Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (バブルガムクライシス) is a Japanese anime series produced by Anime International Company (AIC). A retelling of the 1987 original video animation Bubblegum Crisis, the series premiered on TV Tokyo on October 8, 1998 where it ran for 26 episodes until its conclusion on March 31, 1999. 

Plot

The story takes place in Tokyo where much of the manual labor is done by robots called Boomers, which are run by a mega-corporation Genom. Linna Yamazaki, a new office worker, observes a Boomer that has “gone rogue”, causing destruction and attacking people. Although the AD Police are called in to stop the rogue Boomers, a renegade group called the Knight Sabers dressed in cybernetic, armored Hardsuits appear and save the day. Yamazaki joins the group which consists of: Priss, a rock star; Sylia, a boutique store owner and the group’s leader; and Nene, a computer whiz who also works within the AD Police as a dispatch operator.

Over the course of the series, the Knight Sabers go after the rogue boomers, which frustrates the AD Police officers Leon McNichol and his partner Daley Wong. Genom is not happy with the development. Its leader Quincy Rosenkreutzand advises Brian J. Mason seek to unlock more boomer technology. Meanwhile, the girls must deal with Sylia’s younger brother Mackey. Leon pursues Priss with romantic intentions, but does not know of her connection to the Knight Sabers.

A new character, Galatea, is introduced as the main antagonist.

Production

The twenty-six episode anime series is directed by Hiroki Hayashi and features character designs by Hidenori Matsubara and Masaki Yamada. It premiered in Japan on October 7, 1998 and aired weekly until December 23, 1998. The remaining twelve episodes premiered on January 13, 1999, with new episodes airing weekly until the series concluded on March 31, 1999. Episodes 25 and 26 were unaired and were instead released directly to VHS and laserdisc. The series was licensed for English-language broadcast and distribution in English by AD Vision  and premiered their English dubbed version of the series on May 19, 2001.

As of November 3, 2010, the series has been re-licensed by Funimation Entertainment.

Music

Two pieces of theme music are used for the series. The opening theme, titled "y'know", and the ending theme, titled "Waiting for YOU", are written and performed by Akira Sudou.

Episodes

Each episode was named after an album or song by a rock/punk band. Many songs were also the title tracks of their respective albums and thus shared the same name as the album. The songs were never played in the episodes themselves.

1. Can't Buy a Thrill
2. Fragile
3. Keep Me Hanging On
4. Machine Head
5. Rough and Ready
6. Get It On
7. Look At Yourself
8. Fire Ball
9. My Nation Underground
10. Woke Up With a Monster
11. Sheer Heart Attack
12. Made In Japan
13. Atom Heart Mother
14. Shock Treatment
15. Minute by Minute
16. I Surrender
17. Moving Waves
18. We Built This City
19. Are You Experienced?
20. One of These Nights
21. Close to the Edge
22. Physical Graffitti
23. Hydra
24. Light My Fire
25. Walking on the Moon (OVA)
26. Still Alive and Well (OVA)