Appleseed (Limited Collector's Edition)
The 2004Appleseedfeature is a reworking of the earlier video based on the manga by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell). In 2131, most of humanity has withdrawn to the glittering city of Olympus after a devastating war. When the curvaceous Deunan Knute comes to Olympus, she encounters her former comrade Briareos, now a cyborg, and the lovely android Hitomi. The fate of Hitomi, Olympus, and humanity rest on the lost "Appleseed" technology that Deunan's mother helped to develop. A standard series of chases,mecha battles, and confrontations leads to a predictable ending. When the originalAppleseedappeared in 1988, it felt like a summary of anime's past, whileAkirapointed the way to the future. This new version feels like a mishmash ofGhost in the Shell,Akira,Jin-Roh,Evangelion, and other, more exciting works. The motion-capture CG is typically weightless, and themechalook oddly squat. (Rated R: violence)--Charles Solomon