He's powerful, he's an absolute match for the Knight Sabers in their pre-OVA status, and there's a certain irony with how he winds up in their lives. But how they win, who they're actually fighting, and why-those are the crucial story elements Warren takes time to dribble out, a little piece here, a little drop there, until we've put the whole picture together. In this case, we know the Knight Sabers are going to win because they have to be around in 2032 or else 'Tinsel City Rhapsody' and everything following it is a horrible lie. Prequels are very hit-or-miss affairs, because right from the start you know who has script immunity and who doesn't. In any case, Grand Mal works effectively. Yeah, I can be kind of a dolt sometimes when I'm too excited to pay attention to important details. Grand Mal is a prequel that takes place a year before the first OVA, and it only says this, like, all over the place. Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal isn't a sequel to the BGC storyline, meant to bridge the gap between Bubblegum Crisis and Bubblegum Crash, or anything else of the stort. It wasn't until I sat down next year with the TPB (because of course I was going to buy it!) and really, REALLY read carefully I realized what an idiot I was. Why, for instance, was Mackie introducing Priss to the Motoroid when she'd used them numerous times in the videos? Why was there no mention of Mason, Largo, Sylvie, or heck, even Gibson from 'Revenge Road'? Why were the Knight Sabers in their standard suits, not the upgraded ones Sylia revealed later in the series? By the time the fourth issue landed, I was completely infatuated but slightly confused at the same time. But I knew I loved me some Knight Sabers, so I plunked down my money, took home issue one, and read it about 50 times waiting for issue #2, then did the same thing with that issue, and so forth. Holy cow, there were going to be more!ДЄt this point, I didn't know a thing about Adam Warren because I hadn't read his work on 'The Dirty Pair' yet. I was in 8th grade.ДЇast forward a few years to March of 1994 and, having discovered manga thanks to my friendly local comic store (which has sadly been out of business now for many years), what should I see on the shelves one day but a Bubblegum Crisis comic book. Priss, Linna, Nene, and Sylia won my heart all thanks to a VHS tape picked up for a couple bucks at a yard sale on a whim.

So yeah, I fell in love with Bubblegum Crisis, and much like your very first crush, there's something special about that feeling no other relationship can ever quite capture.

Four women flying around in power armor, kicking ass, taking names, and sticking it the corporate 'Man' in the form of multi-national conglomerate Genom and their mechanical life hybrid Boomers, all to the best 80's pop/synth rock you can't help but sing along to even if you can't understand most of the words.what's not to love? It wasn't my introduction to it (like most kids growing up in the 80's, I'd seen my share of Voltron, Robotech, and the like), but it's the first one I saw that I totally fell in love with. Four women flying around in power armor, kicking ass, taking names, and sticking it the corporate 'Man' in the form of multi-national conglomerate Genom and their mechanical life hybrid Boomers, all to the best 80's pop/synth rock you can't help but sing along to even if yo Bubblegum Crisis got me into anime.

Bubblegum crisis linna