Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
Now for a trip to the 80s.
2032 Tokyo, the city having recovered from an Earthquake has given rise to a growing gap in rich and poor allowing megacorp Genom to do as they please including it's development of Boomers, cyborgs built for jobs and war but these cyborgs have a nasty habit of going rogue. The AD Police assigned to tackle this are under funded, under equipped and likely held back because of political meddling. Enter Sylia Stingray who forms a team of vigilante women in power suits called the Knight Sabers, made up of AD Police Hacker Nene, Night Club Singer Priss and Aerobics Instructor Linna. Even if the boomers are being stopped, the conspiracies behind their creation deepens as to why they came to become rogue.
If there's any show which encapsulates 80s then it's this one, the creators took plenty of inspiration from Japan's new fondness of American film back in the mid 80s including most notably Blade Runner and Streets of Fire. Being an 80s child myself, I can appreciate the references on display.
The anime itself works well in it's setting and can pull off some decent action but the story is somewhat moot as disputes between it's owners caused the series to end unexpectedly with sequel Bubblegum Crash only barely scrapping an ending. It wouldn't be the only issue plaguing the story. The villains are written in a way that never sees them punished for their actions and even when one of their own turns against them they don't seem to do much about it. The Knight Sabers themselves are a mixed bag with Nene being a genki airhead, Priss starting bad ass then becoming one note by Bubblegum Crash, Linna who I always feel was never really suited for this and Sylia lacking an edge to her character. It's frustrating to see especially when the actresses added more drama behind the scenes with contract disputes affecting the episodes at the time.
The dub was remarkably good for it's time even going as far as to translate all the music which is a mixed bag at best in English but in it's original Japanese it's argubly one of Anime's best soundtracks.
Final Verdict: A fun cyberpunk series heavily flawed by it's troubled production history. The plot struggles to stay grounded but I find it admirable that they still pulled off a good series in spite of the story.
I think it's safe to assume my last few reviews have covered remakes so here's another one.
In 2040, robots called boomers have taken over most basic jobs but some start going rogue and causing problems with the AD Police stuck for answers, a vigilante group of women in mechanical hard suits come in and destroy the boomers.
After witnessing such an event, Linna Yamazaki seeks out the vigilantes known as the Knight Sabers in a bid to join them and put an end to the rogue boomer problem.
This version doesn't deviate too much from the original 80s version in terms of story but the art style is well updated to reflect the cyberpunk setting of the world. It also gives the characters more dimensions than their 80s counterparts, even characters traditionally not well liked get a well deserved upgrade, this is especially true for everyone who isn't Priss who was always an awesome character in the 80s original but her edgy upgrade in this is strangely welcome despite the reputation of so called Edgelords of the era.
Dub is solid and way better than those in the original.
If I had to compare them directly, I always felt the original was more fun and the situation of the day was always a compelling watch; Tokyo 2040 while the design is much better and more art appropriate for the setting it does lose itself in the lore and can drag in the middle especially when were forced to deal with Sylia's brother.
Final Verdict: Tokyo 2040 is better made, better with it's characters, has a setting that works for it's cyberpunk aesthetic and is better voice acted, it just let itself down a bit on story.
Last one tonight, after this just 25 to go.
30. Ouran High School Host Club
If there is one series that stands the harem genre on it's head it's Ouran Host Club. A colourful array of charismatic characters with the right amount of charm for it to be enjoyable.
29. Bubblegum Crisis
The only cyberpunk anime you should see and one of the best 80s anime ever made, a must watch even for those younger than me.
28. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
A show that made me believe there is still anime out there for the 25+ crowd. A heart warming comedy about a dragon maid's devotion to her female office worker master.
27. Naruto/Boruto
The ninja epic that entertained a generation of otaku, I was going to put it lower but then Boruto got made and that raised the bar for character design, so it got much higher.
26. Dragonball Franchise
No matter how many times I criticise this franchise it always finds new ways to entertain me. The abridged series does help.
