First, if you remember nothing else, remember this: GO AND BUY THIS FILM!
Appleseed continues the adventures of Deunen Knute and Briareos started in Manga, then made into an Anime film back in 1988, now revisualised in 2004 as the first 3D CG Live Anime film.
Before getting into the film, I must mention the box. It's one of the best I've seen. It's quite simple, but as with the Akira tin, the rounded corners and matt varnished artwork is stunning.
So, the film.
When you first see the menu, you would be forgiven for being a bit sceptical, as some anime films have a very plush CG menu screen followed by lesser quality animation. Well, fear not, the menu has taken visuals from the first chapter, and if you think that quality is good just wait for the rest! I've seen one comment giving the CG 11 out of 10, and that's no understatement.
The director decided to use a toon shader for the cg people, rather than the realistic look of Spirits Within, which was a very hit and miss affair with viewers. Once you see this style in action, it's breathtaking. This could very well be the best Anime film ever made. For me it gives you everything you need from such a film. I always think if your going to use cgi then why not make it viewable, something that GITS:Innocence should have done, but in Appleseed there are lots of beautiful, bright scenes filled with very, very crisp images of people and machines. They've also got the darker scenes right, with no difficulty seeing the action.
Did I just mention action? There is more action in the first scene of Appleseed than in the whole of Innocence, and it's extremely well done. Apparently motion capture has moved a long way as now whole team's of actors can be tracked making for a much more realistic scene.
So, what's the story? This is the trickiest part, as I dont want to give too much away, so let me just set the scene:
The date is 2131, most nations have crumbled in a war that has seen no obvious winner. There is a city called Olympus though that has withstood the war, and is a utopia, where peace reigns and technology has bloomed. This city is populated by a 50/50 mix of humans and Bioroids, Bioroids being genetically manufactured humans, lacking the ability to reproduce and also lacking the stronger of emotions. These Bioroids act as a calming influence on the human population so that there war like tendencies dont dominate them. However, there are some who do not like the presence of the Bio's, as there own Prime Minister is one, and will seek to stop there existence. That's all I'm telling you, but that's not half of what goes on as you wonder just who is playing who.
The story does have it's moments of lengthy dialogue, needed to bring you up to speed, but these never detract to much or for too long from what is essentially a very fast paced sci-fi adventure.
The audio is excellent, with a good enlish dub, some will be dissapointed that we did'nt get a DTS track like the Japanese, but aside from that this is a film that all movie lovers should get. It's not only a fantastic story but is also a slice of film history as the first, of what will probably be many, such looking films.