Editing Bubblegum Crisis (section)

==Production==
The series started with Toshimichi Suzuki's intention to remake the 1982 film ''[[Techno Police 21C]]''.<ref name="Animerica1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.animerica-mag.com/features/bgc.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040407164515/http://www.animerica-mag.com/features/bgc.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2004-04-07|title=Animerica: Animerica Feature: Bubblegum Crisis|date=2004-04-07|via=web.archive.org|access-date=2019-10-23}}</ref> In 1985, he met Junji Fujita and the two discussed ideas, and decided to collaborate on what later became ''Bubblegum Crisis''.<ref name="Animerica1"/> [[Kenichi Sonoda]] acted as [[character designer]], and designed the four female leads. [[Masami Ōbari]] created the [[Mecha|mechanical designs]].<ref name="Animerica1"/> Obari would also go on to direct episodes 5 and 6. [[Satoshi Urushihara]] acted as the chief production supervisor and guest character designer for Episode 7.

The OVA series is eight episodes long, made as eight separate works, with lengths varying from 26 to 52 minutes.<ref name=Kakinumacomentary>Kakinuma, Hideki. ''Bubblegum Crisis - Remastered Edition'' (Disc 4). 2018. [https://wiki.animeigo.com/wiki/doku.php/crisis:comments_kakinuma_hideki Transcript of commentary]. Animeigo. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20230205214911/https://wiki.animeigo.com/wiki/doku.php/crisis:comments_kakinuma_hideki Archived]) on 5 February 2023.</ref>

A common misunderstanding that has developed, dating back as far as at least the mid-2000s, is that the series was planned and written to be 13 episodes, and that either legal or financial issues resulted in the series having only eight episodes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.animefringe.com/magazine/2005/12/special/06.php|title=Specials - Anime in Retrospect: Bubblegum Crisis|date=December 2005|website=Animefringe|access-date=2019-10-23|archive-date=2018-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008091025/http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/2005/12/special/06.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Conartistdan |title=Bubblegum Crisis OVA |url=https://theconartistsblog.com/2016/03/30/bubblegum-crisis-ova/ |website=The Con Artists |access-date=17 April 2024|date=30 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603152948/https://theconartistsblog.com/2016/03/30/bubblegum-crisis-ova/ |archive-date=3 June 2023}}</ref> The prevalence of this belief has resulted in it appearing in discussions of the series, even in [[Anime News Network]] articles and encyclopedia, and an ''Otaku USA'' feature from 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Henderson|first=Tim|title=Bubblegum Crisis 2032 Collection Review|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/bubblegum-crisis-2032-collection/dvd|website=[[Anime News Network]]|date=9 August 2007|accessdate=7 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bubblegum Crisis (OAV) |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=201 |website=Anime News Network |access-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005002658/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=201 |archive-date=5 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Surat |first1=Daryl |title=Bubblegum Crisis |url=https://otakuusamagazine.com/bubblegum-crisis/ |website=Otaku USA Magazine |publisher=Sovereign Media 2024 |access-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128174227/https://otakuusamagazine.com/bubblegum-crisis/ |archive-date=28 January 2023 |date=1 September 2011}}</ref>

However, commentaries and interviews with production staff contradict this. Production designer Hideki Kakinuma said in commentary notes that appeared with the 2018 Animeigo release of the OVA series, "At the time there was no plan to make it into a series, each film was going to be made one at a time."<ref name=Kakinumacomentary/> Katsuhito Akiyama, director of OVA parts 1, 2, and 3 echoed this in a November 1997 interview, recalling challenges in directing the OVA parts and creating a narrative due to a lack of long-term plan, "...it was not easy to keep on producing episodes without knowing a clear plan of how many total they want us to make."<ref name=katsuhito1997>Akiyama, Katsuhito. ''Bubblegum Crisis - Remastered Edition'' (Disc 1). 2018. [https://wiki.animeigo.com/wiki/doku.php/crisis:interview_akiyama_katsuhito Transcript of interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240922211606/https://wiki.animeigo.com/wiki/doku.php/crisis:interview_akiyama_katsuhito |date=2024-09-22 }}. Animeigo. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20230205214911/https://wiki.animeigo.com/wiki/doku.php/crisis:comments_kakinuma_hideki Archived]) on 5 February 2023.</ref> Further the staff don't discuss or mention the existence of these issues hampering the project in these interviews and commentaries, which included directors, voice actresses, character designers, even AIC president Tōru Miura.<ref name=bgcremaster>''Bubblegum Crisis - Remastered Edition''. 2018. Animeigo.</ref> Akiyama recalled the experience of working on the production as "fun".<ref name=katsuhito1997/>