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[ a parent's guide to anime ]

[ rated pg ] Bubblegum Crisis 2040

A Parent's Guide to Anime
Rated: PG
Parental Guidance Advised

Review by Erik Montoya

To put it plainly, Bubblegum Crisis 2040 boils down to a one line review: "Babes in battlesuits/fighting robots," but don't get me wrong - I love the series. The story starts with Lina, not yet one of the Knight Sabres, trying to track down the famous vigilante group and becomes a member. She is then put to the test by Priss, Nene, and the leader of the Knight Sabres, Sylia.


Additional review by Kira Randell

This is a very action-packed series featuring the exploits of a group of female vigilantes called the Knight Sabers in the year 2040. A huge earthquake devastated the city a few years ago, and advanced robots called "Boomers" are being used to help rebuild. Occasionally, a Boomer will go rogue and mutate, and the Knight Sabers will step in to stop it.

At first, this series is a "monster-of-the-week" sort of thing, with a new plotline each episode, but eventually the plotline revolves around a super-advanced Boomer who is trying to destroy mankind. The subtitled version of the series is nearly identical to the dubbed version, but I prefer the dub. The dub actors are very talented.

Profanity: There is a moderate amount of profanity in this series, most of it coming from two of the main characters, Priss and Sylia. The most commonly used word is "damn", though "hell" appears a few times as well. Twice in the series, in the dubbed version the "f" word is used, however you can barely hear it because of background music and sound effects.

Violence: This series is fairly violent, but not half as bad as the original "Bubblegum Crisis" was. No humans die, at least until about the 11th episode, where a man is thrown out of a window. Most of the violence involves the Sabers' robot-like "Hardsuits" beating up a Boomer, and a small amount of motor-oil "blood" is shown. Several times you see one of the Sabers crushing a Boomer's "heart". If your kids can handle a little bit of violence, then you shouldn't be too worried. But sensitive children might find the scary nature of the Boomers disturbing.

Sex/Nudity: This might be what turns some parents away from this series... Nudity is not a huge problem, but parents who object to it might not want their kids to see it. There are only a few instances of suggestiveness, but the final two episodes have plenty of it.

  • In the first episode, Linna, one of the main characters, is out on a date with her boss. Her boss is seen touching her thigh. Linna quickly objects, however.
  • In the second episode, a female character is seen trying on her hardsuit for the first time, and you can see the side of her breasts for a split second.
  • In the third episode, Sylia (a main character who wears fairly skimpy clothes) and a man are seen emerging from an elevator, straightening their clothes. Another character appears to be very confused.
  • In one episode, a man is thrown from a window by a prostitute Boomer and killed. The dubbed version simply says that, "A recreational Boomer has gone rogue".
  • In the fourteenth episode, a young, child-like Boomer is seen emerging from an egg. She is naked. Very little detail is used, however.
  • In the final couple of episodes, the heroines are seen changing into hardsuits, and their "parts" are very barely covered. You don't see anything. But in the last episode, several times you see a few of the main characters naked. Very little detail is there, so it's not as bad as it sounds.
  • Overall, this is a very action-packed series with comedy placed in a few episodes and a very good lesson about technology. I'd recommend it for kids over 13, because of the nudity and violence. However, a fairly mature younger kid may enjoy it as well. It all has to do with the parents.


    Parent's Guide Rating:

    Yellow (parental guidance suggested)

    The violence has been toned down quite a bit from the original series -- no one gets killed, at least not in the first three episodes. Slight swearing (the a-word is used the most) and some barely visable rear nudity in the third episode , and some adult situations. I would say this is pg-13 mostly for intense battle scenes, very slight nudity and mild profanity. E. M.


    The show has several morals, one of them having to do with the issues of cloning and technology. This may confused younger viewers. Also, near the end, a Boomer questions her existence, and the meaning of life. A bad guy also says that he wishes to play God. This may raise some questions from younger viewers. K. R.



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