For those of you who were a fan of the original Appleseed movie this is a must see.
The animation has really been pushed to it's limits with increased sence of a characters 'weight' though improved physics and better facial animation too. This really shows in the numerous fight scenes throughout the film and with a producer like John Woo I don't have to explain how good these are. The whole film is just simply stunning. However they have decided to go with a slightly more realistic look which may put some people off, but personaliy I love and think that it is a real improvement that makes you feel more for the characters, and the toon-shading is still in place giving the film that characteristic 'Appleseed look'.
Storywise I was slightly disapointed (hence the four stars) and I much prefer the story to the first Appleseed from 2004 which I think was easier to follow. I enjoyed the first half of Ex Machina yet then found myself wandering off a little and only really kept… more »

For those of you who were a fan of the original Appleseed movie this is a must see.
The animation has really been pushed to it's limits with increased sence of a characters 'weight' though improved physics and better facial animation too. This really shows in the numerous fight scenes throughout the film and with a producer like John Woo I don't have to explain how good these are. The whole film is just simply stunning. However they have decided to go with a slightly more realistic look which may put some people off, but personaliy I love and think that it is a real improvement that makes you feel more for the characters, and the toon-shading is still in place giving the film that characteristic 'Appleseed look'.
Storywise I was slightly disapointed (hence the four stars) and I much prefer the story to the first Appleseed from 2004 which I think was easier to follow. I enjoyed the first half of Ex Machina yet then found myself wandering off a little and only really kept watching for the beautiful animation and those 'cool' moments. I think prehaps on a second watch-through I may enjoy it more and understand the full concept.
As a package product this is brilliant, it comes with a small poster of the three main characters and a short Appleseed Manga by Shirow Masamune himself titled Called Game. The extras are also worthy of watching for anybody interested in animation or just more about the films process.
Overall brilliant, just a shame that the story didn't grab more of my attension.
Also, loving Hitomi's new look :)