original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
produced by
Youmex
was an anime production company and record label (under their label Futureland) established in 1985 as a subsidiary of Toshiba EMI and founded by Junji Fujita (formerly of King Records). The company was absorbed back into Toshiba EMI in 1998, ...
and animated by
Artmic
was a Japanese animation design studio formed in 1978. It went bankrupt and was liquidated in 1997. AIC RIGHTS now holds the intellectual property of most of Artmic's titles. The studio was founded by Toshimichi Suzuki after he left Tatsunoko P ...
Bubblegum Crisis
is a 1987-1991 Japanese cyberpunk original video animation (OVA) series produced by Youmex and animated by Anime International Company, AIC and Artmic.
The series involves the adventures of the Knight Sabers, an all-female group of Mercenar ...
'' OVA series, focusing mainly on AD Police officer Leon McNichol, the future rival and love interest of Knight Saber Priscilla Asagiri.
Due to the legal conflict between Artmic and Youmex, the production of the series was stopped with only three complete episodes made.
Plot
Chronologically set 5 years before the events of ''Bubblegum Crisis'', it focuses on AD Police (Advanced Police) inspector Leon McNichol's early days in the AD Police.
Cast
Additional voices
Japanese:
Hideyuki Umezu
was a Japanese actor who specialized in voice acting.
Biography
Graduated from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, he said that if he hadn't become an actor, he would have become a dentist.
The catalyst for starting acting was when a friend ...
Toshiyuki Morikawa
is a Japanese voice actor, narrator and singer who is the head of Axlone, a voice acting company he founded in April 2011. His name is sometimes, although incorrectly, transliterated as Tomoyuki Morikawa. In 2003, he and Fumihiko Tachiki formed ...
,
Wataru Takagi
is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Chiba Prefecture. He is affiliated with Arts Vision. He is best known for his roles in ''One Piece'' (as Bellamy), ''Bleach'' (as Ganju Shiba), ''Detective Conan'' (as Genta Kojima and Wataru Takagi) ...
English (AnimEigo): Amanda Tancredi, Amy Parrish, Charles Page, Christopher Alexander, David Kraus, Eddie Harrell, Eric Paisley, Matt Blazon,
Michael Sinterniklaas
Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas () is a French-born voice actor and ADR director based in the United States. He has provided voices for a number of English-language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as cartoons and v ...
, Rod Barker, Scott O'Quinn, Scott Simpson, Vincent Schilling
Episodes
Release
In North America, the series is licensed by
AnimEigo
AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. Founded in 1988 by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams III, the company was one of the first in North America dedicated to licens ...
, who first released the series to VHS and Laserdisc in 1993 in Japanese with English subtitles. They later reissued it in both formats in 1995 with an English dub produced by Southwynde Studios in Wilmington, NC. The show was released to bilingual DVD in 2004, with bonus content featuring music videos for various songs featured in the series as performed by Filipino singer Lou Bonnevie in addition to translation notes and production artwork. On September 27, 2015, AnimEigo announced that they will be funding a brand new HD telecine of the series from the original 35mm film in-house through Kickstarter, with a Blu-ray release planned for 2016. Though according to an update by
AnimEigo
AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. Founded in 1988 by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams III, the company was one of the first in North America dedicated to licens ...
on 30 December 2022, it had been reported that the film materials to ''A.D. Police Files'' had been lost.
In the UK, the series was licensed by
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...
, who produced their own English dub for VHS in 1994, and later issued it onto dub-only DVD in 2004. Their release is now out-of-print.
Reception
Critical reception of ''A.D. Police Files'' has been generally positive. Helen McCarthy in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' describes ''The Phantom Woman'' as the video "definitely not for the faint hearted", noting that the "design is good and the atmosphere well maintained, but it's Aikawa's script that will stick in your mind".McCarthy, Helen. ''500 Essential Anime Movies: The Ultimate Guide''. — Harper Design, 2009. — P. 33. — 528 p. — She also praised ''The Man Who Bites His Tongue'' as a "stylish, dark retelling of
RoboCop
''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
".
Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network described A.D. Police Files as being "a flawed work, but has enough memorable moments and beautiful, macabre touches to redeem it in some way."
Raphael See of THEM Anime Reviews gave the series a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, praising the story and soundtrack but considered the animation to be "average." Overall, See states that "If you're a BGC junkie, you'll definitely enjoy this one. Other people might want to save this one until they run out of other things to watch."
Legacy
Manga
, a ''
seinen
is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word means "youth", but the term " manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Manga Times'' and '' Weekly Man ...
''
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series written by Toshimichi Suzuki and illustrated by
Tony Takezaki
is a Japanese mangaka born on July 15, 1963, in Osaka.
Selected bibliography Manga
* A.D. Police 25:00 (1988)
* A.D. Police: Dead End City (1989 - 1990)
* Dr Kishiwada's Scientific Affection (1992 - 1998)
* Genocyber
is a 1992 Japanese ma ...
, is set between the first and the second part of ''A.D. Police Files''. It was serialized by Byakuya Shobo on its ''
seinen
is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word means "youth", but the term " manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Manga Times'' and '' Weekly Man ...
'' magazine ''Bandai B-Club'' between November 1989 and August 1990. Its chapters were compiled into a single volume that was later translated into English by Viz Communications for the United States and by Manga Books for the British audience and in French by Samourai.
The manga is set in 2032. The A.D. Police are an elite group of highly trained and specially equipped police officers, who have been formed to deal with
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
activities and Boomer crimes in the city of Mega Tokyo.
The A.D. Police are offered a great deal of leeway in their activities, often blockading large sections of the city and causing great amounts of property damage in the course of fulfilling their duty. Despite their dedication to their jobs, however, the citizens of Mega Tokyo tend to dislike and distrust members of the A.D. Police, seeing them as corrupt and ineffectual.
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040'', and serves as a prequel to the aforementioned series.
Another OVA series revolving around the A.D. Police, '' Parasite Dolls'', was released in 2003 by AIC. Like ''A.D. Police Files'', it is set in the original ''Bubblegum Crisis'' universe and takes place directly after the events of the original OVA series. As of , it is the last ''Bubblegum Crisis''-related series to be released.