So enough dithering, what the heck is this all about? And what's with the typically quirky title? Well, as for the title, it refers to actual bubblegum and its elasticity. The way bubblegum can stretch and stretch, or expand, until it eventually breaks and/or pops. This is a metaphor for the breaking point of a society in crisis, hence the name. Odd metaphor if you ask me, I mean I get it but... it's still kinda random.
As for the actual feature here, this isn't a movie (I wasn't aware of this), this is actually a short series made up of eight episodes, each with its own short story. The overall arc of this series is a single continuous story, or continuity, but each episode stands alone. So there is a central plot through-line, but at the same time, each episode is its own little story. There is a chronological timeline here, with enemy-of-the-week plots. Personally, I like that, I do like 'monster-of-the-week' type series as I think it's easier to digest overall, you don't get lost, and each episode is an easier watch on its own. I hate having to do homework for a TV series or having to try and recall what has gone before.
This series doesn't really offer anything in terms of originality in our present day. The story is set in a neon-soaked futuristic Tokyo 2032 where a group of female mercs (Knight Sabers, cheesy I know) don mech-type armour suits, or a kind of superhero-esque exoskeleton, and fight crime alongside the A.D. (Advanced) Police. The crime in question mostly comes from a manufactured group of biomechanical androids that constantly go rogue. These androids (called Boomers for some reason) are made by a mega company called Genom, which manufactures them for heavy labour around the dystopian city of Mega Tokyo. But, as mentioned, these androids often go wrong, or glitch, and are often taken advantage of by criminals. Being biomechanical androids, they also tend to evolve and break their programming.
It did make me think why these androids are used so much in this world when they keep going wrong so much. They are developed to replace Human hard labour, but it seems they often go haywire, and it often leads to much destruction and death! Plus, criminals often get hold of them and use them for their own nefarious purposes. You'd think the powers that be would put a stop to it, but I guess the power and influence of Genom outweigh everything else.
So, the plot isn't very original these days, and to be honest, it wasn't back in 1987 either. It is no surprise that this series was heavily influenced by Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner' for the most part, but also James Cameron's 'Terminator', 'Robocop', and the 1984 movie 'Streets of Fire'. You can absolutely see all this influence throughout this series from the multitude of details within Mega Tokyo, the Boomers (replicants), the way characters interact with each other etc...I should also point out the sound bites taken from (I think) Cameron's 'Aliens' here and there.
It's all very familiar, but a first for animation at the time. At the same time, you can easily see how this manga series influenced many franchises going forward, especially the mech suits. The entire notion of a team of quirky females in super-powered suits was also a bit of a groundbreaker back in the day. Whilst the background characters tend to be more typically masculine and stereotypical of the action flick genre, the female leads were quite a progressive angle that manga often embraced long before Hollywood. Although, it must be said, the women are a very standard, predictable roster. The super-rich benefactor. The rebellious singer and biker. The super-athletic aerobics instructor, and lastly, the obligatory tech expert.
As expected, the episodes do vary in quality, naturally. The plots revolve around kidnappings, rescues, assassinations, crime bosses, deception, and espionage. All typical stories you could probably have guessed would be here. Whilst all episodes are adult-oriented, some do have a more Saturday morning cartoon vibe about them. For example, one episode sees a vengeful loner mod his muscle car (or augment it with thought-controlled cybernetic hardware) to battle biker gangs, but said car eventually develops sentience. Another sees the Knight Sabers having to deal with a group of impersonators that are causing chaos, whilst another sees a vengeful (common theme) popstar arriving in Mega Tokyo, causing yet more chaos. The first three episodes are more of a trilogy that establishes this dark world and its various characters. The final episode takes a much lighter tone (especially in colour and visuals) for the most part, but then ascends with an almost 'Die Hard' type finale.
Overall, the episodes do swing wildly from being intriguing to somewhat boring, truth be told. The high-octane action interspersed throughout is what keeps them alive for the most part. With each episode being a stand-alone story, it gave the animators freedom to do their own thing. This led to some amazing sequences of mech action mostly, but add to that, lots of over-the-top gun porn, cockpit and armour sequences (think 'Iron Man' and things like 'Pacific Rim'), haunting cityscapes, and fantastic visual moments of pure speed and velocity. All this accompanied by a toe -tapping synth-rock pop soundtrack that, while good, isn't quite as good as the genuine tracks of the 80's. 'Top Gun' this is not.
This short series has me in flux. Whilst the visuals and action are second to none, for animation of its era, the plots can be flimsy and leave you guessing quite often. Admittedly much of this is due to the series being cut short (8 episodes instead of 13). Whilst some episodes had me engaged, others had me reaching for my phone. The characters are stereotypes across the board and on both sides, good and bad. Overall, the series really does borrow HEAVILY from that Ridley Scott film (Priss' band called 'The Replicants' and the fact she's called Pris). I did find this a bit distracting at times honesty, too much homaging going on.
So in short (ahem), incredibly influential, but also incredibly influenced. Back in the day, I can see how this was regarded as top-tier sci-fi and animation. Now in 2026, it's still top-tier sci-fi and animation, and it holds up! But I can also see the vast scope of other franchises that they borrowed from, and it's a tad dull for the most part, when there aren't any super-powered Iron Man suits blasting terminator-esque Boomers that is.
6/10
