Search - Bubblegum Crisis - Tokyo 2040 - Leviathans (Vol. 3) on DVD

Did the plot slip sideways into 1960's Ultra Man?

Steven Myers | 04/15/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The new and improved BubbleGum Crisis series is overall a good little sci-fi action thriller dealing with cute girls and cool mecha. Granted it isn't very humorous, and does seem to rely on a lot of predated formulas, but it has held up pretty well as the depth of the story expanded into a series of complex relationships and mysterious past discoveries and disasters however this disc seems to be rather disjointed and unexpected departure from the previous discs.Suddenly at the end of the first episode 'My Nation Underground' a giant monster rather reminiscant of bad old live action Japanese monster TV/movies appears unexpectedly. Close inspection of the clunky bizarro monster design would probably reveal a zipper- it seems such rubbery facade. I sat up and reviewed the ending again, not believing what had happened.....after the fourth DVD I still wonder why it happened. Especially since the monster takes up the bulk of this DVD's action time(that and the third episode dealing with Lina going home to an omiei of sorts which has no action). It feels as if the writers just hit a bump and needed to take a couple detours before going forward. Lina, in the final episode, finally runs back to Tokyo from her parents farm because of a giant military boomer gone haywire and destroying EVERYTHING. Actually, another odd point is that the Heart suits seem to fight forever while Lina slowly returns to Tokyo. The final episode appears to be a sloppy, knock-it-on-the-head plot insertion for the viewer to have a reason to believe Lina is REALLY necessary to the survival of Sylia's little hi-tech vigilante group. Just an odd and contrived addition in the middle of the 2040 series. Overall, still enjoyable, although the DVDs on either side of this one are better in the plot department then this one."

Tension Builds for the Knight Sabers

L. Mintah | USA | 12/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Volume Three is a distinct improvement over volume two. "Leviathans" has more action, more plot progression, and more character development. Some secrets are revealed, one about Nigel and one about Mackey; but I won't spoil them. Romantic tension builds between Nene and Mackey. It's cute, you know? I hope it can work out for them! I will not forgive the series creators if they just let Nene and Mackey's interest in each other drop.

Nene is getting on Priss' nerves because Nene is being reckless during battles. Priss even asks Sylia to let Nene go! Wow, that is gall. You will have to watch to see what happens. In a more introspective moment, Lina returns to her hometown in the country, where she has an arranged date with a surprisingly handsome and understanding young man. Again, I hope to see more of these two together.

Genom is messing with both military and bio-mechanics in this volume. There is a huge, disturbing creature eating Boomers that do work deep underground. And a huge military Boomer wreaks havoc in the city. With the appearances of these two Leviathans, Leon and his partner Daley begin to suspect something is up with Genom - and they take investigative steps. Will discovery of the Knight Sabers' identities be far behind?

This DVD has four episodes, #9-12. They are:
9. My Nation Underground
10. Woke Up With a Monster
11. Sheer Heart Attack
12. Made in Japan

As far as extras, there are none. It is disappointing to see that there are only three character profiles in the "extras."

"

Character development = Yay :D

Spirit Wolf | 11/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This third installment is easily my favorite so far. Finally, we are delivered the thing that makes a good series - character development.There's plenty of it, too. Not to mention plenty of action. The main characters we explore here are Nene and Linna. Nene's place on the team has been questioned before, but now it gets serious as Nene faces being kicked out of the Knight Sabers. This excellent two-parter left me feeling extremely satisfied - it's about time Nene was in the spotlight.The other two episodes are another two-parter, this time about Linna as she visits her family and must make an important choice. While I find Linna kinda boring, I still enjoyed these episodes, because we finally learn more about her. The military boomer fight was pretty good, too.The show gets deeper as its characters get deeper and its mysteries get more intruiging. This volume was the hook for me; I NEEDED the next volume. Excellent and very addictive."

Getting better with each disc

Steven Myers | SF Bay Area | 02/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the third Bubblegum Crisis 2040 DVD, containing episodes 9 through 12. This disc reaches the midpoint of the show, and everything is starting to come together here. The individual, episodic stories of the previous discs have sketched in the details about the world, and now the major plotline is coming into focus: the earthquake which destroyed Tokyo buried many dangerous things, and a certain executive at Genom wants to find them for his own purposes. The characters (who were at best unappealing in the first few episodes) start to have a nice chemistry at this point in the series. These particular episodes are a mix of heavy combat (with rather large enemies) and character development--Nene must decide if she's up to the job of being a Knight Saber, and Linna must decide if she really wants it. If BGC 2040 hadn't hooked you by the previous disc, this one will hook you, if you give it a chance."