OH GOD GOOD LUCK IS PURE PERFECTION... THAT 30s INTRO WAS ONE OF THE BEST INTROS OF ALL ANIME, yes, up there with Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop, I said it!
Aaannnnd after Good Luck ends it's all downhill from there.
Set in a world where more stable bioroids take the reins of governance from emotionally unstable humans, the philosophical conflict serving as the basis of the plot is a solid one, with very believable motivations for the villainous human military staging a coup to retake power - it's as realistic as humans can get, and the moral conflict over reproductive rights of bioroids as sentient individuals is equally pertinent, forcing us to confront our own fear of others who are different, and reinforces the moral lesson that regardless of difference, the rights of individuals should never be suppressed due to violent discrimination.
Why is the plot and philosophical discussions about expanding definitions of humanity so rich? Remind you of another philosophical work exploring synthetic humanity?
Yes Masamune Shirow wrote Appleseed before the more fleshed out Ghost in the Shell, yes, you can go see the anime now.
I'm saddened to say, unlike Mamoru Oshii's GitS adaptation that enhances the source material, here the brilliant plot is DRAGGED DOWN by mediocre animation and generic characters - the characters aren't humans, they're BARBIE DOLLS with fixed joints that walk like robots. Character development is equally laughably AND tiresomely cliched, a literal pain to endure until action scenes save us from being bored to death.
It's an interesting case study when compared with Oshii's GITS to make us appreciate the subtle ingenuity of true cinematic craftsmanship. Without the rich source material propping it up the film is nothing on its own.
Except Basement Jaxx, I'm going to put that 30s on a loop until I'm brainwashed by it.
