Bubblegum Crisis
Production Studio: Artmic and Youmex
Directors: Katsuhito Akiyama (eps. 1-3); Hiroki Hayashi (ep. 4); Masami Obari (eps. 5-6); Fumihiko Nakayama (ep. 7); Hiroaki Gohda (ep. 8)
Episodes: 8
Original Run: 2/25/1987 to 1/30/1991
Bubblegum Crisis is a direct-to-video Japanese animated Action and Cyberpunk series. Heavily influenced by the cult classic Blade Runner, the series similarly explores what it means to be human.
The title of the series purportedly comes from the phenomena in which a bubble made of gum is overinflated to the point of rupture, in which gum is dispersed everywhere. It is used as a metaphor to describe a world on the brink of an unforeseen disaster.
The events of Bubblegum Crisis take place seven years after a major earthquake ravaged the city of Tokyo. The city is still recovering from the damage, both structural and social. There is also a fifty-meter wide fault-line running through the city, as a massive scar. The streets are crowded with cars, and tidal power plant and solar power plants have been established to provide the city with power. Even office buildings have photo-voltaic collectors mounted onto their roofs.
In this city, there is a mega-corporation called Genom, whose primary product is a synthetic android, called Boomers. It was these organisms that helped rebuild Tokyo, and in so doing, enabled Genom to amass sizable wealth and power.
The year is now 2032, and Boomers are used for manual labor and military situations, but in the wrong hands could be deadly. Because of that, a special police division was created. However, bureaucracy, politics, and improper funding and equipment make it nearly impossible at times. It is that as well as other frustrations that caused the Knight Sabers came into being. It is this group of female mercenaries and their powered combat suits that this series revolves around.
The Bubblegum Crisis Sanctum 