Masamune Shirow's best-selling manga is packed with political, ecological, technical, and literary references and subtexts, but it's also an enjoyable science-fiction adventure. Although this version was made on a limited budget, and is showing its age, it's still worth its shelf space. Gainax, whose artistic success with Royal Space Force: The Wings Of Honneamise (1987) the year before had established their reputation for excellence, made the video adaptation, although the quirky design touches they brought to their own film are absent in Appleseed. Olympus is 1980s Japan with robots, which nicely highlights many of the concerns Shirow is expressing. References to US shows and the classic science-fiction film Blade Runner (1982) are easy to spot.
Review of Appleseed
Appleseed
(1988 Video)
In this futuristic Japanse anime film, the experimental metropolis of Olympus is plagued by an elusive terrorist organization.
19 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers