This list includes the important female characters who formed
meaningful relationships with others and received at least nominal character
development. Not all are listed here. If one is not, it's because she had too
minor a part.
Bubblegum Crisis focuses on a four-woman team of mercenaries so it is only
natural that there are going to be friendships and bonds. Sometimes, however,
those bonds move beyond mere friendship and escalate to another, higher level.
While many fans will argue against this, there is bisexuality/lesbianism
among some of the female cast. Many viewers make the claim that it is only
friendship keeping them together, but I beg to differ (of course ^_-) and hope
to sway at least a few Bubblegum Crisis fans in the same direction.
In the middle of May 2001, I updated these character synopses in a big way! This is a start of an overhaul for the site.
Sylia Stingray
Sylia is the brains at the center of the Knight Sabers' operation. She has it all: beauty, intellect, internal and external strength, and most importantly, drive. Sylia is a thoughtful person, but also a cold, hard person. She doesn't bend to others but she also doesn't expect them to bend to her. You see, she does the bending for them. They just don't know it.
Sylia's most interesting relationships are with Brian J. Mason, Mackie, and Priss. Two guys, one girl... no pizza place. Thank God for that! But anyway, Sylia's relationship with Mackie is one of sisterly devotion, although I'm not sure Mackie is convinced that they couldn't have a little nookie on the side if he leers often enough. The idiot. Her relationship with Priss is more complex. Sylia's ice tempers Priss' fire. Where Priss lacks self-control, Sylia makes up for it by aiming Priss in the right direction. It's an admirable, debatably underhanded method of manipulating events to her advantage. Well, what would you do if you were Sylia? Just let Priss run off and get killed? Geez... Some people.
Do I think she's a lesbian? No, but I think that if the writers put a little more thought into it they could have developed an awesome pair with Sylia and Priss. Unfortunately I'm not sure they're compatible, the way BGC is written. They're gorgeous together, but it just wouldn't work out.
Priscilla S. Asagiri
Priss is the loose cannon of the Knight Sabers. She doesn't know what to do with herself so she relies on Sylia and Linna for guidance, even if she doesn't know it. They both put a stop to some of her more death-defying antics, such trying to take on all of Genom on her own. 0_0;; Luckily for Priss, someone is always there to bail her out. Priss is a passionate, unbridled lady, but she's no idiot. She entrusted herself to the Knight Sabers for a good reason, and that was to sustain her life while giving her a chance to live it the way she wanted.
Priss' most interesting relationships are with Sylvie, Sylia, and Linna. Her relationship with Sylvie borders on romantic. Come on! The line she threw at Sylvie when the cat swatted her was soooo pick-up at its very transparent core! How can anyone even pretend there wasn't sexual tension in that scene? On the other hand, Priss hangs out with Linna mostly as a friend (stress on the mostly), and Sylia is more of a sister figure. That doesn't mean we can't put our imaginations to good use, does it? I like to think that Priss and Sylia are two opposing sources which are intrinsically drawn to one another, for better or for worse. They're so right and so wrong at the same time. In a perfect world, more emphasis would have been put on comparing and contrasting them. Instead half the series was filler. I need a drink.
Linna Yamazaki
Linna's the boring one, but I like her anyway. ^^; She's the sanity to Priss' mania, Nene's flagrant disregard for seriousness, and Sylia's... Um, I'm not sure what Sylia is. Something cool. Heh, I made a pun. Get it? Okay, anyway, Linna is the normal one. Her interests are men, money, and doing The Right Thing. For a change, a Knight Saber has a non-obstuse motive. That kind of sucks.
Linna's most meaningful relationships are with... Gee, she has only one, and it's with Priss. They're good buddies, but I swear I see a spark of something more when Priss saves her from that shed where Kou had her locked up. Notice that Priss removed her cast and risked her life to save Linna? Nobody else seemed very interested in Linna's fate, so Priss took it upon herself to run to her friend's rescue. She was pretty happy to realize Linna was safe and sound, wasn't she? I like that scene. Linna's definitely not a lesbian (all those boyfriends mentioning in passing kind of rule her out), but the way she gawks at Sylvie I'm just sure she has some bisexual leanings. A good fanfic pairing her up with Priss would be a fun read.
Nene
Romanova
Nene's cute, trendy, and funny. See her act cute, trendy, and funny. Repeat.
She's also got a serious complex about idolizing all the wrong people for all the wrong reasons. Watch the way she squeals about Sexaroids. One of my favorite scenes is when Nene bursts out enthusiastically about Sylvie's fantastic body. Supressed lesbianism, here we come! No, I mean it. Nene's a little dense about the ways of the world, but think about how she attaches herself to women. She runs to Priss and hugs her after Priss' set at Hot Legs? See how she looks up to Sylia and hangs around her because Sylia's the matronly one? See how she goes out to drink with Linna? See how she gives Sylia two thumbs up for being a D-cup? That isn't just fan service. It's character development. Okay, she probably isn't a lesbian but as I see it, she gets infatuated with other women. She may not even be bisexual, but it's pretty hard to deny Nene's got a thing for Sylvie after she first meets her. Maybe she just wants to be like Sylvie instead be with Sylvie, but it's still suspicious, doncha think? No? Go away...
The Sexaroids
The Sexaroids are inherently bisexual in order to serve their functions. (In my opinion. Yours may differ. Feel free to drop me a line if it does. ^_^) This was shown when Anri was able to have sexually-based affection for both Sylvie
and Largo. Because they were made for sex, they are all very cute or beautiful and instantly likable. They were fiercely loyal to one another and would die for each other. Sylvie is the Sexaroid which may have unleashed Priss' desire for
female companionship. They became fast friends and soon Priss was literally bending over for the chance to touch Sylvie. She told Sylvie that a cat which scratched her must have just been jealous of how beautiful she was, all while
placing her hands on her shoulders and smiling kindly. Priss was so attached to Sylvie that it seemed unlike her until the expression on her face during Sylvie's death was shown. Sho's mother did not bring out such a look, but Sylvie
did. Priss became almost despondent, and then went into fits of rage directed at Largo. All for a machine? Sylvie was more than that to her, which makes this one of the best aspects of the series.