Simulwatch - Gunsmith Cats/Riding Bean/Bubblegum Crisis/Crash/AD Police/Parasite Dolls [all complete]

[WMD]

Bubblegum Crisis episode 3

Wow that was quite the ending. Although I didnt feel a lot of the episode was at level of the first 2 that ending did make this episode well worth it.

It's interesting that episode starts with the team complaining about how bad things are for them individually. Little do they know that things are about to get a lot worse for them.

This was easily the highlight shot of the episode. Masons face and the night sky reflected in his own blood. That look on his face that even in death hes making things much worse for the Knight Sabers.



Though I have to question whether they'd really be allowed to start knocking the building down before everyone could pack their stuff up.

A stray observation I forgot to make in the first 2 episodes was its amusing that they have video calls but they still use a handset for the audio.

 

[ayase]

Bubblegum Crisis: Episode 2 - Come on Irene

As no-one's brought up the dub yet, it's worth mentioning that the songs were all re-recorded in English for that version.

WHAT

I'll just pretend I didn't hear that. But while we're talking sound, another of the many things I like about BGC is that it has some great VAs in the lead roles, or at least certainly ones I enjoy listening to - Nene's VA Akiko Hiramatsu went on to play Miyuki Kobayakawa in You're Under Arrest, Linna's Michie Tomizawa was Roberta in Black Lagoon(!) we have the ever wonderful Yoshiko Sakakibara (Haman Karn in Gundam, Shinobu Nagumo in Patlabor) as Sylia and of course good old Toshio Furukawa (Ataru Moroboshi in Urusei Yatsura, Asuma Shinohara in Patlabor) as Leon. The only ones who (sadly) never seem to have worked as VAs again were Kinuko Oomori (Priss) and Maiko Hashimoto (Vision). Whether they had any subsequent success with their singing careers seems difficult to determine, but I certainly hope so.



I do have a soft spot for Linna. Part of that is probably her design, which is awesome, but she also has a sort of quiet strength - She isn't as brash or outspoken as Priss (or even Nene) and she's not as cool and composed as Sylia, but she's not a weaker character than any of them for it either. It's yet another testament to BGC that I find all the main characters in an all female main cast likeable and not a single one of them to be annoying or irritating - Today's character archetypes seem to have been flanderized to the point that's rendered almost a certain inevitability.

While we might not get to learn a whole lot about her, I do like that we get little visual hints (as we do with other characters too) like the front bumper of her car being utterly mangled, either a sign she's not the most careful driver or that her car keeps getting towed like it does in this episode (plus she has her name on the back of it, and that's just adorable).



This episode also does a good job of showcasing the show's "It's the future... but the '80s never ended" aesthetic with its trips into more mundane spaces like shops and restaurants. The fashion is amazing, and I had to chuckle at the fact the car which pursues Linna and Irene (and which is seemingly very quickly fixed up to serve as Mason's getaway vehicle at the end) is very obviously just a contemporary Lagonda. I mean I guess he's painted as a very powerful and wealthy individual, so there's no reason he wouldn't be driving around in a 50+ year old luxury classic, but then you'd think he probably wouldn't want to loan it to his underlings to run people down in.

It was also a bit weird that the final song at the end was a jaunty 80s pop tune that sounded like a christmas song while we looked out over a graveyard.

Yeah... Given how abruptly this episode ends I rather suspect they ran out of time, money, or both. It's a bit of a waste of Wild at Heart as well, I can see it working much better if we'd got to see say, Linna placing the flowers on the grave and saying something hopeful before it kicked in. It is a bit of an oddly paced episode this one, taking its time at the start (with the once again excellently choreographed Mad Machine) and Priss and Linna's days out, only to slam all the action in right at the end and before you know it, it's over. Nice action it is though, girlfights are always very much appreciated. Was also nice to see Chief from Dominion's brother from another mother make an appearance.

 

[ayase]

Bubblegum Crisis: Episode 3 - Stop Hitting Yourself



Certainly an action-packed and fairly gory (RIP that one particular guy during the opening) episode this one, as befits its title. Is Linna in fact the best fighter of the bunch? I'm not sure anyone's even landed a decent hit on her yet (herself excepted, see above). Poor Nene seems a bit hard done by here though, but I know she gets her episode to shine later. The action in this episode was absolutely top-notch, one thing I had forgotten though was just how pained Sylia looks both during and after killing Mason. It's obviously not something she relishes having to do, despite the suffering he's caused.



In car news, Linna is a confirmed ****box driver, Mason's Lagonda survived but obviously needed a new paint job. Unless he owns 24 of them, like this chap. This is in fact my new head canon.



I do like how between the action we get to spend some what almost feels like slice-of-life time with the girls, which does properly feel relaxed and not rushed through. It's a balance I do particularly like and now that I think about it, tends to be present in some of my favourite shows. Even if brief, these scenes give us a sense of who they are (Sylia spending a lot of time inside her own head, Linna being houseproud, Priss searching for some companionship). And can we take a moment just to appreciate this:



This, right here, is possibly the most perfect example I could ask for to represent what I miss about quality cel animation. I mean just look at... everything. The way light and shadow are represented so simply and starkly but so beautifully. Look at the light itself, the simple highlighting on the CRT screen that gives it shape. This is, unquestionably, art. Even as a static picture, a single frame, it has amazing artistic value.

I have to question whether they'd really be allowed to start knocking the building down before everyone could pack their stuff up.

I think the idea is that Genom is so powerful a corporation they're a law unto themselves. Sho's mother is shown to work in a Genom factory, and if she lives in company owned housing they can probably do whatever they like (as is the case even today in many developing countries, sadly. The idea that this attitude of corporations to people could be re-imported to developed countries is, I think, one of BGC's less far fetched predictions, given what's already happened with the likes of outsourcing and the race to the bottom in wages and corporate taxation) - Even Leon, a representative of the actual law can't seem to do much more against them than hope they get their comeuppance. And of course, ignore the call out to Genom HQ long enough for the Sabers to take down Mason...

 

[HWR]

Bubblegum Crisis episode 3: Blow Up

Perhaps not as strong as the previous two episodes but still packing some well-animated setpieces and a bit more in terms of character-focused scenes. This episode also went by rather quickly, something that has been recurrent throughout the series.

An observation I had was the writing of “replicants” on a van-a reference to the seminal sci-fi film Blade Runner perhaps?

 

[ayase]

An observation I had was the writing of “replicants” on a van-a reference to the seminal sci-fi film Blade Runner perhaps?

The name of Priss’ band is “Priss and the Replicants” which is very much a Blade Runner reference (Priss being the name of one of the Replicants, played by Daryl Hannah, whose character doesn’t look a million miles from BGC Priss’ stage persona).

 

[HWR]

The name of Priss’ band is “Priss and the Replicants” which is very much a Blade Runner reference (Priss being the name of one of the Replicants, played by Daryl Hannah, whose character doesn’t look a million miles from BGC Priss’ stage persona).

Ah that makes sense, I hadn’t clocked that name until now. References like this add a layer of fun to these simulwatches.

 

[WMD]

Bubblegum Crisis episode 4

After the last episode I thought this one was going to be about the AD police hunting down the Knight Sabers for murder so I thrown a bit when it became apparent this was a stand alone episode and the AD police seemingly dont care about Masons murder anymore.

Having said that once I'd settled down into the idea of this episode I really got into it. It reminds me of stand alone episodes of Ghost in the Shell SAC. The mixing of man and machine, the tale of obsession, actually solving a case and a somewhat bittersweet finale. All good stuff.

Dont know if this is a dub thing but when the policeman said their had been no fatalities immediately after seeing this shot I was a bit incredulous. Like no way this guy survived:


I also really enjoyed the shots at the start fo the episode of the engine firing into life, the noise and the sparks/flames were all really well done.

Another question about dub v sub. At the end the policeman asks Leon if maybe the car had also become obsessed with revenge. It was a very hammy line that didn't quite land with the more serious tone that the rest of the episode had had. Just wondered if that's also in the Japanese?

 

[Neil.T]

Bubblegum Crisis episode 3

I'm a day behind here, so just some quick observations about this episode from me.

I loved the cameo appearance of the Williams Formula 1 car in the opening scene; it's rendered in superb detail. It looks like either the '86 or '87 model to me, one of the classics associated with Nigel Mansell.

One thing that I was quite incredulous about in this episode were the couple of scenes where two AD Police officers get shot to pieces by the rampaging Boomer. The first man is cut clean in half at the waist, while the other has both arms shot off in turn before being decapitated. It's not the actual content that makes me incredulous, but instead the BBFC's handling of it. You see, MVM originally released the series in the UK in three separate volumes. This episode is found on volume 1. Its BBFC rating? PG.

The other two volumes, which I don't remember having anything quite on that level of gore, are rated 12. Work that out.
The BBFC at their inconsistent best there.

On the subject of British involvement in the show, I couldn't help but notice the "Shut the bloody door!" subtitle of the nightclub owner's dialogue. That's more akin to the sort of thing you'd expect from some old Manga Video dubtitles and kinda stood out.

Lastly for this episode, I enjoyed revisiting the Engrish on the HUDs of the Knight Sabers' hardsuits.
Rather than type it out again, I'll just link to this post from an old thread.

Moving on to episode 4...

Another question about dub v sub. At the end the policeman asks Leon if maybe the car had also become obsessed with revenge. It was a very hammy line that didn't quite land with the more serious tone that the rest of the episode had had. Just wondered if that's also in the Japanese?

Japanese dialogue: Gurifon... Ano energii wa, katte na ningen-tachi e no, kikai no nikushimi kamo na.

My basic translation: The Griffon... That energy is the machine's hatred towards selfish people, perhaps.

DVD subtitles: Perhaps the Griffon's energy was one machine's hatred of selfish people...

Those subs are an accurate translation, for my money so, yeah, the dub seems to have pretty much the same sentiment as the original.


My own episode 4 thoughts on the way next.

 

[Neil.T]

Bubblegum Crisis episode 4

This has always been my pick of the eight episodes. The machinery in this one is marvellous. It has so much detail that it has a real tangibility to it, and with that an imposing presence. It's backed up brilliantly by the highly impressive sound design incorporating the workshop revving of the high-performance, race-tuned engine of the Griffon with its popping exhausts and bursts of flame, and the screaming two-stroke sound of Priss's motorcycle as it blasts down the highway — even knocking the rifle out of the hands of an armed officer with the ferocity of its draft.

In fact, the whole episode's got the stamp of a petrolhead all over it. This impression only strengthened for me when I saw the drag bike stabilisers on the back of Priss's machine before the climactic chase sequence.

That influence extends into even incidental things like the Griffon owner list that Nene brings up on her computer:

The top four names are all professional motorcycle racers. Number 5 is our guest character in this episode, and the last one, for some reason, is Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who more recently was the subject of documentary film Coda. I have no idea why Sakamoto in particular, though.

On a related note of randomness, in the latest installment of Easter-egg Engrish, the finest examples in this episode are again found on a HUD, this time the Griffon's. In the same shot, we've got mentions for Beverly Hills Cop and for Madonna, with her song "Papa Don't Preach".

I want to finish this post with this screenshot from that same pursuit scene. It's following Priss's accident when her bike gives out on her.

ayase enthused over the hand-drawn lighting effects before, and here's another bit that's worthy of high praise. The way that the shadow rotates around Priss as the car passes by, the light source judged only by the artist's skill and with no 3D modelling...

Or the way that the long shadow first appears by imperceptibly fading in in front of Priss as the leather surface of her trousers reflects the passing car's headlights, before that same shine is then transferred to the front and her crash helmet before fading away again, emphasising how's she's been left behind in silence, away from the heart of the action...

Just fantastic.
My favourite episode, hands-down.

 

[ayase]

Bubblegum Crisis: Episode 4 - I won the Nobel Prize and all I got was this lousy boiler suit



HD avatar upgrade time! Have to agree with Neil that this is a particularly good episode, especially for those who enjoy vehicular action. I think part of that is probably the increase in episode length over the last two as well, there's more time to fit in longer and more entertaining incidental scenes, as well as really giving the final action sequence time to build to a thrilling conclusion. Strong all the way through, this one. If there's a single visual that sticks with me most when I think of BGC, it's Priss riding along the highway at the start of this episode while the city goes by in the background, Crisis ~ Run With Anger playing as the title fades in.

In fact, the whole episode's got the stamp of a petrolhead all over it.

While he’s only credited with design work on the series, a couple of things do make me wonder if Mr. Sonoda didn’t provide at least a little inspiration for this particular episode. In the Riding Bean artbook he specifically mentions being a fan of both the TV show Knight Rider and the song Highway Star... The plot of this episode could easily be thought of as Knight Rider gone rogue, and when we see what Mackie (or perhaps Priss) has christened his new superbike:



There's a lot to enjoy in those incidental scenes too, more sense of each Saber's personality and things like Priss' almost comically catlike crawling through the window, followed by Linna's even more comically inelegant entry (given her previously established athleticism, you'd think it would be the other way around). The paintball range being revealed to be on top of a skyscraper by the sky going out panel by panel was a nice touch as well. The detail, as Neil has mentioned, is exceptional here. All the stuff in Doc Raven's workshop, the Griffon, the Motoslaves...


Priss and Linna regret borrowing Doc Raven's DeLorean after finding themselves in Gall Force

Easter-egg Engrish

There's so much of that in this episode - I don't know how legible it is on the DVDs but a lot of it appears to be song lyrics, though I didn't seem to catch any I recognised offhand. The police file describing Gibson and Naomi's accident is great as well, "Of whole body complicated fracture suru serious woundo". I'd post that pic as a screencap, but as cool an episode as this deserves a cool pic to end on.

 

[HWR]

Bubblegum Crisis Episode 4: Revenge Road

Definitely a highlight for fans of the violent and vehicular. Also interesting to see that this was longer than the previous two episodes and that it felt very standalone after Blow Up seemed to set up a follow-up storyline.

On a different note it seems I’m not the only one who noticed Albert Einstein’s foray into motor repair.

 

[ayase]

Bubblegum Crisis: Episode 5 - "I want more life, f-----"



Doing Episode 5 now, since in all likelihood I won't be around tomorrow. Also I kind of want to keep watching. Did somebody say "Blade Runner"? Because yeah, this has got to be the most heavily inspired of the lot. We've got doomed androids escaping from off-world causing chaos in their efforts to escape the authorities and prolong their lives, the secret of which is held by a man in a large pyramid shaped building. The video screen blimp even makes an appearance, though I don't recall anything about Roy, Pris and Co. being aided in their escape by Catty from Gall Force, who sacrifices herself so her friends can escape, like Catty from Gall Force. Also I don't think Blade Runner ended with a Gundam battle.


I live, I die, I live again.

We've touched briefly on Priss' sexuality, but I'm not sure she's the only one whose tastes are somewhat ambiguous here, at least if the subtitles are anything to go by. It's not really clear if Daley's advances towards Leon and his nonchalant responses are just playful banter between friends or if they do actually have something casual going on. Not that it really matters either way, it's still refreshing (certainly for the late '80s) how little reaction Daley's open homosexuality provokes in Leon.

While I feel like it still does pretty well in living up to the previous episodes, there's a fairly distinct change in direction style here. It seems to fall back on a few somewhat cliched anime direction tropes of the period here than in earlier episodes. Not that some of the choices don't still look quite stylish, but it is noticeable.


NANI!?

It's not my favourite episode, but it does still have a lot of good points. Another very strong opening sequence and some decent mech action, but its main strength is greater exploration of particularly Priss and Leon as characters, and to some extent Sylia though that particular plot-line never got a payoff, sadly. More on that as we head towards the end.

 

[Professor Irony]

Bubblegum Crisis ep3 - Collapsed Masonry

Maybe I'm reading too much into things here, but as Mason's demise seems to conclude a loose story arc, I slightly wonder how assured Bubblegum Crisis's production was at any given time. Did they know it would continue, or did they want to tie it up on the assumption this could be the last one? Given the series lack of any definite overarching narrative (at least in the sense of what we might expect from a modern tv anime), I kind of feel like BGC is the quintessential example of those piecemeal productions we got during the boom years. It seems very inidicative of the general 'fly it by the seat of your pants' attitude to making OVAs at the time, but I think that's also part of its charm.

But anyway, you pretty much know Sho's mother won't make the end credits the moment she mentions dreaming of moving to the country. Perhaps the surprise is how taken with the idea Priss is, given how her eyes light up at the mention of it. I think I've been a bit harsh on the show in past for its characterisation though; while I'd spotted Linna's name on her car in the last episode, I'd completely missed the little detail of her bumper being bashed in (still broken in this ep). Priss going back to sleep alone in her dingy trailer also seems to hit harder than I remembered.

You have to wonder who would really want to join the AD Police though, given how comically high their mortality rate seems to be in the series. I'm curious as to when this episode would have been in production though, the increasingly gruesome ways in which the hapless coppers are killed off seems very reminiscent of Robocop and its comic-book approach to splatter.

An observation I had was the writing of “replicants” on a van-a reference to the seminal sci-fi film Blade Runner perhaps?

Maybe it's a stretch, but the combat model boomer going backwards through the lingerie shop window also seemed quite reminiscent of Xhora's death scene...

I loved the cameo appearance of the Williams Formula 1 car in the opening scene; it's rendered in superb detail. It looks like either the '86 or '87 model to me, one of the classics associated with Nigel Mansell.

I almost forgot to mention that, I thought it was a great little bit of throwaway world building that Mason just happens to have a full sized F1 car in his office. The fact that it's a specific real-life model is even better.

 

[WMD]

Bubblegum Crisis episode 5

It's been said a few times but the use of light in the opening was exquisite this episode.

Also was that an Alien reference near the start when the 'monster' had hitched a ride with them on the escape pod after they thought they'd got away? Its essentially the ending of every Alien film.

I really enjoyed how much more Leon got to be a hero this week. Putting himself on the front line like that was really cool to see as its makes him so much more than "just talk".

The emotional beats were also nicely mixed into the final battle. They dont often get a simple happy ending do they?

Incidentally they kept going on about a dead man switch but then say the way to stop the bomb is to kill the pilot. I mean if it's a dead man switch killing her is literally the only thing that would set it off!

Anyway the longer episodes definitely work better for this show, allowing nice slow character moments while still giving time for the big finale. I wonder if originally episodes 2 and 3 were going to be a single episode?

This was a fun expression that made me chuckle:

 

[HWR]

Bubblegum Crisis Episode 5: Moonlight Rambler

More Leon is always nice as so far he’s sort of been in the background. Also blood-sucking boomers eh? There’s a joke to be had somewhere with that. The mecha battle and its accompanying soundtrack were pretty cool too. The ending was ominous so I’m fascinated to see where it’ll lead.

 

[Professor Irony]

Bubblegum Crisis ep4 - Miffed Max



YOU ARE TEARING ME APART, LINNA.

Not sure I'd quite consider this my outright favourite, but I always remembered this being one of the best episodes and it's good to see it getting a lot of love. It’s so good, in fact, that it didn’t occur to me until watching it this time that, unless you count the griffon, the boomers are never mentioned! Interestingly, both the premise and early scene of Gibson preparing the car before setting out are quite reminiscent of cult laserdisc arcade game Road Blaster (aka Road Avenger), which would have come out a couple of years prior.

Other than that, there’s a lot to enjoy here. It’s kind of refreshing to get this one-shot away from the boomers and genom, that fleshes out the world while still telling an exciting in-universe story. Even just seeing the team hard at play on the paintball range is a nice aside (but always wear goggles, kids).

Having said that once I'd settled down into the idea of this episode I really got into it. It reminds me of stand alone episodes of Ghost in the Shell SAC. The mixing of man and machine, the tale of obsession, actually solving a case and a somewhat bittersweet finale. All good stuff.

That’s an interesting point. I sometimes feel like Bubblegum Crisis is more like a sentai show that’s been in the dressing up box, than a serious cyberpunk series at times, but I think this episode engages a lot more with the kind of typical cyberpunk genre themes far more than the previous ones so far. The spinoff AD Police series really picked up that melancholic transhumanist detective aesthetic and ran with it though (Mind when we were promised a Kickstarter for that?)

I don't know how legible it is on the DVDs but a lot of it appears to be song lyrics, though I didn't seem to catch any I recognised offhand.

I got the same impression, but the only thing that stood out to me was, in the part headed 'Ryuichi Sakamoto', there's a little bit that says something like 'The young and strong in this party'; that's a line from British band Japan's 'Visions of China'. Not aware of Sakamoto ever covering the song, but Japan's lead singer, David Sylvian, was a popular figure in Japan at the time and did work with Sakamoto on several projects.

On a final note, coming back to my earlier comment, this is the first I’ve noticed the show actually naming its next episode in the end credits, ala classic Bond films. Kind of a reminder I suppose that the wait between episodes back at the time of original release would have been considerable...

 

[ayase]

YOU ARE TEARING ME APART, LINNA.

You know, I came so close to posting almost that exact screencap with a similar comment (I made the right call not to, your joke was better). Look, I even had it ready to post:



The near direct comparison has got me wondering about sources... Yours looks like it's been through some pretty aggressive DNR, I wonder if that was the choice of whoever ripped it or it that's what the Japanese Blu-rays actually look like (I'm capping directly from the AnimEigo Blu-ray, which is a bit of an a*se about but it produces nice images). If it's the latter I'm glad I never shelled out for those, as I was very tempted to do prior to the Kickstarter being announced. Speaking of Kickstarters:

The spinoff AD Police series really picked up that melancholic transhumanist detective aesthetic and ran with it though (Mind when we were promised a Kickstarter for that?)

Yes, I very distinctly do remember that. Wonder what happened there, you'd have thought AnimEigo's relationship with AIC (I think after all the lawsuits and the bankruptcy it's AIC that owns everything BGC related now, right?) would be pretty good. Afaik they still have the DVD rights to AD Police and Crash.

 

[HWR]

I got the same impression, but the only thing that stood out to me was, in the part headed 'Ryuichi Sakamoto', there's a little bit that says something like 'The young and strong in this party'; that's a line from British band Japan's 'Visions of China'. Not aware of Sakamoto ever covering the song, but Japan's lead singer, David Sylvian, was a popular figure in Japan at the time and did work with Sakamoto on several projects.

As a big fan of both musicians this admittedly went right past me on my first viewing, though all these little details are making this show worth a rewatch in the near future.

 

[Neil.T]

Catching up on some stuff from earlier posts before watching episodes 5 and 6:

One thing I did wonder about is whether Bubblegum Crisis would have been an established favourite on the tape-trading circuit before AnimEigo released their official translation

. . . if BGC already had enough of a following to make fan-speculation over things like Priss's sexuality a known element, it seems entirely possible the translator might have been acknowledging that.

That's a very good point, and something I hadn't considered before.
Things like that have certainly happened before. I once read in The Anime Encyclopedia, a very useful reference book, that when Manga released Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo, they chose that spelling over their preferred spelling Mameau because the fandom was already more familiar with the former.

And still on a translation-related note...

in several Funimation episode commentaries where they say their focus is on translating meaning not words for the dubs.

I wonder whether we might've seen any of the same commentaries, because I remember something similar. The suggestion was that if you want to understand the original Japanese joke, you should watch the sub, but if you want to laugh, you should watch the dub.

The police file describing Gibson and Naomi's accident is great as well, "Of whole body complicated fracture suru serious woundo".

I also like "TRAFFIC ACCIDENT OF BEFOR HALF A YEAR" at the top of that shot.

We've touched briefly on Priss' sexuality, but I'm not sure she's the only one whose tastes are somewhat ambiguous here, at least if the subtitles are anything to go by. It's not really clear if Daley's advances towards Leon and his nonchalant responses are just playful banter between friends or if they do actually have something casual going on.

Daley's good fun. His Japanese VA peppers his dialogue with the occasional bit of feminine speech, which is common to queer speakers in Japanese — using a higher degree of honorifics and ending some sentences with wa, for instance. (See also Iggy in Ergo Proxy as another low-key example.)
But unlike some of the hideous and garish queer stereotypes sometimes seen in anime, Daley's about getting **** done. I like how, in a scene in episode 2, he craftily kicks a piece of scrap metal as if to unearth what might be underneath it as he tells a pair of technicians with a smile "Nothing will come of hiding things, you know." [My own translation there.]
He gets his point across.

As for there being anything happening between him and Leon, my read on it is no. The show's writing and my own comments on it here might be a bit of a case of "straight eye for the queer guy", but I reckon there might be a degree of attraction towards Leon on Daley's part, but he knows Leon's straight, so there's no point in getting bent out of shape over it. So it is essentially just banter. That doesn't stop Daley from having the occasional cheeky go at trying to change Leon's mind, though.

it's still refreshing (certainly for the late '80s) how little reaction Daley's open homosexuality provokes in Leon.

It certainly is. I was in the audience at Scotland Loves Anime 2017 to see one of BGC's contemporaries, Venus Wars. It features a jaw-droppingly crass AIDS joke aimed at a gay character. The Glasgow audience laughed hard out of sheer incredulity at it.

While he’s only credited with design work on the series, a couple of things do make me wonder if Mr. Sonoda didn’t provide at least a little inspiration for this particular episode. In the Riding Bean artbook he specifically mentions being a fan of both the TV show Knight Rider and the song Highway Star

Going by the Kickstarter Riding Bean BD commentaries, Sonoda clearly knows his cars. Knight Rider had occurred to me during episode 1, too, when Leon punches the turbo button on his squad car in pursuit of Priss and the Boomer.

Fun fact: that scene has a different siren sound between the Japanese and English audio tracks, each being particular to Japan and the US.

The near direct comparison has got me wondering about sources...

This is the perfect opportunity for me to finally drop in this screenshot comparison I've had since episode 1. I'm watching the old AnimEigo/MVM DVD release, and I just took the shot using my phone's camera, but it's very representative of what I'm seeing on my TV screen. It's the exact same frame as the Prof's screencap from this post...

Something I had never noticed before!

Lanjary is my favourite month of the year.

... but look at the difference:

As you can see, the image is cropped differently, with the DVD transfer losing some of the left and bottom edges. The colour tone is also noticeably colder on the DVD.

Afaik they still have the DVD rights to AD Police and Crash.

They must do, yeah: the last time I was browsing AnimEigo's website, they still had those two titles available to order on DVD.

 

[WMD]

I wonder whether we might've seen any of the same commentaries, because I remember something similar. The suggestion was that if you want to understand the original Japanese joke, you should watch the sub, but if you want to laugh, you should watch the dub.

Quite possibly. I dont really watch the commentaries as much as I used to but back in the day I'm pretty sure I saw them say this on 2 or 3 different shows commentaries.

They must do, yeah: the last time I was browsing AnimEigo's website, they still had those two titles available to order on DVD.

Unfortunately the AnimEigo DVDS are region 1 ☹