BUBBLEGUM CRISIS 1:
Tinsel City
45 minutes
Original Japanese release: February 1987 (Artmic/Youmex)
US release: 1991 (AnimEigo)
Available formats (6/01): Tape (Sub/Dub); LD (Sub); DVD (Sub/Dub)
Contains violence, strong language
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BUBBLEGUM CRISIS 1:Tinsel City45 minutes |
MegaTokyo, Japan. 2032 AD...
As night falls, a show begins in a dark corner of the city. Armored vehicles, carrying members of the AD Police, the special crimes control unit, are gathering at a highway interchange. Once again, a Boomer is on a rampage!
Boomers are an artificial life form, born of the technological union of mechatronics and biotechnology. They were originally created to substitute for humans in the development of outer space, but recently, a slightly different variant on that original concept has started to appear. They are terrifying cyberdroids, their entire bodies a cluster of weaponry; walking tanks, covered in super-high-density Abotex; and possessed of their own will. Naturally, their existence is illegal. And on top of all that, they even possess the power of matter fusion.
Boomers are primarily manufactured by the Genom Corporation. Genom: a company which rules from behind the scenes over the political and financial affairs of the entire Western World, and whose full aspect is unknown. Its temple-like headquarters, Genom Tower, a skyscraper nearly 1000 meters tall, symbolizes it well, oppressing all other buildings in District Three of Tokyo. It continues to extend towards the heavens even now, eight years since its construction began; a modern-day Tower of Babel.
This particular Boomer tears the Minigun from a police chopper it downed, uses it to replace its lost right arm, and runs amuck, strafing anything and anyone who comes within range! The heavily-armed AD Police are helpless before it. Who would let these things loose, and to what end?
Just then, figures appear before the Boomer. The slim silhouettes possess graceful, elegant lines, as if to say, there are females inside these battlesuits. In the wink of an eye, these women annihilate the Boomer, with the long-needle railguns, rotary lasersword, and laser cannon integrated into the artificial fingers of their suits. They call themselves the "Knight Sabers".
AD Police Officer Leon McNichol, who has rushed to the scene, can only watch in amazement. These women, attired in hardsuits surpassing military battlesuits, are vigilantes who smash lawlessness for money. Having defeated the Boomer, they vanish into the night.
That evening, Leon stops for a burger. Leaving the restaurant is Priss, lead singer of "Priss and the Replicants", whose concert he had been called away from to deal with the Boomer. He introduces himself, but is dismayed when Priss informs him that she hates the police - especially AD Police. She tells him to try doing something to help the citizens for a change, instead of running around chasing girls.
Later that same night at the Genom Tower, Genom Chairman Quincy is conducting business as usual. It seems that international communities want Genom products so much that they are fighting over them. His assistant, Brian J. Mason, informs him that his men have just obtained the items Quincy wanted from USSD, and they will be available within 24 hours. Quincy leaves it to Mason, reminding him not to allow Genom's name to surface.
Still later that evening, a woman, unable to relax, takes a late night swim. Images of the recent fight reveal that she is Sylia, leader of the Knight Sabers. Finally, she just floats on the surface and thinks back several years to the death of her father, the creator of the Boomers, and to her legacy from him, the data used to develop the Knight Sabers's hardsuits.
An advertisement in the next day's newspaper leads to a job offer for the Knight Sabers. Sylia calls a meeting, and soon Linna, Nene, and Priss arrive. After discussion, Sylia and Nene go to meet with the prospective client, USSD (the Space Defense Force), while wearing their hardsuits! ("It's a dangerous world," Sylia says.) Sylia agrees to take the job, which is to find a computer technician, F.G. Frederick, and his little sister, Cynthia, who have been abducted by a group of Boomers.
The Knight Sabers begin to comb the city, but Priss gets too close to the kidnappers and is captured herself. Feigning unconsciousness, she hears her captors mention their base of operations in Aqua City, the abandoned waterborne city in Tokyo Harbor. She manages to escape, but one of her captors gives chase.
Meanwhile, Sylia, Linna, Nene, and Mackie meet in Sylia's apartment, where they wait impatiently for Priss to arrive. As Mackie scans police radio frequencies, they hear a patrol bulletin - a Boomer has been spotted chasing someone on a racing bike in the direction of Aqua City! Although there is a very good possibility that this has nothing to do with the missing Priss, Sylia decides not to take a chance. The three Knight Sabers suit-up and head for Aqua City.
At Aqua City, Priss finds Cynthia alone, drawing maps on a wall. Priss tells Cynthia that they should leave, as Cynthia's parents are probably worried about her. But when Cynthia tells her that she has no parents, Priss begins to wonder... Who is she anyway?
As they start to leave, the Boomers arrive. Priss is questioned as to why she's there, but refuses to answer. She is being alternately thrown around the room and threatened when Frederick arrives. Priss realizes that Frederick is also a Boomer, and asks him what he wants Cynthia for. He answers that it's obvious Priss doesn't know much about Cynthia.
The Boomers prepare to kill Priss, but the Knight Sabers arrival changes things. They deal with all the Boomers, except Frederick, with little trouble while Priss and Cynthia, with a little help from the just arrived Leon, escape the area. But Frederick reveals himself to be something other than a normal Boomer - he begins to grow and extend tendrils, taking over the entire Aqua City platform.
Priss, having been separated from Cynthia during their escape, crosses the bridge out of the city and arrives at the Knight Sabers's equipment truck, where Mackie is waiting. Despite her injuries, she suits-up and heads back to the battle, vowing to rescue Cynthia.
Sylia, Linna, and Nene are having a tough time of it. They are outmatched by the now enormous Frederick, and are unable to mount an effective attack. However, when Priss arrives they renew their attack, mounting a diversion while Priss conducts the real attack, actually going inside Frederick to destroy him.
Cynthia is seen standing atop the wreckage of Aqua City, while a helicopter from Genom hovers nearby. Mason, in the co-pilot's seat, mutters a few words into a microphone, the helicopter pulls away, and the Knight Sabers realize that Cynthia, too, is a Boomer! Suddenly, one of USSD's satellite weapons fires its particle beam into Aqua City, destroying Cynthia and sending the wreckage to the bottom of the harbor.
The four Knight Sabers, back in civilian clothes, and Mackie stand alone on the shore, watching the destruction slip into the sea. At a word from Sylia they pull out - all but Priss, who seems to be looking for something. Suddenly, out of the smoke, she sees Leon running across the bridge to safety. She thanks him for doing something to help MegaTokyo's citizens for once, then follows after the others.
And as she leaves, Leon watches after her, wondering who she is really...
(Japanese names in Japanese order, family name first)
Original Cast English Cast
Sylia Stingray Sakakibara Yoshiko Jemila Ericson
Priss Asagiri Oomori Kinuko Sinda Nichols
Linna Yamazaki Tomizawa Michie Elizabeth Becka
Nene Romanova Hiramatsu Akiko Susan Grillo
Quincy Kawakubo Kiyoshi David Arnold
Brian J. Mason Ikeda Shuuichi Eric Paisley
Leon McNichol Furukawa Toshio Brad Moranz
USSD Commander Oomiya Teiji Michael S. Way
Dr. Stingray Ishimaru Hiroya Kevin Dowling
Bogey Yara Yuusaku Marc Matney
Retort Namba Keiichi Marc Garber
Daley Wong Horiuchi Kenyuu Marshall Carroll
Frederick Kosugi Juuroota Clifton Daniel
USSD Deputy Cmdr Ootaki Shinya Pat Noday
Checkpoint Guard Kobayashi Michitaka Steve Rassin
Cynthia Kasahara Hiroko Maryann Webb
Female Boomer Takano Urara Belinda Bizic
Mackie Stingray Sasaki Nozomu Frank Trimble
Chopper 3 Pilot David Kraus
ADP Communicator Barbara Lewis
Young Sylia Loren Mash
Young Mackie Michael Sinterniklaas
(Original Japanese songs reinterpreted into English by The Replicants)
BGCrisis 1 Trivia: This OAV can be considered part 1 of a three part sequence (with BGC 2 & BGC 3), featuring The Knight Sabers vs Mason.
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Bubblegum Crisis 1
© Artmic, Inc. & Youmex, Inc.
Subtitles, translation & dubbing © AnimEigo, Inc.
Licensed to AnimEigo, Inc. by Youmex, Inc.
Unauthorized display, duplication, and distribution is prohibited.
All rights under copyright reserved.
Summarized and distributed for personal use only
with the permission of AnimEigo, Inc. by Jeanne Hedge
| Send your comments to Jeanne Hedge at jhedge@rcn.com. Bubblegum Crisis 1 Synopsis, created 2 March 1996; last revised 19 August 2005 |