Bubblegum Crisis

List creator: Shaky Created on: April 17, 2004 - 10:08 AM PDT Description: The different stories set in the BGC world can be a little confusing, so I've tried to sort them out. They're grouped in the list by either the 2032 storyline or the 2040 retelling of the original story. Enjoy!

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	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	Bubblegum Crisis - Ep. 1-3 (1987)
The original series, set in the year 2032, about a group of female vigilantes (the Knight Sabers) who use powered suits to fight robots called "Boomers" or "Voomers."
	Bubblegum Crisis - Ep. 4-6 (1987)
You don't necessarily have to start with this series, because the other shows don't necessarily follow the same timeline that this one does.
	Bubblegum Crisis - Ep. 7 & 8 (1987)
This show contains a few homages to other 80s films: the Priss character and her band are named after characters in Blade Runner; in one scene there's a radar screen with the names of several Top Gun characters in English.
	Bubblegum Crisis: Hurricane Live! (1990)			Not Rated
This is a music video companion for the first series.
	Bubblegum Crash - The Total Crash Collection (2001)
A sequel to the first series, using the same characters and animation style. You should watch the original series before watching this one.
	AD Police: Files 1-3 (1990)			Not Rated
A much darker prequel to the first series, set in 2027. No Knight Sabers here, but a young Leon as an AD Police rookie. The animation and art are better in this series than in BGC, but still a strong 80s feel. (Assumes you already know about Boomers.)
	Parasite Dolls (2004)			Not Rated
Easily the best of the list, darker and more explicit than the rest, with beautiful art. Set in 2034, another spinoff/sequel to the original BC Crisis/Crash (ignoring the 2040 series, below). It assumes you know about Boomers and Genom. No Knight Sabers.
	Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Vol. 1: Genesis (1998)
This is NOT a sequel to the first series. It's a complete retelling of the story from the beginning, this time set in 2040 instead of 2032. Most of the same characters are used.
	Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Vol. 2 - Crusade (1998)
However, the characters have been updated for this version (a few have been changed considerably), and the story is a little more cohesive than the original.
	Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Vol. 3 - Leviathans (1998)
I think the animation is better in the 2040 series than in the original 2032 BGC. If you only want to rent one of the series to figure out whether you like it, rent vols 1-6 of 2040 first. (I'm sure the purists would disagree.)
	Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Vol. 4 - Buried Secrets (1998)			Not Rated
Trivia Note: Linna's employer in this series is Hugh-Geit, Inc., which is the same company that builds the Third Types in Armitage.
	Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Vol. 5 - Blood & Steel (1998)			Not Rated
Hugh Geit is also mentioned again in Parasite Dolls (see above).
	Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Vol. 6 - For All Mankind (1987)
This might be a good place to mention that there's a sequel to this series, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2041, on the way. ADV Films, the US distributor, partially financed 2040 and was pleased enough with the result to put up more money for 2041.
	A.D. Police: To Protect and Serve (Disc 1 of 2) (2001)
Another tie-in series, which is only about the AD Police and never mentions the Knight Sabers. It really has no characters in common with any of the other shows, and it's difficult to tell to which storyline (2032 or 2040) this was intended to belong.
	A.D. Police: To Protect and Serve (Disc 2 of 2) (2001)
Personally, I thought this series sucked. But if you really get into BGC, you might want to watch it just to say you'd seen it all.