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Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) DVD Review
Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) DVD Credits:
Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) Directed by:
Shinki Aramaki
Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) Written by:
Masamune Shirow
Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) Cast:
Ai Kobayashi Jurota Kosugi
Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) Released by:
Digital Frontier
Region:
1
Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) DVD Release Date:
10th March 2008
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Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) Synopsis:

Deunan, her cyborg partner/lover Briareos, and his clone Tereus must protect the post-war paradise Olympus from brainwashed humans and cyborgs.

Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) DVD Review:

Appleseed Ex Machina is part of the Appleseed franchise based on Masamune Shirow’s manga. Ex Machina is a sequel to the simply named Appleseed. But for those unfamiliar with the Appleseed series, do not be concerned. The film stands on its own and can be enjoyed by anime lovers and newbies alike.

Ex Machina takes place in the post-war utopia of Olympus. There, cyborgs, humans, and bioroids (clones) live together peacefully, with E.S.W.A.T. ready to maintain this balance. Deunan and her partner/lover Briareos, a high-tech Hecatonchires cyborg, are two of the best members of this elite task force. But Briareos is soon injured during a cyborg-terrorist attack and Deunan is set up with a new partner, Tereus: Briareos’s clone. Deunan must struggle with her feelings for both Tereus and Briareos along with a worldwide threat of cyborgs being brainwashed. Can the trio save the world before the crisis extends to humans too?

With John Woo as a producer, the film has a Hollywood sensibility. The camera is shaky during the action sequences, similar to what you would see in an American film. The editing is also very Hollywood in the way the sequences are cut and the use of John Woo’s famous slow downs. The relationship between John Woo and the film is showcased in a featurette of his own, but Mr. Woo only appears once throughout the entire segment.

Unlike its predecessor, Ex Machina is entirely CG. The background and detail work is amazing, but I found the faces to be a bit washed out. There is a lot of detail put into the mechanics and clothing, but very little on facial structure. This new style may abash die-hard anime fans, but the special features address this problem. In the behind the scenes featurette, the director Shinji Aramaki explains his choice of using CG animation. It is merely another option, not to supersede cell animation. For this film, with all its intense and complicated action sequences, using motion capture and CG provide much more realistic battle sequences.

Also, during that particular featurette and the director’s commentary, the filmmakers go into detail on how they made Appleseed Ex Machina. It is clear that they worked very hard to do justice to the Appleseed franchise, but I still found that the dubbing fell short. Because the dubbing was so perfect at times, even a tiny mistake became that much more noticeable. Also, the dubbing and the subtitles were commonly out of sync.

Despite any faults I could find in translation and animation, Ex Machina is a highly enjoyable film. Haruomi Hosono’s soundtrack is superb and the animation as a whole is beautiful. Though logic begins to wane near the end, the film will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat. It does justice to the Appleseed manga, anime, and CG animation.

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Appleseed Ex Machina (2008) DVD review written by: Lyz Reblin

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