Arguably one of the classics of anime from the latter half of the 80s, this new release of Bubblegum Crisis has a lot to offer.Set in the year 2032, Bubblegum Crisis takes all the 80s tropes surrounding cyberpunk and tries to do something different and interesting with them.The main protagonists in the series are the Knight Sabers, an enigmatic group of women who wear bespoke power armor to take down a new threat known as Boomers on the future streets of Mega Tokyo.Created by the Genom Corporation, Boomers are used in all walks of life, but they also have a habit of going berserk. Normally, the A.D. Police would handle this threat, but they are oddly underfunded to counter this menace.Over the course of the eight episode run of the series, more becomes clear behind what is driving the Boomer outbreaks and what Genom are really up to.Bubblegum Crisis is an interesting show on several counts, from Shinji Aramakis great mechanical designs to Kenichi Sonodas excellent character designs. It also used the then-current popular music of its time to really drive the whole setting home.The mecha design by Aramaki is also notable as it follows his work on MOSPEADA and Megazone 23, both of which have motorbikes transforming around their riders into mecha. This is one of the highlights in Bubblegum Crisis, as the transformable Motoslave bikes are impressively designed.'Bubblegum Crisis' is now widely available in Blu-ray.AnimEigoThe brainchild of Toshimitsu Suzuki, who had tried and failed numerous times to get similar projects funded. Bubblegum Crisis mostly succeeded where the likes of Techno Police 21C failed, which also featured crime fighters wearing power armor to take out a new mechanized threat.However, Bubblegum Crisis was cut short, and the subsequent sequels lacked the intensity of the original. The story behind those sequels is also quite involved, as Suzuki wanted royalties for the use of his ideas, which sadly didnt work out for him.As for this new Blu-ray release, apart from a new and nicely chunky book tucked into the case, there are a lot more extras this time around. Not least an all-new interview with Kenichi Sonoda recorded in 2024.The image transfer is also excellent, as is the audio, which is pristine throughout. What with this being an AnimEigo release, the translation is also handled well, and fans of the series will be happy to see the dialogue dealt with properly.Considering that Bubblegum Crisis was more of a hit internationally than back home in its native Japan, it feels only fitting that this series is readily available again in the West, and at such high quality.While Suzuki didnt quite manage to land the entirety of what he wanted to accomplish with shows like Bubblegum Crisis, he did help birth a unique series that has definitely found its international audience over the years.If youre new to this kind of anime cyberpunk, then Bubblegum Crisis is one of its stronger entries and the 80s artstyle and designs are still as punchy as ever.Bubblegum Crisis is now available on Blu-ray and can be purchased via Amazon for $31.32.Disclosure: AnimEigo sent me this Blu-ray set for the purposes of this review.Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.