OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Parasite Dolls

One of the last anime entries in the Bubblegum Crisis franchise was this 3-episode OVA series sold as a single featured titled Parasite Dolls. The problem is that there are conflicting resources as to which series this fits into, the original 80s OVA, or the TV series remake. If this is connected to the original OVA then it would be a sequel taking place after Bubblegum Crash, but if it's really connected to Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 then it would be a prequel similar to the A.D. Police TV series. AIC was the studio behind this police drama which gives no mention at all to the Knight Sabers who were the major draw of Bubblegum Crisis, i.e.: the female quartet of armored vigilantes who fight out of control robots. Parasites Dolls focuses in on a special portion of police who deal in crimes involving the mechanical Boomers. Each segment of the series takes place at a certain time of this sci-fi action feature.

Starting in 2034, a secret faction of the A.D. Police labeled as the Branch deals primarily in cases with Boomers, lifelike androids that helped build the metropolis of Genom City, which might have been another name for Megatokyo from the original anime. The first case has detective Buzz leading up an investigation where Boomers are hacked by thrill seekers that send the robots on suicide runs to share the same experience in virtual reality. The second segment happens a year later with a Boomer hooker going around and killing of her high-profile clients. The finale takes place in 2040 where the corrupt Minister of Justice sets up Buzz and the rest of the Branch to take the fall on a plan he has for destroying Boomers all over the city based on a scenario Buss wrote for his college thesis. The surviving Branch members manage to clear their name while ending the villain's scheme, but still leaving most of Genom City destroyed.

Parasite Dolls took the gritty action that the A.D. Police Files OVA series had and that the A.D Police TV series lacked. Bubblegum Crisis is thought of as being a comic book superhero saga, where the A.D. Police material dealt with the steamy underground in its futuristic setting. Parasite Dolls doesn't focus on the division between man and machine, or the fear of artificial intelligence taking over that most cyberpunk stories are soaked in. This OVA instead shows the real implications of having a potentially destructive technology affecting the general population. The largest downside is that it doesn't have the killer soundtrack of the original 80s series.