The story has depth, breadth, and coherence (also a staple of Shirow's work). Appleseed has suspense, action, drama, romance, etc., all expertly blended into an examination of human nature. If you're looking for the closure of a "good guys always win" story, you will be ultimately disappointed as the transient and personal nature of values is one of the themes Shirow explores. You might get lost in the highbrow philosophy but inevitably the characters have to take action, for good or ill.
The characters are diverse and engaging and well developed through the stories. You won't find any superfluous swimsuit volumes. Shirow fosters the feeling that there is more going on than what you can see with his characters as well as his storyline.
