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Appleseed (Limited Collector's Edition with Metal Case & Action Figure) Actors: Ai Kobayashi, Jûrôta Kosugi, Yuki Matsuoka Director: Shinji Aramaki Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Geneon Entertainment Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-05-10 Buy from Amazon |
 "Welcome to the Next Level"I just had the privilege of watching an advance promo copy of this new version of Appleseed, and I am deeply impressed. Simply put, it is beautiful. Hands down, the animation in Appleseed is some of the best I've ever seen; a stunning combination of computer rendering and cell animation, with mind-blowing results. It puts pretty much every other animated movie I've seen recently -- from "Final Fantasy" to "The Incredibles" -- to absolute shame. Those movies wish they looked this good. The soundtrack, featuring Paul Oakenfold and Ryuichi Sakamoto among others, is also excellent. The music provides counterpoint to key scenes, but is never over the top. The story is a solid one, peopled by believable characters and a steadily-moving plotline. Action sequences are paced nicely, and the dialogue is simple but works. My one complaint (a minor one) is that I wish that they had gotten better voice actors for some of the parts. The actress for Deunan was fine, but better actors for Briareos and Hitomi I think would have carried it a little better. Nevertheless, this was but a minor distraction in an otherwise outstanding film. If you're a fan of Japanese animation, or animated films in general, then you must see this movie. This could well be the first in the next generation of animated movies -- which would be quite fitting. "A new classic...outstanding achievement"The CG animation for Appleseed must be seen to be believed....the story is not confusing or downright depressing like Akira or Ghost in the Shell 2, andit's a great sci-fi action thriller/adventure. I actually read the marketing tagline for this DVD quoting director John Woo "A stunning achievement - it's a new milestone for CG animation"...and I wholeheartedly agree. According to news, John Woo is producing the sequel to this film and Masamune Shirow, the original creator of Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed, is so taken with this film that he's designing characters for the sequel and new TV series....AND get this you loyal Shirow fans - he might do a new manga for it!!! Shirow has stopped working for more than 10 years! I think this film really has that kind of impact on people...some anime fans might complain that this is not a traditional cel anime, but I believe that this is a major step forward for the anime industry as a whole. The world has gone CG, and I think this might be the answer for anime. CG animation is shaded to look like a cool 2D anime - but it no longer is limited animation. I love Ghost in the Shell 2 and other important works of anime, but I belive there is room for a new form of expression and I think this is it. Fans will have richer experience all the more. As for me...I can't wait for the sequel to come out. "Visually amazing anime thriller--an instant classic!"Appleseed recieved a ton of hype prior to its DVD release, and for good reason. Using a new technique called 3D live action CG, the original story has been given an amazing upgrade. The story involves Deunan Knute, a beautiful but deadly soldier, who after World War III is taken to the city of Olympus (which is supposed to be a Utopia). In this city, humans coexist with the Bioroids, an advanced human clone form whose purpose is to make human existence more peaceful. When the balance of this relationship is threatened, Deunan and Briareos are the only hope to save the city of Olympus (from what I wont say). I can say that this movie is action-packed throughout, and there was never a slow moment to me. Another reviewer said that this was not a deep philosophical anime like Akira or Ghost in the Shell, and that is true. But who needs that when you have something that is so visually impressive? One complaint is that the story is too rushed. I thought it was excellent, and it has been said that a sequel is in the works. But anyway, the bottom line is that this is the most impressive CG feature I have ever seen. The characters are very easy to relate to, the action will surely please any fan that wants action in an anime, and the soundtrack in the movie is awesome. So I bought the two-disc version in the LE tin. If you have more money the Briareos figure is a very cool thing to have. As far as the tin goes, it is high quality featuring great artwork from the movie. It is not metal like some others I have bought, and it is hard to explain. Very nice though and a must for anime fans and collectors. There are some great extras in this loaded set compared to other anime movie releases (most come with little or no insight into the making of the film). On disk 1 is the feature film in English or Japanese. There are also previews for other Geneon releases (Samurai Champloo, Paranoia Agent, Fafner and a couple of others). Disk 2 has some pretty great extras as well. There is a behind the scenes featurette with several of the people behind the movie to start out, and it gives their opinions on Appleseed and the pros of this new animated style. It is interesting if you like that sort of thing on DVDs. There is also a concept art gallery as well as image gallery with most of the characters from the movie. Next there are 2 Japanese trailers from the thearical release of Appleseed as well as 1 U.S. trailer. "Appleseed Info" fills you in on some of the names throughout the movie and what they are, such as "Gaia", as well as character bios. Add to this a commentary track from both the director and producer, and it makes for one excellent anime DVD. Overall this is now my favorite anime feature film (and I have seen several). The story was great and easy to understand. The action sequences with Deunan and Briareos are awesome. The songs from the movie are perfectly suited to the scene which adds to its greatness. I believe a lot of people may share my opinion upon first viewing this, but it may not appeal to everybody. Best anime movie ever? That is for you to decide. At least give it a shot, and if you become a fan then this 2 disc version is the one to own.  "Okay movie but starts off to slow"This movie was okay. The animation was good,but nothing spectacular, the movie starts off way to slow and you don't really know whats going on until about the middle part of the movie. After that the movie starts to pick up. I give it a B- in my book.  "CG used for cell animation"Finally we are moving away from the video game genre and back to what anime is... ANIME. Not using the same software to create movies and oh yea a great video game to go with it. I really got tired of the CG animation craze that is hitting anime. I truly miss those 2D cartoons and cell animations of the past. This is a great example of CG used to mimick cell animation. I was walking into a Japantown store when I noticed that they were showing this movie. Well for those wondering, they have everything there since the DVDs are direct imports from Japan in region 2. But anyway, I decided to watch it a bit. I loved how they dipict the robots to be larger than even Godzilla. Boy I was convinced with the director's magic. Also although you can tell by the movements of the characters, that this is somewhat like a dressed down Final Fantasy Spirits Within. Instead of adding more texture and trying to re-invent live action movies, they have decided to mimick cell animation. The art in this movie is revolutionary. Outside Star Wars Clone Wars, and maybe Titan AE, I haven't seen CG used quite this well. |
