Appleseed Alpha (2014) User Reviews

Weak plot great artwork

[mcoelenfun · 7/10 · 11 January 2015]

To be perfectly honest what this movie misses most is a game controller. The movie consists of good action scenes great boss battles and over the top weapons and abilities. Why then do I have to sit still and watch instead of actually engaging in the battles?

The plot of this movie is nothing to write home about. You have seen it in one form or another a million times before, often better executed. Would've done nicely for a game though.

The artwork however: sublime. I really doubted in the beginning of the movie whether it was animation or live action (other scenes are less convincing but still). The ruins of New York look like a delight to wander around in and to just explore.

I can honestly say I watched this movie for the art, not the story.

Great addition to the franchise

[malignance · 8/10 · 9 November 2014]

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).

Decent 3D CGI sci fi action

[siderite · 7/10 · 23 July 2014]

I remember little from the Appleseed anime that I saw when I was younger so this is basically me commenting on this movie as standalone. The Third World War came and went, leaving the entire planet in chaos. The story follows two former soldiers that are now working as mercenaries for a thug. They meet a mysterious girl and her cyborg protector and decide to help them out in their mission against some psychopathic bad guys.

The end of the world theme, the political or social commentary usual in Masamune Shirow's work, they are all downplayed, almost not existent. Instead the entire flow of the movie is centered around fighting. The animation is decent, considering it is 3D CGI in its entirety, but when you think about it, they worked with about 10 body models. All the henchmen look alike, for example. They did a good job, but I think the physics looked off for most of the time: nothing gets destroyed unless it explodes, the cars are moving in weird ways and the hand to hand combat is clumsy.

Bottom line: as vaguely as I remember the 1984 Appleseed anime, I remember seeing it. This one will probably be forgotten by the time I save this review. Not bad, but not terribly good either. Animation was decent, but not great, the story simple and the characters formulaic and hard to empathize with. I think the fact that the character I connected most with was the thug, rather than the various heroes and villains, says it all. And I am still waiting for 3D animation to make me feel like a good anime does.

yes no yes no

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 17 December 2014]

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...?

good movie but i wished for more action scenes .

[Mahmoud_Mohy_1 · 7/10 · 21 July 2014]

i have to say that it's a really good movie. some of you would know that this is the third movie of "Applessed" this one is at the same level as the previous two movies "Appelessed " & "Appelessed Saga: Ex Machina". we see the comeback of the the female warrior Deunan Knute and her cyborg lover/partner Briareos and of course as the bad guy we have Tereus. you will find a new character "two horns" which is quite exciting and a has an important part in the movie.

there isn't a lot of action scenes , i have to say i hoped for more but the story is quite good and at the end i enjoyed the movie.

quick hint of what you will see (not a Spoiler): "Deunan Knute" & "Briareos" are now working for "two horns" as they do some missions for him and at one of the missions they save two individuals "Olson" & "Iris" from death and then they found out those two individuals have an important mission and that is when Deunan & Briareos offered to help to defeat the enemy "Tereus" and save the last hope for mankind.

Not bad. A bit uneven in some areas.

[J-bot6 · 7/10 · 14 June 2017]

The positives of this film are the CGI model of Briareos, the drones, Two Horns, the hot cyborg chick, and the gun platform. The fight against the drones, the character interplay, and the final fight are all well done. That and the ending credits music is really cool.

However, there are a number of things that hurt this film (and most of them are pretty easy to fix). Duenan's CGI character is one. Her face is modeled incorrectly. Not sure what happened there. And then there's the issue of the musical score during some of the fight scenes.... There's this odd frenetic bubblegum pop music playing during some of the early fight scenes. It's totally inappropriate and is even mixed wrong. Very odd. I also found Deunan's hesitation to help the world a bit strange. It seemed at odds with the more confident personality she exhibited in the graphic novels.

The other element of this film that kind of bothers me is the tone of it. It's much too light -- especially in comparison to the graphic novels. I'm really not sure why Ghost in the Shell has been adapted well to the screen while maintaining its atmosphere and tone, yet Appleseed seems to be too much of a challenge for studios to faithfully bring to the screen. Of all the Appleseed films, Appleseed: Ex Machina is the best (and there are a few things about that one that I'd like to augment as well).

I'm still waiting for a studio to properly present books 2 and 3 of the manga to the screen. That would be amazing and would actually introduce the current movie-watching generation to what Appleseed is really about.

Lastly, it's a bit amusing that the name "Appleseed" has been changed to a warm and fuzzy metaphor for the two protagonists spreading hope whereas the original meaning of the name came from using an appleseed to adjust the balance of a bullet to increase its destructive power.

brilliant animation.... A good sci-fi anime action movie but nothing more....

[royadityax · 7/10 · 22 June 2015]

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....

Excellent addition to series, wish I'd waited for Blu-ray version

[joeywyss · 9/10 · 1 August 2014]

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.

Interesting world and characters, clichéd story

[Vartiainen · 6/10 · 20 February 2017]

Appleseed Alpha is described as a computer-animated military science fiction cyberpunk film on Wikipedia. With so many different genres applied to this film, what could possible go wrong?

The film is based on the manga Appleseed by Masamune Shirow and functions as a reboot for the 2004 film. It has changed a couple of things both from the original manga and the film, but the basic premise stays the same. It's the 22nd century and the World War Three has left the world in tatters. Deunan and Briareos are two mercenaries eking out a living in the dystopian city of New York where they find themselves trapped in all endless of loop of debt and jobs. Until a clean-up gig crosses their paths with a young girl and her lone protector.

What I like the most about this film is the world of Appleseed it introduces me to. The basics of the world are not terribly exciting, what with a dystopian future, cyborgs and all that old stuff, but the details are what make it work. All the cyborgs have great designs and personalities. They're not just your generic robots with human brains. They all show the differences between their builders and the unique tastes of the persons within. Deunan as the more human protagonist is also a fun character and works very well with Briareos, her cyborg mate and partner in crime. This film made me interested in reading the original manga, which is a huge point in its favour.

On the other hand, the story is pretty dull and clichéd. It's your typical "fallen empire" slash "hidden super weapon" storyline, with very few deviations from the norm. You can pretty much tell how it's going to go as soon as Deunan and Briareos meet Iris and Olson. Which is a shame because the world itself has such a personality.

Even still, the film has its definite upsides. The animation works pretty well, the characters are a lot of fun and even the story is merely clichéd instead of awful. Not for everyone, but I don't personally regret seeing it at all.

terrific animation in search of a plot

[sunsmudge · 4/10 · 25 July 2014]

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.

Ah, Deunan, Each Year You Grow More Beautiful...

[totalovrdose · 10/10 · 1 August 2014]

It seems to have been quite a while since the last Appleseed made an appearance, and this prequel contains just about enough action and entertainment to make up for such a prolonged absence.

Luci Christian and David Matranga return in this feature to voice Deunan and Briareos, which I am especially glad for. In the original Appleseed film, I felt having different voice actors was not necessarily a mistake, but in the case of Briareos' character, I found he seemed far too robotic, and in that sense, less sympathetic for a majority of the feature, whereas Mr. Matranga's interpretation seems far more human, and in that sense, an easier character for Deunan to get along with, promoting their relationship. Although this is the case in this new Appleseed, unlike in the TV series, or even Ex Machina, there is little mention about the love they share. It is, as always, exhibited in their continued saving of one another, but never are the words actually conveyed.

Moreover, for those who really enjoyed some of the characters of the original films, prepare to be somewhat disappointed. As a prequel, such characters do not make a resurgence as our leading couple are yet to reach Olympus, so if you were a massive fan of the character Hitomi (like I am), among many of the other city's inhabitants, you are going to have to sadly go without their presence.

Although these characters do not return, the action certainly does. Originally when I realized this film was shorter than the previous two, I questioned if it would contain a narrative that was just as powerful. The film in question answers this by containing an equal number of action scenes and plot, with each of the characters having enough time on screen for the viewer to not only thoroughly enjoy them, but understand their motives and general history.

I guess now might be as good a time as any to mention, like many another person has, how gorgeous the visuals are. Unlike previous installments which, although beautiful, still retained the obvious animated look, here, the graphics have accelerated into the future. Deunan especially looks absolutely divine, her face pampered with freckles, dirt, grunge, and other physical trademarks any stereotypical heroine would exhibit in a live action feature. Characters with cybernetic implants, like Briareos and new antagonist Two Horns, appear to be just as stellar, the robotic composition of their forms not only looking inhuman, but feeling it too, whereas the inclusion of jewellery and facial modifications upon some enemy cyborgs beneficially aids in expressing the personality of such characters.

Readers may remember when the graphics of Final Fantasy the Spirits Within were first viewed, there was many a criticism that they looked too realistic. The graphics of Appleseed Alpha potentially pushes this envelop even further, with everything from skin tone, to the moist texture of the eyes immersing the viewer into a digitally groundbreaking world, and with nearly 15 years between Final Fantasy and today, hopefully audiences have come to acquire an appreciation for such unfathomable detail.

Furthermore, the fight scenes are utterly mesmerizing to behold; the explosions are fantastic, the punch-ups are, as always, frenetically engaging, and the level of destruction is off the charts. Although on one hand, many of the robotic constructs, from the generic creations to the far more dangerous variety are based upon designs previously seen, the new graphical details make all the difference in bringing new life to a series that has been in existence on screen since 1988.

If I was to pose a question about the film though, I might query what it is a prequel to. Viewers may remember at the beginning of the original film, Deunan had never seen Briareos in his new outfit prior to her arrival in Olympus, whereas in the TV show, it was her who signed off on the surgery, the two of them moving from place to place prior to 'settling down'. During this film, Briareos has already undergone surgery, hence, causing me to question where in the Appleseed universe this particular movie exists.

Regardless, this does not impose on the storyline, and by the end, Appleseed Alpha proves there is still much life in the series yet, with this new venture, looking, sounding and feeling quite unlike anything before. On a side note, if like me you wish for Deunan Knute to one day marry you, after watching this feature, you will certainly be justified in your crush.

Cheers!

Empty shell

[meritcoba · 6 January 2016]

Lovely bosom

Gorgeous animations

Empty visuals

The camera makes sure that we don't mistake Deunan Knute for a boy for in the opening scene it focuses on her bosom. It is hard to miss anyway as it is packed in a skintight white top that sticks out from her otherwise green combat armor. Guys need something to look at, I guess. The camera will come back to her discerning features at times so we can check if she hasn't been turned in a man somewhere along the line. Just so you know.

Her exposed bosom and belly made me think of this book I once read that reported that most soldiers died from harm to their head and belly, both parts of her body that are not protected in her ridiculous outfit.

That is really odd as Deunan is a mercenary eking out a living in the ruined city of New York, in a world not quite our own as it is devastated by a world war and has cyborgs and other artificial beings as inhabitants. One of those is her cyborg buddy with the fancy name of Briareos. Jack could have been enough because he acts like a human being in every respect. My guess is that it is probably because it is cool.

The whole movie is a puzzle for it serves up all the staple manga ingredients: the little girl with the strange powers, the brooding hero, the loyal servant, the deadly girl and so on and so on.

Deunan herself mostly functions as eye candy, for next to some scenes in which she actually fights, most of the time cyborg buddy, or some other guy, has to rescue her. And she is there so she can show her female side by occasionally breaking down in tears so her cyborg buddy can comfort her as the real man, eh robot, he is.

The script is at times downright baffling. Why does this two horns guy try to kill Deunan and her cyborg? Because someone else tries to kill him because he wouldn't want to give them up or kill them.

It is a movie for people who so dearly love manga that they will swallow any rubbish as long as there is a pretty girl in it and perhaps for those who want to see the latest state of animations that hasn't a big budget like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. The big question is why you would want to make an animated movie that aims to look real? You could have used actors instead and they would have had much more soul than these animated graphics..

The movie is nice to watch but otherwise an empty shell.

Two Horns voice (Wendel Calvert)

[sdallas6969 · 6/10 · 28 June 2017]

Whether you liked the movie or not the guy that is the voice of two horns is an Amazing guy. Found out yesterday June 27 2017, that he has be diagnosed with Glioblastoma and has been given 13 months. there is a go fund me page for him and his family if anyone reads this and would like to help, if not please say a prayer for him and his family. I attached the link for the go fund me page but if this doesn't let it post you can go to the go fund site and search his name Wendels medical fund it will be the first one there big beautiful smile (blue shirt) in his picture. Don't think for a second he is a rich Hollywood type he is a hard working man that got a voice part, not rich by any means. https://www.gofundme.com/fd2e8-wendels-medical-fund thank you Sammy D.

So so...

[freego1 · 3/10 · 26 July 2014]

Im a fan of 3d art movies like this , sci-fi mostly ,and i ve seen a couple .This could be a lot better . There are some serious problems in the character developmet.You never really get to know the characters and personally i didn't grow fond of anyone like i suppose to( i mean you grow fond of the leading characters usually) Some conversations are too flat and some times even a bit cheezy. The real problem is that when the characters meet some new ones their behaviour,conversations and the way of approach are really off. The way they try to make contact and gain trust is unrealistic. The action scenes are nice though and the graphics. So overall we have some bad script but nice scenes.i wouldn't recommend it though.

You might want to spit these pips out

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 6/10 · 9 July 2017]

I've been a big fan of Appleseed ever since I first bought the original VHS back when I was 17. The franchise saw reprints of the Manga come and go until the reboot and the 2007 sequel, both of which I also really enjoyed. This particular movie, despite being from the same creative team, is sadly not in continuity with the others and is a "soft retelling" of how Deunan Knute and her rabbit- eared cyborg boyfriend Briareos fought their way through a post-WIII America before arriving in Olympus City.

It is by no means bad, but still a bit of a disappointment. I will chalk this up to the fact that Sony have gotten their dirty hands on the franchise since they have a long history of mis-managing pre- existing properties. This instalment honestly feels and looks more like one of the disposable CGI Resident Evil movies than Appleseed. There is a decent atmosphere in the empty cities and quiet, lifeless deserts but it doesn't have the gloss and tech that I am used to from this series. The tech on display here is old and war-scarred, adding a riff of grubbiness to it that I'm not used to. Plus, there's very little to identify with, Deunan seems to be the only pure human with no bio- mech augmentations. I know it's a clichéd criticism to make of such movies, but it did honestly make me feel like I was watching a video game cut-scene. A bit more of the human element would have balanced things out and eliminating that truly, truly, utterly awful soundtrack would have pushed my final score a little higher. The soundtrack was honestly so awful I was disappointed that there was no Japanese track on the Blu-ray. I would have happily read subtitles if it meant the removal of all those terrible hip-hop sounding songs.

I don't know what Sony were thinking. I liked the Japanese textures of Appleseed, and their attempts to Westernize it just don't sit well with me as a fan. It's worth watching but definitely the least appealing in the entire series so far.

True to it's genre, well made and likable.

[verminhater · 7/10 · 7 August 2014]

This film is very true to it's niche in that the story and characters are exactly as you ought to expect. There's absolutely nothing original or remarkable about the plot or characters when compared to anything similar. That's not really a criticism specific to this film but rather of the whole genre. What it has going for it is generally decent animation, there are some exceptions to that though, and a story that moves on at a nice pace. It's not just action and it's not just spaces between action scenes, there is an effort to tell the story properly. Whilst the plot and characters are standard fare the film manages to avoid feeling too formulaic which is a neat trick. The exceptions in the animation I mentioned revolve mainly around the mouths. It must be difficult to animate for several languages in this area and it shows. Other areas are ground vehicles are noticeably less well animated and given the male oriented genre and the fact the heroine's chest is on prominent display the whole movie her breasts are utterly rigid - perhaps she has an excellent bra! A strange omission or perhaps choice by the animators seeing as her hair is well animated. There are also a few interactions of the characters that are slightly perplexing and I can only suggest that such times work better when in other languages. They aren't enough to spoil matters but you do spot them. If you like the genre there's no reason you won't like this and if you don't you're probably not reading this anyway. I'd watch a sequel if made.

tgchan says YES!

[tgchan · 6/10 · 17 September 2014]

www.tgchan.pl

( I have seen the first "Appleseed" but it was years ago and I don't remember it at all )

Action from the very first minutes of the movie, accompanied with outstanding visuals! I must be very lucky, because it is my third post-apocalyptic movie in a pan of a month lol Cyborgs, robots, mechs, wanzers, whatever, this movie got lots of them and they all look great! The story seems to be interesting after 30min of watching, but the real thing is the eye candy animation. 55minutes have passed and the only thing I really disliked so far is the music... it really doesn't fit to the movie...

And I have finished watching it... Overall it is a decent thing to watch, great visuals, OK story, a little mismatched music choice but it all keeps you entertained for an hour and half. As I have mentioned before, I have seen the first part of the Appleseed and even though I remember only bits of it, I think the first one was much better. Oh! one more thing, there is a little extra after credits so make sure you don't miss that!

tgchan's rating: 6/10

HOPE. WHAT A CONCEPT

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 21 November 2018]

In a futuristic post apocrypha world, humans, cyborgs, and robots still battle for control of the planet or at least NYC. While performing an errand for city boss, Two Horns, our heroes, Dounan and her Cyborg side-kick Briareos meet Olsen and Iris and develop a purpose. Iris has a well guarded secret which becomes the focal point for various battle combinations.

I was impressed with the 3d CG graphics which looked good on TV. The plot is fairly simple and straight forward. They could have thrown a twist in it, just to keep us on our toes, but they didn't.

I liked it

[deanocware · 8/10 · 21 May 2021]

I do not watch a lot of anime but I really enjoyed this movie. I liked it. No sex, no gore, no cursing, and a lot of action with a reaffirming message. You can read the plot to see what the movie is about, but if you simply want to put on something different and enjoy watching it, and feel good after it is over then I recommend Appleseed Alpha.

Too americanized , missed the idea behind comic

[iceman-scg · 4/10 · 1 January 2015]

This movie has failed badly.Influence of Americans is over the top American influence with drama is total garbage and totally missing the whole idea behind the story

Story is nowhere ,character development non existent, just a plain American pack a gun and shoot them all without any brains .

This is embarrassment in comparison to previous two live stories.

I am not surprised that this does not have JPN voice over!

And it will never have it.This is simply not the idea that will sell anywhere but in U.S.A

My self personally will simply ignore this as part of This movie has failed badly.Influence of Americans is over the top American influence with drama is total garbage and totally missing the whole idea behind the story

Story is nowhere ,character development non existent, just a plain American pack a gun and shoot them all without any brains .

This is embarrassment in comparison to previous two live stories.

I am not surprised that this does not have JPN voice over!

And it will never have it.This is simply not the idea that will sell anywhere but in U.S.A

My self personally will simply ignore this as heaving name Appleseed.

Not bad appleseed story

[jimvandemoter · 8/10 · 19 June 2022]

I first saw the original Appleseed when it came out in 1988. It was a pretty typical style of Japanese animation. It had a decent story with some good characters. I haven't seen any of the other shows in the franchise but I liked this one. Even if you haven't seen any of the other Appleseed shows check this one out.

Story about alright, animation patchy

[amrittamang · 5/10 · 29 July 2014]

While the film is fairly entertaining, the story feels very much like a first episode of a series. The characters only go through minor development and the plot seems like a side-track of their lives, leading to the beginning of another journey rather than to an end in itself.

The animation of tech, the cyborgs (e.g. Briareos) and landscape are top notch while facial expression of human characters could have used quite some more brushing up. Perhaps the studio should have decided to utilize motion capturing. What is especially annoying is the ever-flowing hair of the female lead Deunan. Where should all this wind come from? In small closed spaces it is most conspicuous but even in the open it seems strange to constantly have that much wind. It could be bearable if the motion of the flowing hair at least would not be so unnatural.

An excellent reinterpretation of the source material

[iamgerardthomas · 8/10 · 4 October 2017]

Hands down, 'Alpha' is the best interpretation for the original Manga to date.

While many bemoan Alpha as being 'Westernised' or not Animé, the reality is that the 5 'book' Manga series (originally published in English by Marvel's offshoot, Studio Proteus, and then later by Dark Horse) was never overly Japanese in its styling and indeed, most of the central characters are not Japanese but rather from 'all over'.

The 2004 Appleseed movie, with Studio IG on production, was quite successful at blending 3D and Animé. Using the crispness derived from 3D but keeping it to a stylised rendering style, it delivered a nicely balanced form of 3D Animé. Films like 'Ex Machina', and even the 'Appleseed XIII' mini series (which was a Studio IG production) failed (in my mind) by departing with this style and trying to create what could best be described as a realistic Animé, and ultimately not succeeding on any front - Ex machina not helped by the fact it was just a poor film all round.

Where Alpha succeeds, is that it creates a realistic interpretation of Shirow's character and hardware design, in a way is so much closer to the Manga series than anything to date. Where the 2004 Appleseed was Animé at the next level, Alpha takes Appleseed out of the Animé realm and moves it to pseudo reality; the world depicted in the pages of the Manga have become real enough that you could walk outside and touch it.

There is no doubt that the technical mastery of the CG space here gives the viewer moments where one has to really stop and ask themselves if what they are seeing is real or CG. Shirow himself said when talking about Alpha:

"The challenge with CG production is that, as you get more photo-realistic, you lose the ability to use over-the-top anime-style expression without being unnatural. And if you go too anime, the realistic expression becomes out of place. Mr. Aramaki showed great skills for the previous films with anime style, but I was very excited to see the realistic textures with damages (the post-war environment visuals) and lighting effects. (My) first impression was, in a positive way, that it looked like today's state-of-the-art video games."

Story wise, Alpha is an interesting interpretation of the first book of the series. Characters and events have been drawn out of the Manga and reassembled to form a new story. So if you know the Manga, there will be more than a few moments where you will recognise a scenario or character but realise they are not where they should be. Regardless, Alpha is entertaining enough, maybe more so if you are intimate with the Manga series, to provide an enjoyable experience.

But it's not all trumps. Why is Deunan running around in combat armour/gear with her bust hanging out? Does Iris need to be in that skin suit? And the very sultry combat cyborg?? There is more than a slight smack of 'boyish' sexism going on here that, while on the surface seems harmless, really just reeks of the 'boys club' that's being talked about all over in regards to the movie industry. There was zero purpose to portray Deunan in the manner that has been done and in fact, I found it to a 'jolt', preventing me from being fully immersed into the movie. In this aspect, Alpha disappoints in a big way. What could have been really good was let down by some guys not getting away from their screens enough.

Overall though Appleseed Alpha is worth watching once, twice, maybe even three times, something I could not say of Ex Machina.

Disappointing!

[Darkside-Reviewer · 4/10 · 15 July 2020]

Appleseed was always one of my favourite Manga series growing up along with the Appleseed (1988) Anime movie which is still one of my all time favourite Anime movies to this day.

Appleseed Alpha is yet another let down in the series much like the previous attempts made to renew the Appleseed series first was the god awful Appleseed (2004) remake that was given a wide release in the USA and Europe so much so that every Anime section in every DVD rental store and movie store had so many copies of it that were never rented or sold. Then Appleseed Ex Machina (2007) was released and while the animation was certainly better the movie was still a let down that tried way to hard.

Appleseed Alphas main problem is it doesn't really have a storyline or any real character development there's no backstory for the two main characters Deunan and Briareos the audience is just given some basic character information and a few traits that's all. The audience isn't given any real reason to care about these characters other than they are the focus point of the movie so unless you have read the Manga or have watched one of the previous movies then this movie might aswell be called Cyborg and Fan Service Girl because by the movies end you will have forgotten their names and forgotten this below average movie.

The only good thing about this movie is the animation style used is colourful, bright and looks fantastic. The style used is similar to the (2004) Appleseed movie only much better.

I wouldn't recommend watching this movie even if your a fan of the Appleseed Manga series or the Original 1988 movie because it's just not worth your time or money if you have never seen an Appleseed movie then do yourself a favour and watch the 1988 original movie and read the Manga it's a thousand times better than this crap.

Good & enjoyble cyberpunk-ish animated movie

[junk-mail-me-here · 8/10 · 8 January 2020]

I watch the occasional anime / animated movie but I'm not an anime fan. I watch movies because they are enjoyable, fun and/or interesting - not because they have pretty artwork. Think I had maybe seen a tiny bit of the older Appleseed in the past but didn't find it particularly interesting.

This movie was very well done and a lot of fun to watch. I love sci-fi, cyberpunk in particular and this movie fits roughly within that. Plus it looked good which doesn't hurt. I liked this so much I ended up buying it and then went back and watched the older Appleseed series. The older series was okay, but nowhere near as enjoyable as Appleseed Alpha.

I hope they build on this and make more sequels or otherwise related movies / shows to this.