Appleseed Alpha

Appleseed is one of my favourite anime series of all time. I think the magic of the series is the relationship of Deunan and Briareos, which is the main "glue" which holds the series together.

This movie cements that with an early look at their pre-ESWAT days, (Especial Weapons & Tactics) for those not in the know.

Unlike the first movie Appleseed and its follow-up Ex Machina, there are no glittering towers of beautiful buildings or people/bioroids living in a harmonious Utopia in the city of Olympus. This is a bombed to Hell urban landscape of mankind's own making and Deunan and Briareos do their best to exist in it while keeping sane and still in love with each other.

The CGI is good, NOT great, but still very good at conveying this while the story, involving stopping a madman cyborg from kick starting another war is involving and action packed.

It's also nice to hear David Matranga and Luci Christian continuing to do the voice acting for these two, I don't think Appleseed would be the same with these two talented voice actors.

Our two heroes do their best and there are moments of real passion of dialogue in the movie, also some fun moments with witty banter while they take down battle droids out in the dust bowls of former cities reduced to dust.

In summation, if your looking for a great intro to the Appleseed story, this is a good place to start, you'll see great action, good anime and a hint at the end of a follow-up movie which will no doubt continue their relationship when they reach Paradise (Olympus).

The IMDb rating is pretty much on.

For a 3D cgi flick in the tradition of Final Fantasy, it is no slouch, it is fun, it holds attention.

The CGI improves from year to year. When the characters walk off scene for example you would swear these are real people. Other movements, not so much. In 40 years they will be able to recreate any great actor from the past, I think, perfectly.

Hopefully I will not be here to see that.

The problem? Why mess with Appleseed? The thing about the AS franchise was the anime. You tune in for the anime. You get lost in the anime.

I even printed outside an oversize pic of Deunan from the original and keep it on the wall. I don't do that a lot. The point is not that I am crazy. The point is that Appleseed is to anime what Godfather is to live action.

So, no disrespect, but what's the point...?

Watched #AppleseedAlpha....

Basically it's an anime sci-fi action movie.... A guy thing. The animation is so brilliant that sometimes it looks like a filmed movie. The action sequences are good. The characters are very cool with cyborgs, drones and robots. The chief characters are a two humans and three more cyborgs. The weapons are pretty cool and so are the villains....

Done saying all that there ain't much after that.... There ain't any sub plot. The main plot I a bit predictable and something we are used to. Over that the second part is full of serous goofs. The kind of goofs we see in sub standard action movies where good guys survive everything,gets new vehicles out of nowhere etc....

#watchable....

Another solid entry in the Appleseed series. Action packed with a solid story line. It is beautifully rendered and if you have the option to see on blu-ray, choose that one. The character designs are excellent (well for the main character especially). The storyline would have greatly benefited from a multi episode arc instead of being crunched down to 90 minutes, but it delivers in the end, and lets you look forward to the next in the sequence without beating you over the head with the half-assed open ending. There were so many plot points that could have been expanded into their own episodes, I would have much enjoyed further detail on the relationship with Two-Horns and Olympus, and even the backstory of the villains themselves. Solid voice acting and direction deliver the goods and the action is solid and engaging.

The oddly named Appleseed Alpha is essentially a series of action sequences punctuated by bland dialogue and weak attempts at character development. First, the story and dialogue are particularly weak and unoriginal. As someone unfamiliar with the comic book series on which the film was based, I was hoping for a little more back story or at least a little more information about the characters and their motivations. Second, the characters are lifeless and unlikeable, and the relationship between the protagonist and her cyborg partner is nearly devoid of humanity--nothing like the cyborg-human relationship in Ghost in the Shell. Strangely, most of the human characters seemed more like cyborgs than the cyborgs did. The animation is the film's saving grace, however, and hardcore anime fans will appreciate the detailed and amazingly lifelike characters and environments. The voice acting is also decent, considering the laughably bad dialogue. Bottom line: I don't recommend it unless you're a serious anime fan who has run out of things to watch.