Appleseed

Appleseed is a work that seems to show up every now and then, after many of us have forgotten it, usually in the form of a reboot or remake. As it stands, the original 1988 anime is the best of the anime versions, so far, but it is not without its flaws.

Appleseed is one of a minority of animated works that can lay claim to being too short. There's is just way too much going on for a single 1 hour film, but, to director Kazuyoshi Katayama's credit, he manages to keep the threads of storyline together enough to make this a largely enjoyable fare.

One ... thing that Appleseed, this 1988 version, does much better than the 2004 version, is moral ambiguity. This sci-fi is ripe with it. Earth is introduced to us having recently suffered catatrophe through World War III. Olympus, a protoype "utopia" of sorts, is the setting, where in step the Bioroids, genetically engineered beings, created by humans, to oversee society and prevent another near apocalyptic event from occuring. As with most political scenarios where control is vested in some people, there are others who want it. The Bioroids, while they do a decent job maintaining peace, are also in total political control of Olympus. This doesn't go over to well with certain humans, who view Olympus as a cage.

One refreshing thing about this anime is the tag team duo of protagonists, Deunan, a very skilled female E.S.W.A.T (read; Special Ops) member, and her partner, the human on the inside, cyborg on the outside, Briareos. Deunan is thrust into the conflict of humans seeking to wrestle power from the Bioroids, and she follows her convictions to their conclusions. Whether or not she makes the right choice at the conclusion of the film is debatable, but it's one of the endearing features of the work.She shines here as a strong female lead, and her relationship with Briareos doesn't fall into a rushed, corny romance trap that we often expect of works like this.

Another note; for an 80s anime, there is a surprising amount of women in positions of power here.

This whole conflict that takes place is complicated with E.S.W.A.T mole(s) corraborating with the humans seeking power, a meddling prime minister, and the computer helping to run the whole show, all of these setting the stage for a solid sci-fi thriller.

However, as I alluded to earlier, the one hour runtime just isn't enough. When you combine these subplots with the various, lengthy action sequences, it becomes apparent that plot development is given the fast track, often to the detriment of the work. Plot developments and devices are introduced almost haphazardly at times, and you're given little time to contemplate on the importance of one thing before another important one springs up. To this point, one major plot device, inolving the character Hitomi, who is, essentially, the key to everything, is severely mishandled. It's thrust into the film in mere seconds even though it is such a crucial point.

The ending is a bit of a mess too, featuring a terribly cheesy Star Wars like apparition imparting words of wisdom. It's almost comical.

That said, the Appleseed universe is a very compelling one because it takes the sci-fi genre and puts a new spin on it. The Bioroids are right to have grievances in that they are meant to serve humans, the humans are right to have grievances in that they have little political power, and so, you have a great setup here with no true good guys or bad guys. Sadly, the potential feels a bit wasted with the rushed nature, but the strong characters, particularly Deunan, and the compelling scenario and moral conflict largely allow Appleseed to be an enjoyable work.

7/10

Saw it the 1st time on tape i got from a friend in 1997, AND I LOVE IT, little that i knew i came fron 1988( tape was the 1994 eng dub), but overall, u either love or hate the animation, but the mecha citydesigns an character development overall is an very enjoyable thing for the likes of oldskool anime, and i LIKED the policeaction scenes although some stuff can be repetitive, the music .... well its just from that time so yeah!

Appleseed is a good but not particularly memorable and short OVA about a dystopian police state, but one that has a strangely compelling subtext for what it is. The story, taken at face value, is very basic. However, it manages to have a little subtlety and moral ambiguity that makes it pretty interesting and a villain with a legitimate point. Overall, it’s easy to recommend this OVA, even if it’s nothing stellar.

To get it out of the way, yes, the story is nothing to write home about and has been done many times before and better. It’s a typical buddy cop deal with Deunan, the ... plucky young female cop, and Briareos, the hard-edged, in this case robotic or ‘biodroid,’ partner. They have a hard-ass boss, Athena, who I grew to like pretty well despite being really cruel at times, which was, I think, a sign of some decent writing. The plot revolves around a resistance movement against a mega corporation trying to take over Earth’s defence system.

It’s a little convoluted, but the main villain, Calon, has a legitimate point. He is also a cop but turns coat because of his experiences with the unethical corporation trying to take over the planet. He is revealed as a traitor immediately, and the story uses this conceit very well to explore his thoughts, feelings, motivations, and inner struggle as he has to betray his friends and colleagues. While the corporation, I believe named Gaia, is not cartoonishly evil, they are benign and uncaring. They are also exceedingly cruel and unsympathetic to people's needs, as demonstrated with how callously they treated Calon when his wife died. Even Gaia's police force is full of, not evil, but cold bureacrats who simply follow orders. Calon is by contrast a highly morally-driven and broken man who thinks he's doing the right thing. It's a great little conflict. As said at the jump, it’s oddly engaging and fascinating, and I wish it was explored more, but a deep villain like this was not something I would’ve expected from Appleseed. I also liked how, in juxtaposition, Athena is your typical hardliner, quasi-authoritarian who just follows orders and has no regard for biodroid life or ethics despite being on the good team. All of this is really intriguing stuff; it’s only a shame the OVA is quite short, so it’s not explored that much to elevate the whole story beyond merely serviceable overall. Beyond this specific conflict, there's stuff like the funny hijinx with Briareos, Deunan and Hitomi being dumb, nothing compelling. Despite being very important, Sebastian does not steal his scenes compared to Calon and the overall plot is not great.

The characters are, on the whole, solid, though not always very good. I liked Briareos (excellent design), Athena, and especially Calon, a surprisingly decent villain. On the other end of the spectrum, I found that the main character, Deunan, Hitomi, and even Sebastian, the other major villain, were on the dull side. It’s definitely a mixed bag. There are no characters who are outright annoying or ruin things, but it’s carried hard by the good characters. I will say that as a fan of buddy cop movies, Briareos stood out as a likable character who I did end up wanting to root for by the end. It was one of those things stepping back and being surprised how much I genuinely cared about this Astaroth 2P costume looking robot cop. The voice cast for this was pretty decent, not great, but the dub had some overlap with other 80s and 90s shlock I have watched, like Mad Bull. The range of Calon’s voice actor from this, to the Brooklyn accent of Mad Bull, is genuinely impressive. The sound overall is another thing that’s just okay at best.

The comedy and character interactions range from alright to a bit cringe-worthy. I think the dub helps out here as the characters feel pretty realistic and have a bit of an edge to them, and it feels like a sci-fi version of New York or Chicago. So that’s an easy fit for everything there, and it’s less awkward. It’s too short to explore futuristic culture too much, but it’s okay.

The visuals are good, but nothing stands out. It doesn’t look bad, considering it’s from 1988, but you can definitely tell the era it’s from, and it has a few pretty bad sequences. It does not look exactly theatrical; there is a very much made-for-TV quality standard going on here, and it does have a cheap finish in some areas. I did like the action. It's slow, but competent and has some fun set pieces. Nothing to drag it down; it looks fine, but I was surprised Gainax, of all people, made this. You would never know other than the story having some kinda out there ideas. The designs are also somewhat forgettable sci-fi fare. Briareos is cool, but the mechs are some of the most generic ones I’ve seen in an anime, like something Iron Man would’ve rejected as an early draft for his bulkier suits. Sebastian’s design and augmentations are somewhat cool, but that’s all. The final giant mech that resembles a squid a little bit is very underwhelming, honestly, and I pretty much rolled my eyes when it appeared like, that’s it? This was the big threat being built up all this time. Its stilted and low-budget animation was also pretty disappointing. Narratively it’s fine, it just did nothing for me visually.

The length is a blessing and a curse. It definitely never overstays its welcome, making it easy to recommend. On the other hand, it could only get so far in just over an hour of screen time. Even then, it definitely could’ve been better with a more refined script and story or a higher budget. Considering the low budget, length, and release date, it’s a workman-like production.

Overall, this is definitely a mixed bag, but still good. I was dithering on how much I liked it, but I came out of it engaged with the parts I liked. There’s plenty of bad and mediocre, but it’s also short enough that it’s easier to overlook. In short, if you just want a fun sci-fi buddy cop movie with some ideas that might appeal to you beyond that and mostly inoffensive anyway, you might as well check this out.

Straightforward and easy to understand solid plot. The art and animation is pure old school. The dub is good. After watching more modern anime, it sounds odd to hear so much cussing, but it adds to the flavor. Especially because combat units are generally pretty raw. I love the relationship between Briareos and Deunan. It's not developed as much as in the 2004 and 2008 movies, but the companionship and a sense of something more underneath the surface is still there. Deunan is drawn very cute and Briareos has a unique sense of style. Recommended for fans of cyberpunk and well told tales.

Alright, I am the trash queen and the 80s animation style is one i love automatically. also, this has robots and cyberpunk stuff in it. so i really tried hard to find ways of loving this. and my god do i love this. my reviews tend to be primers for the anime so, yeh, here goes.

*go watch the 2004 appleseed film to get an idea of who and what everyone and everything is... it actually explains what 'appleseed' is and has a lot of shining moments even if it is a little patchy*

oh god the dubbing is awful (but a million times more entertaining than ... the sub) (listen to the dvd commentary to find them talking about how the voice actors for this never even met), the animation uses really uninteresting angles and colours, and the music is kinda unmemorable and sedate. the co-main character has a bizarre and unsatisfying design choice and his voice is just so meh. also it shows you hardly any of the olympus city which is the thing which the film is focused on scrutinising. also the action is really low key and unimpressive. also this city in the future is basically a normal looking city which feels very very very very unimaginative. the main baddie is also boringly designed.

right, so the way to approach the action in animes like this is to treat every moment as if it's meant to be awesome because the action is pretty frequent but short, which is actually a really good way to do a movie in my opinion. the action is adquate but just very low key. don't expect big things.

so the point of this movie is to shine a light on the city that has risen out of the ruins of the world, which is considered the perfect society but do humans desire freedom too much to live peaceably with this place? it's this kind of schlocky sci-fi dys/utopian hi-concept philosophicalish side to it which i really enjoy because it's actually trying to say something. AND THAT'S WHY THE CITY IS SO LIKE CURRENT CITIES - BECAUSE IT'S US!!!!! i mean its not us, but i think we're meant to make the connection. and they sacrificed the architecture and interesting technology for the sake of that. which is unforgiveable. but i also love how committed they are to it, even tho it sacrifices the quality so much.

okay, so i really like hitomi. a relatively minor character in the film though i hear she plays a bigger role in the manga. she's lovely, she's a star.

also, the robot/mech designs are clearly where the effort was put in. they are pleasing.

the dubbing is awful and sometimes hilarious but it's kinda underacted and that's the opposite of what i want from a dub.

okay, so basically this film is trash. it has gore, which is cool. it also manages some of the least fanservice i've ever seen in a film of this trash level - there is a shower scene implied but NOT SHOWN. pretty progressive for the time. i love this. it has swearing, it has corruption or something, it has complex baddies sort of.

if this has put you off, don't watch it. but if it sounds like it might be kinda amazing if you spend enough time with it, then watch it and be satisfied. it's not as bad as i make it sound, but oh god i mean every word of this review.

omg, right at the end, it totally looks like it's gonna devolve into a thelma and louise situation. amirite?

I really liked this. Even at only 70 minutes it captures what the story is about very well and has all the characteristics of the great old school 80s animé movies but with more depth than you usually find. The remake is far less meaningful and is basically a platform to showcase impressive CGI - as I see it. It looks basic so might put some of the newer animé fans off, but to me this is a very special film.

Based on the manga from Masamune Shirow and directed by Kazuyoshi Katayama (who would later go on to direct "The Big O"), Appleseed (1988) gives us a sci-fi thriller plot that moves at a break-neck space, with wonderfully stunning animation, characters that are easy to get invested in and while also providing social commentary on the idea of utopianism and the role of chaos within in an orderly setting. All the while, it makes it so that it does not come across as preachy, since the characters through which the 'more' philosophical dialogue is introduced are speaking in context of their own experiences making the ... employment or use of the themes to be coherent and well-related to the story as well as open to criticism by other characters.

The Movie opens up with somewhat of a tragic event that leads us into expertly establishing the motivations for its Antagonist from the get-go. This sort of pacing made it so that it never felt too rushed while also telling the entire story within just an hour of film. In this way the characters managed to be well-fleshed out within a short amount of time without rushing any development. Subtle choices through dialogue that made sense and flowed smoothly throughout the OVA.

The Main Plot revolves around these terrorists that the Police Force has to combat in order for the city's security and people's safety. While most terrorists are doing this for money, there is one particular character who, like Kazuho Yoshii from Texhnolyze, or Joker from The Dark Knight, does it for the sake of "sending a message". While now seeming cliched, one must keep in mind that this was not so cliched in the 80s. So in a lot of ways, Appleseed can be said to be ahead of its time.

Other than the Plot and Characters, The Art and Animation were fantastic. Some of the songs from the Soundtrack were pretty great and complemented the scenes well. Overall it was good and worked for the Film. The Dub was quite dated, but can easily be enjoyed by any anime fan who grew up on old dubs. Some of the voices for the main cast were decent and serviceable, while the side-characters sounded comedically bad. So take what you will from it or avoid it altogether if you dislike dubs.

Overall: Appleseed kept me engaged throughout, had quality action/animation, gave me memorable characters while also providing interesting themes to think about. 8.5/10

Appleseed is a decent Ova. Most of the characters fall into their generic stereotypes with one exception. The antagonist is well motivated and thought out, standing above the other characters, and is the star of the anime. The Ova is well paced overall and never feels too rushed. The animation does not look dated and holds up well. Appleseed only has one real shortcoming, the story. The overall narrative while not unique is sufficient. But, there are moments when character agency takes a backseat in favor of a plot driven narrative. This happens infrequently but is rather ... annoying. Appleseed remains extremely watchable.