2004, Geneon Entertainment
Main Cast: Voices of Ai Kobayashi, Jurota Kosugi, Yuki Matsuoka, Mami Koyama
Director: Shinji Aramaki
Plot Summary: In the post-apocalyptic world of 2131 a young soldier is brought out of the war zone to the utopian city of Olympus. There she meets an ex-lover and learns of the bioroids, non-humans that look exactly like humans but lack strong emotions. War breaks out in the city as the bioroid future hangs in the balance.
Mixing plots from various other themes, Appleseed has stunning visuals. Using human models, the animators managed to create extremely life-like figures. The broken-down and blasted wastelands are suitably grim, while in contrast the gleaming city of Olympus is bright and ultra high-tech.
Appleseed focuses on a young woman bred for war. Captured and pulled out of the wasteland, she does a fair job of settling in. Having a bioroid friend named Hitomi helps, as well as her ex-lover Briareos. who is now a cyborg, lending the required amount of romantic angst to the tale. The solider, Deunan, is definitely very skilled at warfare, but perhaps needs a bit of practice at personal relationships. She is attacked by mysterious robotic forces and learns of the unrest between the humans and bioroids. Seems not a few humans don’t like the artificial life and want to get rid of them. But the ruling body, a bunch of old men attached to the world computer named “Gaia”, call the shots.
Despite the main plot, this story is really about Deunan and her past. She flies out to an abandoned laboratory, which triggers a few memories. Is it any surprise that she learns that her past holds the key to the struggle today? Can she figure out who is telling the truth and who is not in time to save the city? No and probably, if I was asked to hazard a guess.
As I said the visuals are stunning. While the story isn’t exactly new, if you enjoy anime and sci-fi, and don’t mind a few cliches every now and again, then you’ll like Appleseed. Just don’t expect anything completely original.
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