Here is all the information our agents have been able to gather
on the vocal cast of the new Bubblegum Crisis televised anime.  Much of
it comes from somewhat unreliable sources, and so all of it should be
taken with a grain of salt until the series actually begins airing.  The
cast is composed of a mixture of the original voices of the OVAs and new,
fresh voices.

	In the role of the leader of the mysterious "Soldier Girls" known
as the Knight Sabres, Sylia Stingray, is the industry veteran who 
originally voiced her, Sakakibara Yoshiko.  However, owing to canny
negotiations on her agency's part, she will generally be speaking only a
handful of lines in each episode, in order to allow her to maintain her
voice.  An anonymous source within AIC revealed this, as well as the fact
that this has compelled what the source termed "massive rewriting" of the
series scripts, changing the character to make her even more mysterious
and taciturn.  When asked if this hadn't actually been done to appeal to
fans of a certain GAINAX character, the source appeared mortified and
fled.  Sakakibara could not be reached for comment.

	But neither of the voice actors who originally provided the voice
of Priss Asagiri, Omori Kinuko and Tachikawa Ryouko, will be returning to
provide her voice in this new series.  (In fact, Tachikawa-san hurled
epithets and hung up on an interviewer the instant after the word
Bubblegum was said in conversation with her.)  A different anonymous
source at AIC revealed that the role is going to Mitsuishi Kotono, best
known as the voice of the pretty soldier Sailormoon.  However,
Mitsuishi-san has also experimented with other roles, such as Sagakuchi
Koume of Blue Seed, and Katsuragi Misato of Shin Seiki Evangelion, almost
as if she had been aiming for this role for a while now.  She was kind
enough to give our agent a phone interview, in which she confirmed the
casting and described how excited she was.  When asked if she could say
anything about the storyline, Mitsuishi-san giggled and said, "Let's just
say that if Priss-san screams `Sylvie!' this time, it won't be under
*quite* the same circumstances as in the OAVs ..."  Mitsuishi-san's most
recent role has been as the lesbian duellist Arisugawa Juri in the 
intriguing Shoujo Kakumei Utena.

	Even after five years of playing Hino Rei on Bishoujo Senshi
Sailor Moon, Tomizawa Michie claims to be have enjoyed the comradery of
the series.  However, since its end, she said in a personal interview,
she has been waiting for "a meaty role that didn't involve me being a
bimbo," which summarized the majority of her roles prior to doing Linna
Yamazaki for the original Bubblegum Crisis.  She coyly refused to confirm
or deny that she would be returning for the television show, but stated
that in an upcoming role her character would demonstrate Tomizawa-san's
excellent singing voice, in a sequence where her character is in
competition with another character better known for musical endeavors.
When told that Mitsuishi Kotono would be portraying Priss in the new
series, Tomizawa-san let out a hollow scream and expelled our agent from
her appartment, babbling something about "seduction".

	Nene Romanova's original voice actor, the talented Hiramatsu
Akiko, will be unable to reprise the role, due to her commitment to the
Taiho Shichauzo feature length animation.  Apparently, there is no word
yet on who will take her place, although the odds seem to be on Yokoyama
Chisa, who is said to be working herself into a frenzy of cuteness in
preparation for the role.  Hayashibara Megumi was approached, but was
forced to decline because of the beginning of the Banko Bunko Nekomusume
Nuku^2 series.  (Reports suggest that she *may* make a guest appearance
midway through the first season, possibly as Sylvie.)  Araki Kae is said
to desperately want the part, and a source who asked not to be named
claims that she has been carefully examining Gunsmith Cats manga
compilations in hopes of channeling the spirit of Minnie May to bring that
character's skills to bear on the matter.

	Next in importance to the Knight Sabres are the characters of the
AD Police detectives Leon McNichol and Daley Wong.  Daley's character has
been subtly changed from his role in the original series, and will now
only be pretending to be homosexual as part of an obscure joke between him
and Leon.  Leon himself has been changed -- still another anonymous AIC
source revealed that he will be changing his tactics in pursuing Priss --
"Instead of flirting with her to no avail, he will be chasing after all of
her attractive female friends, in hopes that she will jealously pursue
him.  Hey, it worked for Ataru, didn't it?"  What Furukawa Toshio,
reprising the role, had to say about this was mildly unprintable.
  
	Yet, despite all this information, one question remains:  Am I
fooling *anybody* with this sack of bologna?

Chris Davies.
(In a weird mood ... bear with me ...)