Reviews of Appleseed (1985) and related work
Appleseed (1985
)
Shirō Masamune (writer-artist).
Incomplete SF.
References here: 2004-06-04 8.
sequential art text Japanese production fiction series
‣ Appleseed (1988
)
SWAT members in a post-WW3 utopian arcology fight terrorists who are displeased with the inhuman foundations of the bold new state.
Philosophical SF action OVA. Ugly and shallow treatment, but it does at least bring up the comic’s central problem of approaches to utopia.
moving picture adaptation Japanese production animation fiction
‣ Appleseed (2004)
The 22nd century. A veteran who is still fighting in a devastating old war is suddenly recruited to become a part of the SWAT force in a utopian city. The key to her new workplace is that a large percentage of the population are infertile, hard-working, emotionally controlled, genetically engineered biological androids. Some people view these creations as a suitable replacement for humankind and want to give them reproductive powers. Terrorists strike.
Mostly the same. Animated feature. Lots of mecha. All CGI, using cel-style filters for skin, traditional hair and various other baggage from mainstream 2D anime. Realism without filtering would have been greatly preferable. Compared to Shirō’s comic, this is still less profound, less funny, and worse at showing the changes in everyday life between the present and the setting.
moving picture adaptation Japanese production animation mecha fiction