Rating of
2.5/4
"Appleseed" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/01/12
After a world war devastates the Earth a Utopian city of the future is the subject of a power struggle between the benign genetically engineered clones and suspicious human military that inhabit it. Appleseed is 100% Japanese Anime in that is literally a Manga comic brought to life with all their inherent strengths and weaknesses. The visuals are absolutely glorious; the opening which can best be described as a Wachowski inspired take on the future scenes of The Terminator and climactic battle sequences are absolutely breathtaking. The CGI may be a little dated in the fast moving world of technology, but this is an example where computers are used in an inventive and creative way, rather than painstakingly trying to recreate reality; I personally could not give a crap whether every hair on a characters head moves realistically or not. This combination of cel-shaded characters and fabulous Japanese production design is far more pleasing to my eyes. The action scenes are brilliantly done, directed in a frenetic and thrilling way and yet are also very clear and easily followed. Bay, are you listening? Unfortunately, as usual the long-winded "explanations" that link these superb sequences tend to be the usual anime cocktail of overly convoluted techno-gibberish, pop psychology and sentimentality, but the astonishing visuals and action make up for the shortcomings in the plot. If you want some robot-orientated ass kicking without the Bayisms and bimbos, this is well worth a look.
