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Appleseed Director: Shinji Aramaki Rating: M Now showing at Palace/Nova Most Japanese anime fans will already be well aware of the 'Appleseed' franchise. However, for those that are new to the genre, here's a quick history lesson: 'Appleseed' was originally released as a manga (Japanese comic) back in the late 1980s, and was penned by none other than Masamune Shirow, the legendary figure behind the 'Ghost In The Shell' series. The manga was very successful at the time and an animated version of the story quickly followed in 1988. Since then, however, the world of 'Appleseed' has remained largely dormant. That is, until now. This latest offering of 'Appleseed' seeks to bring the story to a whole new generation of viewers. And for a while there, it almost looks like it could prove a roaring success... The biggest drawcard of this updated 'Appleseed' is definitely in its animation. The film employs an innovative animated technique, which, essentially, creates a 3D computer generated world, but inhabits it with the use of seemingly 2D 'cartoon' characters. It results in a beautifully jaw-dropping and innovative style of animation and also allows the film-makers to create a number of intense and hard-hitting action sequences, in a similar vein to 'The Matrix'. The other big plus about 'Appleseed' is in its intricate plot. Like all of Shirow's other work, the plot involves a complex concoction of sci-fi, politics, and philosophy, serving to create a truly interesting and exciting vision for the future of humanity. Unfortunately, there's not the room to expand much more than that, but rest assured, if you can get your head around it, the 'Appleseed' idea is definitely sci-fi anime at its best. So it looks good and the plot shows promise. What, then, could go wrong? Well, unfortunately for 'Appleseed' fans, just about everything else. By far the biggest problem with the film is its characters - while the futuristic idea of the story is good, the characters that follow this complex plotline around are about as interesting as a wet plank of wood. Which is a real shame, because Shirow, at least in his comics, was well regarded for the depth of his character development. The other big problem with the film is the last 40 minutes or so. The first half of 'Appleseed' features so much promise; its action scenes are exciting, and its futuristic world is fascinating. However, the last half of the film degenerates into a confusing and tangled mess. The main character is soon thrown into about five different, competing plot threads (including a terribly conceived love story), and none are resolved even remotely satisfactorily. The final battle sequence will also likely leave action aficionados thoroughly disappointed. 'Appleseed' has thus both good and bad traits - making it, overall, a pretty mediocre anime experience. Anime fans will surely find something to like here, but others should definitely look elsewhere for their first anime fix.  |
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