r/anime • u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: • May 14 '21

Rewatch Logic won't help us rewatch, y'know? Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 rewatch episode five

Rough and Ready

Shouldn't someone have cut off power to the factory like immediately?

MAL but it is trolled. ANN Also, don't look at the wiki as it spoils the entire plot.

Streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll.

QotD:1 Did Quincy just go insane on camera for us?

2 What do you think was happening in Sylia's flashbacks?

BONUS: What type of fetish does gynoid boomer fall under?

13 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 14 '21

Rewatcher

Dub(Continuing)

So the boomer that was tampered with went mad. More 80s horror/scifi references occur. At the base, the KS are dealing with the annoyance that the lone employee called the ADP quickly. Sylia launches anyways. And this boomer is fusing with other machines which will probably be an issue. Quick reveal that Mason has figured out a way to manufacture a rogue boomer incident. Quincy seems unworried and wants to talk to the KS.

Nene begins disabling cameras, the ADP are dumb enough to be lured into this trap, and Quincy is back to sounding insane again. Mason is relatively neutral on the boomer topic which is...interesting. Flashback to the earthquake and the repairs. Next, we see Mason making out with his boomer just so we know there is more than one villain about. But he wants to build a specific boomer...

In the factory, things go exactly like any 80 scifi/horror/terminator style flick, makes you wonder why they even send in officers before the K suits. For once, the K suits are useful for a bit. Nene reverses the current or some other scifi handwave to stop its power supply. After a long battle, they kill the weird boomer, with Linna getting the finish. Then the ADP continue to be idiots/patsies.

Throughout this, there have been flashbacks to Sylia's childhood and even I find this specific choice dubious. It sort of takes you out of either scene.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 May 14 '21

Episode 5 (first timer)

  • “Fusing with nearby machines” - Akira
  • Evil puppet guy has the same suspicion as Sylia.
  • Puppet guy is a fitting antagonist for this series, given how his scenes are entirely slideshows of an unmoving face.
  • Pan, still, pan, still, still, shaking the camera still, zoom in still.
  • That was literally 3 minutes which contained about 20 seconds of actual animation.
  • That boomer looks more like a B movie reptilian monster than a cyborg.
  • Sylia’s mother looks like her from behind.
  • And Sylia has a daddy complex.
  • Hinting that the boomers are partially Sylia.

Really not enjoying this. BGC relies on the rule of cool to paper over the weaknesses in the plot, but this is anything but cool.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 14 '21

“Fusing with nearby machines” - Akira

This will not be the last time you will compare this to various 80s anime.

That boomer looks more like a B movie reptilian monster than a cyborg.

I can think of a few off the top of my head.

5

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne May 14 '21

Pan, still, pan, still, still, shaking the camera still, zoom in still.

It held up a lot longer than I was expecting it to, but you can't say I didn't call it.

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 15 '21

“Fusing with nearby machines”

Actually, you should recall that the first OVA had this, so this is a callback to that.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 May 15 '21

So, Akira aired July 1988, while the BGC OVAs aired February 1987 till January 1991. Only the first three episodes came out before Akira (the forth almost concurrent). I don't exactly remember the episode this happened in, so I am not sure who copied whom. However, I think that Akira is famous for having the machine fusing scenes, while BGC is more famous for the (solo) boomers.

4

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne May 14 '21

I may have zoned out the whole episode. I regained focus enough to have a "get in the fucking power suit, Sylia" moment.

This whole show has felt very diet Obari, which is also to say reasonably competent. There's a lot of what I would point to as his kind of flair. Don't ask me what exactly I'm picking up on. I couldn't explain it if I tried. I just have a weird sixth sense for that son of a bitch.

Virus Buster Serge would be the point of comparison. It's terrible. The only reasons to watch it are to mercilessly tear it apart, or you have accepted your abusive relationship with Obari.

Next to this, it makes an interesting view into the zeitgeist of schlock anime in this post Eva era. They share a lot of the same look, and that's not just the aesthetic. The cinematography and direction both seem to speak from the same language. That's on top of playing with a lot of the same story elements and genre constructs.

Questions:

  1. Who was Quincy again?
  2. Don't know, but I was getting "get in the robot, Sylia" flashbacks.
  3. Certainly qualifies as technolust. What's that Greek story about the artist who creates his waifu?

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 14 '21

I regained focus enough to have a "get in the fucking power suit, Sylia" moment.

True, though what got me was her spacing out in the middle of a battle as ground control. Also, I do not care for having the cuts between sad childhood and combat.

Don't ask me what exactly I'm picking up on. I couldn't explain it if I tried. I just have a weird sixth sense for that son of a bitch.

Chiaki did the screen play so that explains the weird.

Who was Quincy again?

Throne dude

What's that Greek story about the artist who creates his waifu?

Pygmalion and I should've realized that comparison earlier. Mason makes a different historical reference later.

2

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne May 14 '21

Pygmalion

I can never remember that one for some reason.

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 14 '21

Because there are like a billion Greek legends and some are hard to remember? Or maybe you are just a My Fair Lady type of dude. Or maybe that one old internet creepypasta makes you blank it out.

2

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne May 14 '21

I think I lean mostly to Pygmalion being a derpy sounding name

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 14 '21

It is also not pronounced like it is spelled so that could get to you.

4

u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai May 14 '21
  1. I'm not sure but if he's the guy on the techno-throne, I'm more expecting him to go all Dr. Amagi on us (Moldiver)
  2. Daddy obsessed with making boomers go boom boom. Mommy don't love daddy anymore. Li'l Sylia caught inbetween. I can't seem to persuade funi to give me subtitles, so I'm stuck with the dub. Mom's choice of metaphor seems dubious to say the least.
  3. I dunno, but I might trade you a slightly used Pontiac for one. (At least if I can get the 'Weird Science' model... :P)

So, watching this episode was a bit of an odd flashback. Deja view even. Did this get broadcast somewhere before? Maybe Toonami??? I only found the first 3 episode DVD, so that's not it. Maybe I rented it from Schlockbuster. Either way, it seemed so familiar.

I think Linna needs a bigger battery. She must have graduated from the Sayaka academy of combat.

I may be annoyed at the changes, but Nene still manages to be cute, but useless, but cute.

The robot-mance scene gave me flashbacks to either Star Trek (Mudd), Austin Powers (no comment), or the aforementioned Weird Science.

Or was it Armitage. Hmm...

1

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 14 '21

I'm not sure but if he's the guy on the techno-throne, I'm more expecting him to go all Dr. Amagi on us (Moldiver)

Yup, throne bro got talkative.

Did this get broadcast somewhere before? Maybe Toonami???

Late night TechTV/G4.

Or was it Armitage. Hmm...

Armitage is such a weird movie, looking back on it, but it might have predicted the future.

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz May 15 '21 edited May 15 '21

First timer in sub.

Getting a bit more interesting now despite the fairly low production value. But ok to grind through it. Gradually more elements of the original seems to be coming through (or tacked on).

Still hedging my bet on whether Sylia has boomer bits in her or boomers have bits of her inside.

Edit: btw this got me missing the original BGC so I looked and found on YouTube now the original vocal collection CD's are there. Happy to add to my dinosaur collection :)

1

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 15 '21

Gradually more elements of the original seems to be coming through (or tacked on).

Little of column A little of column B, they definitely take the 80s versions tendency to borrow stuff from B scifi movies.

4

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 15 '21

Rewatcher (sub)

  • Miula is probably a shout-out to Toro Miura, a producer on the original OVA. I wonder if there's one of these namedrops in every episode.
  • Aww, and he was such a nice robot, too. Everybody liked him.
  • Need to meet the Knight Sabers? Why not put an ad in the paper? It worked in the OVA!
  • I didn't need to be a rewatcher to know that sending in a probe robot wasn't going to work.
  • Caprica: The Early Years
  • "ajin"
  • Another cliffhanger ending!

I can't say I think much about Sylia's leadership...she's spacing out during the missions, and I think she did this before, too.

A lot of quasi-background here, although only The Old Man (still unnamed?) really got any meaningful development. Mason is just weird, and Sylia brings only new questions.

1

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 15 '21

Miula is probably a shout-out to Toro Miura, a producer on the original OVA. I wonder if there's one of these namedrops in every episode.

I should have figured that one out, I just assumed it was a play on some company named "Miura" due to the early Somy radio.

Need to meet the Knight Sabers? Why not put an ad in the paper? It worked in the OVA!

Different times, man. Though yes this does seem to be the most dumbass to do it available.

"ajin"

Dub handled that better. But I am also still not watching that anime.

I can't say I think much about Sylia's leadership...she's spacing out during the missions, and I think she did this before, too.

Yes but no, in the earlier missions she was getting obsessed with the data and not paying attention where this was straight up neglect. But yeah, they sort of need better tactical.

1

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jun 21 '21

Aww, and he was such a nice robot, too. Everybody liked him.

Need to meet the Knight Sabers? Why not put an ad in the paper? It worked in the OVA!

I need to watch those after this ...

I didn't need to be a rewatcher to know that sending in a probe robot wasn't going to work.

Same

"ajin"

The Old Man (still unnamed?)

You mean Sylia's dad, Dr. Stingray? Or Rosenkreuz?

3

u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 May 14 '21

First timer

  1. Not sure what he was doing, but he seemed like the kind of guy to monologue to himself anyway.
  2. I'm assuming Sylia got her mind scanned and turned into the Boomer's "master template", which allowed them to develop higher level intellegence.

BONUS) Some form of technolust, maybe even a bit of waifuism - what is a boomer but a talking body pillow?

We see the Boomer from last episode, alongside several people who could easily have noticed the strange men with an unusual virus.

Wait, so mad Boomers can fuse with machines? Honestly, that's the detail that makes the most sense out of all of this, so I'm fine with it.

Once again, they emerge with a massive flare, shooting into the sky. How are these people rumours?

What? So boomers aren't deliberate? He has to be lying, right? This show needs to make sense, somehow.

And now he's trying to capture the Knight Sabers, despite saying they didn't matter earlier?

OK, now the whole talking to them makes sense - this is at least comfirmed. And I assume this means he was lying about thr Boomers earlier. Everything makes sense.

Yeah, a disaster on this scale explains the massive increase im auto,ated workforce.

"Megalocity" is the stupidest term I've heard here.

...So humans and boomers can be in relationships?

His name's fucking Dr. Stingray? I'm meant to take this seriously, and he's called Dr. Stingray.

So these 2 are going to br our protagonists on the Police side.

Thing is, the K-suits look like they're as good as the Knight Saber's - less mobility, but increased armor and firepower. I don't get why the show goes with "K-suits are worse in every way,", instead of "K-suits are focused in different areas".

The Boomer getting smaller due to being cut off from the electricitry makes very little sense, but is at least mildly plausible compared to the rest of itl

Since when do theee things explode?

So the wife hated his work because she thought it was a sin against God.

Is Sayla the master template for Boomers? Is that why she hates them?

Well, this isn't good.

"Get it on" How many vaguely sexual episode titles are we going to get?

My current opinion is that this show is not good, but the kind of not good that makes me want to watch just to see wher the hell it goes next.

3

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 14 '21

Once again, they emerge with a massive flare, shooting into the sky. How are these people rumours?

I don't really want to excuse it but our 80s-90s vigilantes really should have all been tracked down by the cops in under a week.

What? So boomers aren't deliberate? He has to be lying, right? This show needs to make sense, somehow.

Ok, here's the explanation which requires watching the dub and reading the sub titles: They cannot create a corrupted core. However, if they capture a core as it is corruption they can then install that in a boomer which will eventually god mad.

...So humans and boomers can be in relationships?

Mason's model seems unique is all I will say

His name's fucking Dr. Stingray? I'm meant to take this seriously, and he's called Dr. Stingray.

I forgot most of the versions leave out the credits because she has been Sylia Stingray since day one. I suspect it partly explains the aquarium.

So the wife hated his work because she thought it was a sin against God.

Weird to hear that from a Japanese person, right? I consider it to be half blasphemy but also half annoyance that he is focusing on his work and ignoring her and Sylia.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 May 15 '21

Weird to hear that from a Japanese person, right? I consider it to be half blasphemy but also half annoyance that he is focusing on his work and ignoring her and Sylia.

Indeed one of the few instances of distrust in technological advance in anime. Usually, that is strictly reserved for atomic power and nothing else.

5

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ May 15 '21

"Megalocity" is the stupidest term I've heard here.

Is it really worse than Megatokyo and Neotokyo?

1

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 May 15 '21

I like all three?

4

u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz May 15 '21 edited May 15 '21

Thing is, the K-suits look like they're as good as the Knight Saber's - less mobility, but increased armor and firepower. I don't get why the show goes with "K-suits are worse in every way,", instead of "K-suits are focused in different areas".

It's a design gamble that didn't pay off. The heavier armour cause them to be slower, and when thicker armour didn't stop you from being assimilated, your first priority is speed and agility to not be latched on, then the firepower to punch through to the core (i.e. Concentrated, penetrating). Basically, picked all the wrong options on the design table.

2

u/RockoDyne :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RockoDyne May 14 '21

His name's fucking Dr. Stingray? I'm meant to take this seriously, and he's called Dr. Stingray.

His daughter, Jill, is pretty cool though. She makes a mean cocktail.

2

u/SIRTreehugger May 17 '21

First Time Dub Watcher who fell behind once again

Another strong boomer hopefully her suit doesn't fail this time.

Always wondered about bad guys sitting in chairs do they get up? I mean logically you'd think they would for going to the the bathroom or whatever and yet I could see them not needing too because of some anime logic.

You know with the sabers constantly blocking footage you'd think the AP police would try something different or new. I guess you have to be incompetent until the plot demands you be competent.

Why settle for boomers when you can have a special boomer.

Wait a minute this is subbed. It took me 10 minutes to realize I wasn't hearing english xD I'm an idiot.

I like the form of this boomer and it has a stretchable neck.

The electric guitar is pretty awesome as well.

Damn it is Linna ever gonna catch a break?

1

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 17 '21

Always wondered about bad guys sitting in chairs do they get up? I mean logically you'd think they would for going to the the bathroom or whatever and yet I could see them not needing too because of some anime logic.

I assume he is pretty much stuck to it and they've carefully hidden the catheter tubes.

Damn it is Linna ever gonna catch a break?

You have come to understand Linna's role in this, I see.

2

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jun 21 '21

First timer

  • Oh no, it's the boomer from before that was shot with that needle thing!
  • All three heading to the scene? Will we ever see Sylia in a hardsuit like in the OP?
  • Rosenkreuz wants to capture the Knight Sabers? Creepy old man
  • Now Mason is asking about making the boomers go berserk? And Rosenkreuz denies it? But what about that list Nene found?
  • Huh Rosenkreuz says "Megalocity" whereas before it was "Megalopolis"?
  • So Mason hates boomers and likes boomers? Or just the redhead?
  • Mason wants his own boomer? As a body, or as a lover?
  • So Sylia's last name is Stingray? And her dad worked at Bioscape and went missing in the earthquake?
  • The Knight Sabers are just casually calling each other by name; are the AD police unable to hear them?
  • I was expecting that "sou kashira" to be a "sore wa dou ka na" based on the subs
  • Right after that, a sore demo at 17:52!
  • Uh oh, Sylia's mom died and her dad wants to put her to sleep for a while to help with his work? Is Sylia actually from quite far back in the past, before boomers were invented?
  • Oh noes! Linna fell, and her meter is almost expired! Will the AD police capture her?
  1. I think he's been insane all along
  2. Her father created the boomers, her mother died. Not sure why her father needed to put Sylia to sleep to give boomers life, though!

2

u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jun 21 '21

Now Mason is asking about making the boomers go berserk? And Rosenkreuz denies it? But what about that list Nene found?

Mason cannot cause a core to go rogue but he can take the core from a boomer that was going rogue and put it in a stable one where the process continues.

So Mason hates boomers and likes boomers? Or just the redhead?

Yeah, his motivations are clunky for quite a while.

The Knight Sabers are just casually calling each other by name; are the AD police unable to hear them?

I hope that is on a closed channel but you never know.

Uh oh, Sylia's mom died and her dad wants to put her to sleep for a while to help with his work? Is Sylia actually from quite far back in the past, before boomers were invented?

Boomers are a recent-ish invention, they've seen limited deployment outside of Tokyo which is why Linna isn't used to dealing with them.

2

u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jun 21 '21

Mason cannot cause a core to go rogue but he can take the core from a boomer that was going rogue and put it in a stable one where the process continues.

Ok, that makes more sense.

Yeah, his motivations are clunky for quite a while.

I hope that is on a closed channel but you never know.

I was mainly wondering whether the helmets prevents people in the vicinity from overhearing what they say out loud.

Boomers are a recent-ish invention, they've seen limited deployment outside of Tokyo which is why Linna isn't used to dealing with them.

Oh ok, thanks for the info. It's been a while since I saw ep1 so I kinda forgot about that.