The four women who make up the Knight Sabers aren’t necessarily stereotypes, but they do fit certain roles in the group: Sylia is the stoic leader, Priss is the hotheaded muscle, Linna is the graceful fighter, and Nene is the smart hacker. Even though they’re stronger together than apart, there’s a weak link who just happens to be my least favorite character in Bubblegum Crisis:

Nene Romanova.

This woman … I have no idea why Sylia ever lets her go out and fight anything. Half of the time, she falls to the ground and sobs, a la Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon), except that she doesn’t get up and kick the bad guy’s ass after getting in a good, whiny cry. Instead, she nearly gets killed and has to be rescued by the rest of the team. Another part is the English dub; I already hate the dub, anyway, but she’s so needlessly squeaky and over-the-top not-quite Valley Girl that it’s almost unbearable to hear her speak. Luckily, she is relegated to a background character quite often, at least until “Scoop Chase.”

The reboot actually did a very good job translating the character into someone more relatable, and the voice actress in the dub (Hillary Haag) is just brilliant, making her a child-like yet still capable member of the team. She still isn’t the strongest fighter, but she’s much less likely to need someone to swoop in to save her. I’m sure that her character was updated to match the times, but I really wish they’d made her more self-sufficient and helpful in the original.

Dammit, now I wanna watch 2040. But I can’t until I finish rewatching this show and then follow that with Yellowjackets and Book of Boba Fett.

Art Credit: FanPop