Appleseed

I should note first that I'm not the biggest anime fan. I've seen a number of anime films and serials, but the genre has never quite clicked with me. If you're a huge anime fan, you might like Appleseed far more than I did.

Not that I hated it. It has some elements that were very successful. The animation is very impressive. One of my past complaints with anime has been that the artistry often looks like cut-rate Saturday morning cartoon fare. None of those low-budget shortcuts are visible here, even if another bothersome, bizarre staple of anime is present--namely that most of the characters look like Caucasians who just stepped out of a Walter Keane painting.

But the animation is all technically sophisticated, highly stylized 3D modeling. It's a bit like a complex video game world, except that the artistry is cranked up to 11. If you're at all a fan of that look, or you like immersing yourself in filmic fantasy worlds, Appleseed is worth a view for the visuals alone. There are all kinds of hip "camera movements". There is a fascinating, regular incorporation of photographic textures and photographic phenomena like explosions, smoke and water. At times, Appleseed looks as much like a computerized version of claymation as it looks like standard animation--the objects and the "people" in the film have that much weight, texture and depth.

But then there's the story. I don't usually believe that derivativeness is a flaw, but here, derivativeness is about all we're given. In terms of tone, and even a lot of very literal references, you'd achieve something like this if you put, say, Blade Runner (1982), Aliens (1986), Terminator I (1984) and II (1991), Star Wars Episodes I (1999) and II (2002), I Robot (2004), and the three Matrix films (1999 and 2003) into a blender and hit "Chop". And the references to other films do not end there. Appleseed director Shinji Aramaki even gives us one character, Briareos (voiced by James Lyon in the English language version), who inexplicably looks like Frank the bunny from Donnie Darko (2001). Of course, as in just about any anime film, there is the constant "Transformers" (1984) aesthetic--that's part of what amounts to a technological fetishism--and there have to be some nods to kaiju (Japanese monster) films.

The actual plot, which was based on manga (Japanese comic books) by Shirow Masamune, concerns a post-apocalyptic society (of course) that has attempted to create a utopia, Olympus (there are a lot of very shallow Greek mythology references). At the beginning, we see Deunan Knute (voiced by Amanada Winn Lee, or "Jennifer Proud", in the English language version) fighting off a bunch of Terminator/Transformer-like robots, Matrix-style. She's captured by a militaristic organization known as "E-SWAT", who take her to Olympus, which she didn't know existed. She learns at Olympus that there is another race of humans, "bioroids", who are genetically engineered clones, designed to "keep the peace". The bioroids cannot reproduce on their own--that was a "safety" feature built into them by humans worried that they'd otherwise take over. There is a Star Wars-styled council of elders (and occasionally congressional meetings right out of Episode II). And of course, there is a rebel faction of humans who are determined to wipe out the bioroids. Deunan ends up in the middle of all of this, partially because she is related to persons who were important in the history of Olympus, but more importantly, because she's an unstoppable, butt-kicking soldier, ala Ripley in Aliens, but given Neo-like powers, after he's had all of the kung-fu and weapons programs downloaded. The plot turns out to be something like a war between the rebel faction and the official government, in a race against time to see who'll survive and how.

As you might expect given a plot like that, Appleseed is a bit heavy on exposition--screenwriters Haruka Handa and Tsutomu Kamishiro have to explain a whole other world, including the intricacies of its politics, social problems, and a lot of technological gobbledy-gook. But you might not expect the exposition to be as heavy as it is. Voice actors frequently have to rattle off very long stretches of explanatory dialogue--this continues throughout the length of the film. They often sound like they're reading, and not much of an effort was made to make the exposition flow naturally in the story. Probably because there's absolutely no way to make such heavy handed stuff flow and not seem like a chore to listen to instead.

But even that wouldn't have to be so bad. I was reluctantly becoming acclimated to convoluted explanations, even if they remained a bit clichéd and hokey. What killed it for me, however, is that the further you go into the film, the more melodramatic it becomes. By the end, every bit of dialogue is delivered as if the fate of the world is resting on characters' feigned, overly serious concern, and annoyingly, they keep saying each other's names at least once every other sentence. I don't think a single one of these characters ever met a sense of humor. That disposition is a hard sell, and it needs far more artistry than a mishmash of genre film conventions in a predictable post-apocalyptic scenario.

Still, even though the story was growing more problematic by the minute, I found myself being slightly wrapped up in the climax. Aramaki is able to build suspense and put viewers on the edge of their seats even if they're annoyed. Imagine what he could do with a good script! I should also briefly comment on the music. Even though the score also tends to be a bit melodramatic and manipulative at times, there are a lot of good songs in the film ranging over various techno/electronica styles. If you're at all into that stuff, don't miss the soundtrack.

Anime' has come a long way from the days of gratuitous bloodshed and borderline pornography that marked its early notoriety here in the United States.

Part of this massive and successful transition into mainstream American cinema has been due to technological breakthroughs in animation, computer digitization, and detailing. Immediately, you think of the films of Hayao Miyazaki, "Ghost in the Shell" (1995), and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" (1988).

"Appleseed," the latest addition to the list of groundbreaking Anime' films in the last 10 years, is yet another skillful advance in the world of Japanese animation.

This film has a plot that's not greatly different from past adventures: a rebel female soldier, Deunan Knute, is captured at the beginning of the movie after a fierce battle in the ruins of a large city. She's flown back to the city of Olympus, a vast metropolis that looks a lot like "Blade Runner" on a better day.

Human beings (grudgingly) coexist with the Bioroids, human androids, who are slowly becoming the majority, already with one serving as the city's prime minister. Bioroids have a limited emotional range (sound familiar?) and cannot reproduce, nor can they experience feelings such as love or anger.

When the Bioroid generation center is attacked, Deunan, a kind and curious Bioroid named Hitomi, and Deunan's cyborg lover Briareos link the attack to a deadly conspiracy involving the (still human) military and the mysterious 7 Elders, who control Olympus' main control center.

If you don't buy the story, then at least "Appleseed" will draw you in by using its lush, beautiful animation and graphics, which are surely the next stage in the evolution of Anime'. The plot is convincing, if not wholly original, and fans of Philip K. Dick may spot some of the scattered references to "Blade Runner."

Certainly a testament to Anime' and animation in general, "Appleseed" should definitely not be missed.

7/10

First things first; if you're looking for a literary masterpiece or an anime masterful like the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii, then Appleseed is not for you. It's plot is cliché with the overused science fiction premise of struggle between two coexisting races and the flaws and sins of humans, and the general execution of the plot is also in no way an outstanding one of the genre.

What Appleseed truly is, is a technological achievement in 3D animation for Japanese anime. It's animation style is far from Hollywood animation features like Finding Nemo and Shrek, instead it uses cel-shading technology which we've already seen in video games, and takes it up to a very high and polished level. The result is a beautiful movie with jaw-dropping animation, such that one cannot doubt that this style will pave the way for the future of anime movies. The range of emotions expressed through the CG is impressive; and motion capture has worked beautifully into the film, making it a seamless viewing experience. As a whole product, it's graphical presentation rivals that of great 2D animation features.

Other aspects are fairly well done; the music is done fairly well, with the opening song giving it a distinct flavour but later that fades away to the average run-of-the-mill songs that aren't particularly effective in rousing the emotions and senses. The artistic direction is great, with wonderful colors and tones chosen to accentuate the mood from the bleak dark ruins to the pastel colors of the Utopia. Scene execution is also stellar, and the structural development of the movie is natural although inter character relationships are somewhat lacking in development.

As a whole, it's an extremely graphically polished product based on an overused premise.

Appleseed simultaneously suffers from the worst Anime has to offer and benefits from the best animation and production a modern production can have. If you are a hardcore Manga fan (or just occasionally fond of it like me) you'll be aware of the most typical clichés, most of which make up the bulk of the Appleseed story.

So...we have a world set after WWIII, in which a Utopian Society has finally found peace. But there are still some people who cannot help but let their anger and bigotry take hold. Android/Clones with suppressed emotions help balance out Utopia and some even want to be fully-fledged humans. There are humans who hate these Androids and wish them to all die out. And there are some Android who hate humans and wish them to all die out. And finally, there is a big computer who runs everything.

Nothing there you haven't seen before huh? It also takes a while to build up momentum. Though when it does, the plot twists and turns and action scenes are truly exhilarating. The animation quality is breath-taking with seamless blending of hand-drawn, motion capture, CGI and 3D images. Style and plot-wise it is very, very similar to Sky Blue/Wonderful Days. But since they were in production at the same time one cannot accuse the other of plagiarism.

The sheer amount of technology and hardware in the movie will make you drool. There are loads of cool devices, futuristic inventions and awesome weaponry. There is also loads of atmosphere with gorgeous, gorgeous sunsets, storm-lashed oil rigs and wonderfully blue-sky-ed cityscapes with an environmentally friendly amount of trees everywhere.

The Matrix 'inspired' action can be a bit annoying sometimes. We've seen people diving through the air in slow motion will taking out supposedly highly-trained soldiers? And the music is kinda uninspiring. With contributions from Basement Jaxx and Paul Oakenfold one expected it to be a lot better.

When you take the good with the bad, Appleseed still comes out as worthwhile and enjoyable. If your new to Anime then you can forgive the clichés, if your a big fan then you'll be awe-struck by the impressive production values.

With nice cel-shaded graphics and fantastic CGI in a nice blend, Appleseed will not disappoint the eye. There is enormous attention to detail, reflections, shading and other small things. Many of the scenes, especially involving the giant city complex, could have worked as art if you froze the frame.

The story is pretty unoriginal though, which is a shame. I won't tell you anything, but it's likely you'll see references from a wild collection of sources. Characters have varying depth, and some felt like they needed a bit of fleshing out. Lip-sync was so-so and the same goes for most of the voices(in Japanese).

Music is cool and futuristic, with a few surprises thrown in(Basement Jaxx? What the?) and fits the scenes nicely. Sound follows the same pedantic attention-to-detail pattern as the animations. The action is very, very cool, even though it's not a pure action fest.

While the storyline doesn't feel too much like Manga, the animation really is. Manga eyes can be bugging, but it was OK. The transformer-esquire mechs where really cool even though they were very similar(then again, I've never watched Transformers).

So, in closing, is this worthwhile? Sure. It's storyline is not so complex you need to scratch your head, like other anime(Akira or Final Fantasy), and the animation is a feast to the eyes. Give it a try.