The mecha designs as well are admirably intricate and innovative sometimes. The mecha action scenes -another highly hyped point- are indeed fast and furious, and have some very intense moments. Episodes seven and eight are still lovely to look at (probably due to the nice and somehow "softer" color palette used for ep. Somehow BGC doesn't really manage to hold up a feeling that it's the founding father of a whole generation of anime series.Īnimation quality has aged a bit better though, with only the first episode looking genuinely old hat by now.
BUBBLEGUM CRISIS MECHA SERIES
Alas, by now, the same formula has appeared so often, be it under different guises, that there's little left to be amazed about for one watching this series for the first time now. Those who first saw the series and became loyal followers in the 80's had every reason to be impressed back then. That might be the main problem here time hasn't been too kind to Bubblegum Crisis. The fact that they're all female is hardly a novelty anymore either. There are tough, rebellious youths and pink-haired squeaky cute computer geniuses all over the place on the anime market. It's true that this is a cast formula that was innovative for it's time, and that it has been copied very often, but maybe that's exactly why the whole thing sometimes seems a little below it's reputation. Our four heroines, Priss, Nene, Sylia and Linna basically consist of respectively the tough rebellious youth, the pink-haired girly "cute" computer whiz, the mysterious and only -really- interesting one, and.err, the other one (yup, poor Linna is badly under-used and shows very little distinct character traits). They're very likeable, and they do have their own distinct personalities, but they don't seem all that revolutionary. Not to say that the characters are poor by any means. For example, the supposedly excellent character development is a much-trumpeted point that falls a bit flat. For the rest, the actual series seems a bit underwhelming compared to what one might expect. Alas, the raving over the music is probably the only point where the hype got it right. They work a treat, and a lot of the songs stick with the viewer for very long. Many praises are sung about the soundtrack, and those are very true indeed great rock songs with very good pace and vivid vocals accompany the action. Oddly, it never struck me as mind-blowingly fantastic as the fan hype makes it out to be, but I did quite like most of the series. Considering the large following and high reputation this series has, one imagines it must be quite good.