Appleseed Alpha

• (Also styled as Appleseed α)
• Directed by Shinji Aramaki  
• July 15, 2014 (United States) / January 17, 2015 (Japan)
• Based on Appleseed by Masamune Shirow

Voice Cast

• Nyx-Elizabeth Bunch
• Two Horns-Wendel Calvert
• Deunan Knute-Luci Christian
• Olson-Adam Gibbs
• Matthews-Chris Hutchinson
• Briareos Hecatonchires-David Matranga
• Iris/Hitomi-Brina Palencia
• Talos-Josh Sheltz

A woman and her cyborg companion arrive at a post WW3 NYC and come across two individuals on a secret mission.

I wasn’t too thrilled by the first Appleseed. Hearing this did not follow the continuity of anything before I decided to give it a shot. It is a very different animal from the original film and that is not in the context of using CGI animation. Appleseed Alpha has heavy elements of cyberpunk with sprinklings of fantasy and even urban crime. That goes along with very good-looking CGI animation. It’s my understanding some of this was accomplished with motion capture leading to an increased level of authenticity.

We have a crime lord named Two Horns because he has, well, two horns on his head trying to keep our two heroes Deunan Knute and Briareos under his thumb because they are so good at their jobs. Easy enough given that the city looks empty. We have talk of a mythical city. And conflicting goals and hints of authoritarianism. All taking place in a post WWIII devastated New York. Two Horns wants to control the place but it is extremely underpopulated for a place somebody wants to control.

I question Two Horn’s plan to keep Deunan Knute and Briareos under control. At least some of it. The damage to the sensor to keep Briareos in line is relatively smart but sending his goons who may get killed to screw over our heroes seems like a bit much. And considering that the city is relatively empty other than them, I’m not sure how he wouldn’t expect them to figure out what’s going on.

The antagonist of Two Horns comes off as stereotypical and a bit comical in a racist sense. Given his voice if this were an overall comedy it might be more forgivable, but this is not a comical movie. This is about a mission to destroy weapons and thus save a city that is the last hope for humanity.

A lot of the story hinges on a girl who is the key to everything. Bit of a cliché these days but then again 20 or 30 years ago it was a boy who was the key to everything. I guess it’s just the pendulum swinging in the other direction. I just wish the idea of having a single character that’s the key to everything that really doesn’t serve as a commentary on anything would be used more judiciously. What the young girl is (a type of machine) comes off as just dropped in. It might be something familiar to the general consumer of Japanese science fiction but not so much so to the more casual viewer.

Maybe it’s one of those unexplainable aspects of Japanese culture but why are ultimate weapons almost always some kind of mech? Seriously. That’s what we get in this one. It’s cool looking. Don’t get me wrong but it’s just a tank with legs. Yet it still comes off as impressive and just a general wow moment when the big reveal comes. So on the one hand it’s cliché but on the other I can forgive them.

The post-apocalyptic landscape of NYC takes more inspiration from the Resident Evil films than it does Mad Max. It is a devastated landscape, but everyone is surprisingly well supplied while driving gas guzzling machinery. They also expend a lot of ammunition for a world that appears where resources to be scarce.

Appleseed Alpha manages to nicely balance discussions of assorted topics with that action rather than have long stretches of exposition meant to shortcut to the next step of the story. You don’t feel like you’re getting a diatribe or a lecture but rather that the individuals are hashing something out amongst themselves.

The world gets enough of a set up that you understand the situation. Characterization is a little short, but not so bad that you have no idea of their motivations. In that department, the only issue is Two Horns who seems to change his views and general stance as needed for the plot. I’m also uncertain exactly what his connection between the villain other than he being the guy that supplies electricity to New York City. 

While I had some issues Appleseed Alpha is a good movie. It’s exciting and entertaining enough that you won’t feel disappointed. If you’re looking for some good science-fiction animation, then this will certainly satisfy.