Armitage III

Armitage has always been one of my favourite Animes of all time. Forget Polymatrix I'm talking about the OVA series. Now most people stereo typically look on Anime as being over sexed, over the top action and over Hyped. Now Armitage is one of those rare types that manages to convince your average viewer that it will contain all this and yet is infinitely deeper, a typical story as far as the Blade runner type synopsis goes it however manages to blend great animation, great action, even abit of romance with a sensitivity unheard of with Anime in this Genre. And it really works. If your just a casual Anime viewer this may not be too your liking, But if your religious about it as I am, then Armitage should at least be in your top ten of things to watch even if only to say you watched it and thought it was OK. But believe me you won't be disappointed.

One of my favourite, so my opinion might be slightly bias.

I originally hired out the OVA episodes from the video store, and loved it since then, and when the re-release with the OVA episodes cut into make the movie PolyMatrix, i went out and got it, only to be horridly disappointed when Ross Sylibus's voice was replaced with Keith Sutherland.

I don't know if it was keith doing a bad job, or what, but in the PolyMatrix version, he just felt like a robot, reading lines straight from the script with no feeling in his words.

So I quickly returned PolyMatrix, and went on a witch hunt till i found the OVA episodes all on DVD :D (THANKFULLY, MADMAN Entertainment, that dubbed DualMatrix, didn't use keith.)

Armitage III is a gritty, stylish cyberpunk anime that explores themes of artificial intelligence, identity, and what it means to be human - all wrapped in a detective story set on a colonized Mars. The atmosphere is moody and futuristic, with a strong noir influence.

The plot focuses on a cop and his mysterious partner investigating a series of crimes involving humanoid robots. As the story unfolds, it tackles ethical and emotional questions about android rights and personhood - especially through the lens of the character Naomi Armitage, who's more than she appears.

Visually, it has a distinct mid-'90s aesthetic with a solid soundtrack that amplifies the cyberpunk vibe. While it's not as philosophical as Ghost in the Shell, it still delivers a compelling mix of action, mystery, and heart.

👍 Worth watching if you like:

Gritty cyberpunk worlds

Human vs machine themes

Strong female leads

Classic 90s anime style.

There was an OVA of Armitage III made that consisted of 4 episodes.

This was later cut down to make the Movie, Poly Matrix. Poly Matrix is a good movie, if you like it I suggest you look for the original OVA as it's the same thing, only about twice as long and explains more of the plot.

After Poly Matrix came Dual matrix, which is much more recent and uses far more advanced animation and is also, in my opinion, a better movie.

Overall, Armitage is a good series, it's not quite as action packed as most anime's are and in fact comes across as a more sensitive movie, but it's till very enjoyable.

I remember owning the 1995 Japanese Anime mini-series "Armitage III" on VHS back in the day. And I have to say that I rather enjoyed it back then, and when I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it digitally here in 2023, of course I jumped at the chance to do so.

And I have to say that the storyline is every bit as enjoyable, entertaining and watchable today as it was back in 1995. And it was nice to return to the mini-series and watch it again, getting it freshened up in my mind. I only vaguely remembered the entire plot, to be honest.

Writer Chiaki J. Konaka and director Hiroyuki Ochi put together something quite unique and enjoyable when they made the Manga into an Anime. Granted, I've never read the Manga, so I don't know how true they were to the material from Manga writers Zarae Otana and Tatsuya Ikegami. Regardless, this 1995 Anime is definitely good entertainment.

The character gallery in "Armitage III" is also rather nice. The characters are nicely detailed and fleshed out on the screen, pardon the pun.

The art in "Armitage III" is good, with lots of nice details and good colors. And it is also rather nicely animated, which makes it a very dynamic Anime to sit through.

If you haven't watched "Armitage III" already, and if you enjoy cyberpunk, then give it a go if you get the chance to do so.

My rating of "Armitage III" lands on a seven out of ten stars.