, most of the major characters are the same as from the original BGC. Although you're in for some changes, Sylia, Priss, Nene, and Leon are all fairly familiar and in-keeping with the same basic roles you remember, only changing as you look closer. Linna is the big surprise out of the bunch. In the original series, she was the Knight Sabre who was always just "there" (never any stories about her or any depth of character). In 2040, she's become the central character. The storyline of this first DVD in the series is how Linna comes to Tokyo and eventually joins the Knight Sabres. Of the rest of the cast, Priss has gone from aloof and rough to almost completely cold and detached, hardly uttering more than a half-dozen lines an episode. Leon, too, has gone down on the happiness scale, becoming more brooding and angry. Sylia has gone the other direction, seemingly more flighty, although no less driven and showing some extreme emotions. Nene is probably the least changed of the group, gaining just a bit more aggressiveness. The music has moved away from pop to get a bit more techno. It doesn't have the same "big 80s" catchiness the original series soundtrack had, but it's still good stuff.

2040 is probably a cut ahead of the original with respect to the animation. The work is sharper and more detailed, showing that it's up to speed with the times. Another plus is the storyline with the "boomers" (the robots/androids that the protagonists hunt down when they go berserk - 'Blade Runner' is one of the influences for the original BGC). This is the central premise of the story, after all, and was one point in the original that sometimes came across as a bit weak. In the original, the boomers were all but invisible except when they "went bad." You'd occasionally see them as bodyguards or hear of them being used for the military, but otherwise you never saw them unless the Knight Sabres were fighting them. It never seemed like they had a use in society which justified the risk of their going berserk. 2040, however, shows the boomers and their visible role in society, kicking up the believability of the story a notch, and so far seems to be laying out more of a justification for "mad" boomers (something else the original glossed over a bit).

Lastly, I can think of a couple of things on the negative side. One is just a small complaint about the transfer to DVD - in doing so, they kept in the commercial "headers" that ran just before and after what I presume were station breaks when this was originally aired on Japanese TV. The headers feature a prominent music rift and get pretty annoying after the second time or so (especially as they are just randomly there in the middle of the episode). Why leave these in? Somebody dropped the ball in not trimming those out, I'd say. The other worry is the new feature of the hard suits having a short battery life. This may be ok and seems more realistic, but it smacks of bad '70s sci fi TV where the hero always had some annoying weakness that came up EVERY SINGLE episode. An Achilles' heel is fine, but overuse gets old fast. Hopefully they won't overdo it. Overall, some great anime and nothing to diminish the original BGC. This one gets a place on the shelf all its own. Bring on volume 2, and if you haven't seen the original, go get that too!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where Have You Gone, Hurricane?, January 27, 2001

By 

Some Guy (Los Angeles, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Genesis (Vol. 1) (DVD)

First of all, let me say that everything I'm about to write is based on nothing more than the first four episodes of Bubblegum Crisis 2040 contained on this DVD. A lot of my opinions might very well have to be changed if I see more of it.

If I am to judge this series by itself - it's very good anime. One of the strongest aspects of this series, I believe, is the animation. Incredibly sharp images - aided by tons of computer animation I'm sure - tell of the genesis of the vigilante/mercenary group Knight Sabers. In this incarnation, Linna plays a central role (under the "profiles" section in extras, she is labeled as - believe it or not - the "wild card of the group"). Four characters - Sylia, Linna, Priss, and Nene - are all sharply drawn, not only visually, but in terms of personality as well. The fighting is sharp and violent - visually highly exciting and enjoyable, if regrettably tend to be somewhat short in duration. Overall, the atmosphere of the series comes quite close to AD Police - a vision of the future that is very dark and painful. The suffering, the inner turmoil of the characters is almost an tangible thing - it gives them great depth that far surpasses most TV show characters, live or animated. The story is shaping up to be good as well: somewhat Batman-esque (what with the secret hideout and aging loyal servant and all), fighting against the ominous looking "Tower" that is Genom. The opening and closing animation are probably the best I've ever seen. Especially the closing animation - which shows random images on a TV screen that sometimes go blank - inexplicably evokes the memory of the movie "Strange Days" and William Gibson's famous opening line in "Neuromancer" in me.

If - and I'm sure this is what 90% of you are interested in hearing - I'm to judge this series relative to the original BGC 2032, I'll still say this is a very good anime. But no more than quite a few other "very good" animes out there. No, it's not GREAT, like the original. I still remember the first time the stage lights came on in "Hot Legs" and Priss opened the greatest anime series ever with a exhilarating performance of "Tonight Hurricane." You can just feel it - there's something magical in the air. This time? It's like discovering a favorite childhood toy that you had thought you lost years ago: it looks familiar, feels familiar, even sounds familiar - but the feeling, the joy, the magic that enveloped you all those years ago when you first received it, is gone forever.

Many other reviewers have commented on how the characters have changed. I completely agree. Linna is a much better character now: lively, forceful, somewhat insecure but never shy to let her thoughts be known. However, as far as I'm concerned, Priss and Sylia - the two most importantly and beloved Sabers in 2032 - have just been uttered ruined. The Priss we have come to love - passionate, emotional, somewhat of a loose-cannon, a "shoot-first-ask-question-later" but very caring in a "I-don't-want-to-admit-it-unless-forced-to" kinda gal - has just vanished. The new Priss has a face cold as her hardsuit and hardly ever utters a word. Sylia in 2032 is one of most sublime characters ever in anime. She is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, pulling strings behind the scene while providing a much-needed psychological anchor for the other three. Her beauty emanates from an almost unshakable sense of control, confidence, and subtle strength. The new Sylia not only couldn't serve as a quiet anchor to others, she could hardly get a firm grasp on herself. Seemingly suffering from some form of bipolar disorder, one moment she is cheerful like Nene, another she explodes in inexplicable rage. The only Saber who hasn't changed much is Nene. But this really is a bad thing, since her "comic relief" role here just seems horribly out of place in this world so full of pain and anger. Leon, the happy-go-lucky policeman in 2032, now for some reason constantly displays positively frightening anger. Even the Tower is different now: the old Tower reeks of arrogance, but its color and lights blends in with the rest of the city very well, especially during night; the new Tower seems to have no sense of subtlety. It's practically screaming at the viewers: "I'm incredibly evil!"

One could go on and on about such things. But please don't get the impression that all these add up to be a bad anime. It's just not THE Bubblegum Crisis anymore. I doubt if anything can be THE BGC again. Sometimes when the magic is gone, I guess there is just nothing one can do.