Writing reviews is taking longer these days. Not because I'm lazy or busy with my adult life or something. I always disliked people saying things "I don't have time for that anymore". That's not true. When you truly want to do something, you do it anyway.
Today's review, I hope is finished and posted by my Birthday next Wednesday, is about another giant robot Animé that almost made into the roaster of shows that made Voltron. Legend has it, some toys were licensed in hopes of a future release with the Voltron tag on them. Long story short, nothing happened and Lightspeed Electroid Albegas would eventually reach western audiences as its own thing. The show was produced by Toei Animation, and originally aired in Japan from 1983 to 1984. The series was also later moderately popular in Latin America, Spain and Italyduring the late eighties. 45 episodes were produced, clocking in at approximately 25 minutes each. The series is also known by other translations of its title, such as "Arbegas", "Arebegas", "Lightspeed ElectroGod Arbegas" and "Arbegas: El Rayo Custodio".
Hotaru's suit is a bit tight today.
State-of-the-art Mecha.
The plot is the classic, clichéd at this point, story of three teenagers, Daisaku Enjōji, Tetsuya Jin, and Hotaru Mizuki, who create award-winning robots as part of their school competition. At this time, the evil Derringer (デリンジャー, Derinjā), an invading alien race, plots to control the universe so its ambition is also to conquer Earth. To combat this threat, Hotaru's father, Professor Mizuki, takes the three robots and modifies them for battle. Hence, Albegas, thesuper robot, is born. The Japanese fascination for forcing teenagers into the most dangerous work is a trope of any Animé involving robots, transforming or not. Daisaku is the sometimes hot-headed leader, while Tetsuja compensates with more of a loner/mature approach . On the other hand, Hotaru is the beatiful woman everyone falls for, which leads to several episodes where she is faced with stereotypical situations that can only occur to a woman just because she is one. Other characters bring the comic relief to life, but it gets a bit tiresome by half. For example, professor Mizuki is an overweight single lady that is always looking for candidates for marriage. Moreover, she's too dumbed down to be a teacher of any kind. Then you have the most annoying of all: Goro Kumai who's nothing but a pale copy of Mazinger Z's Boss. His quest for earning Hotaru's love is dead lame. Now, don't get me wrong, not everything is bad in Albegas. The character and mecha designs are good. 80s good. Some episodes are excellent as well, but the episodic nature of the show makes it really difficult to get to the 45th episode.
School can wait.
Combiners!
Plot wise, it is not very clear at first why the Derinja have targeted Earth as their next expansion project. The episodic nature makes the bad guys seem very childish. They build one "mecha fighter" after another, then try to root for it until it's torn to pieces, and they're back on ground zero to survive another day. On the other hand, the good guys motivations are equally childish: "Bad monster comes to attack the city, heroes protect city, and blast monster into oblivion". One thing that always had my attention during the episodes is the fact you never see the police or military doing something to stop the alien attacks. Although they're seen defeated in the first episode, boom! next episodes we have no clue where the hell are they. Besides, Professor Mizuki is a man with a reputation for knowing what to do, so nobody ever questions his decision of sending underage kids to battle monsters while they should be in school doing chores instead. By the way, I know it's a fictional show aimed at kids before you tell me I'm being too harsh on it.
Each episode runs around 24 minutes counting the opening. The formula gets tiresome very quickly: Open episode, heroes either wait for something to happen, or one of the main characters has been tricked/manipulated by the Gerinja to deliver vital information to their operation, whatever the operation is. Then, one hero realizes something's out of place and tells the others, giant monster shows up, battle unravels, Albegas sword wins the day, everyday, always.
Hotaru is good at everything...
...Even providing light fanservice.
Out of all characters, Hotaru Mizuki remains the most interesting. Here's why: She's a good student, an excellent tennis player, the most responsible from the team, and quite a great pilot. Moreover, she gets more character development since she's the only female in the group. Men follow her, yet she chooses to ignore them. She's the school most beautiful student, and yet she doesn't give a rat's ass about it. She's a humble character with feelings. On the other hand Daisaku and Tetsuya are merely the male stereotypes of a heroic figure that doesn't seem to have anything else to do with their lives but to kill monsters, and occasionally try to see girls showering or in their underwear. A very common stereotype from the past. Kids would device plans to see their classmates undies during breaks, and there was nothing sexual about it, it was just a game of humiliation. Bad taste, I know.
Unfortunately, Hotaru also falls prey to stereotypical situations just because she's a female character. Kidnap, mind control, falling in love with the enemy without knowing it, not being strong enough as to escape by herself, and frequently having to deal with men chasing her just because. Her commitment to the cause is commendable, though.
You can still find the toys on E-Bay.
Too young to smoke, young enough to pilot a giant robot.
Plot holes are very frequent on the show. We never see why these kids were chosen to pilot state-of-the-art mecha probably the military would have handled better. The only explanation is on the first episode where these kids participate in a robot building contest in school, and win. Later these robots would be repurposed, very quickly to fit the episode, into Albegas by professor Mizuki, who with all his scientific knowledge and expertise, chooses his daughter and her two best friends to do what no adult is willing to do because they know better.
Morishita Kouzou directed the show, and to date he's the managing director of Toei animation. His resumé includes work ranging from earlier mecha animé like Kotetsu Jeeg, Magne Robot Ga-Keen to popular franchises like Dragon Ball Z & Saint Seiya. As above mentioned, the animation quality, including character, mecha & background designs are all superb according to the decade standards. The transformation sequence where the Alpha, Beta & Gamma robots combine into Albegas gets permanently attached to your brain, and although is reused in every episode, you never get tired of it. Neon retro grids in the background, pieces fitting together zooming in and out, and the final superhero pose with bursts of energy scream "Buy the toy while it's hot".
Still waiting for giant robots to lead the war on peace.
Retro grids hit different when you're 40 something.
Now, contrary to the belief an episodic show has no clear ending, Lightspeed Electroid Albegas does come to a satisfying conclusion in its final episode, or so it seems. Being a show aimed at children, killing all the bad guys while blowing their home planet to pieces, seems like a fitting end. Nevertheless, even an adolescent mind would question whether this is the right solution to the conflict, as our heroes basically do the same the Derinja are doing to planet Earth with far worse consequences. Anyway, it was the 80s and the producers weren't expecting the show to build a lasting legacy amongst Anime connoisseurs. These shows were made to test how well toys would sell provided the right animated story. Let's not forget the Dyaclone toyline had been out for 3 years in Japan, and the next year, 1984, Hasbro would license the Car-Robots toyline along with the Microman's Micro Change toyline from Takara to create the Transformers, igniting the worldwide robot craze of 1985.
Science with the cool schoolkids.
Beta as piloted by Tetsuja.
Gamma as piloted by Hotaru.
Voltron II
When World Events Productions began work on Voltron: Defender of the Universe, the intention was to adapt three anime into one shared universe. The series began with a run of episodes based on Beast King GoLion, followed by a run based on Armored Fleet DaiRugger XV. The intention was then to feature Albegas
as a third arc, with the mecha of the three shows being retconned into
having all been variations of Voltron. However, due to the
unenthusiastic response to "Vehicle Voltron" episodes, plans to adapt Albegas fell through.
In spite of this, Matchbox released a toy of Gladiator Voltron labeled Voltron II, in addition to Voltron I (Vehicle Voltron) and Voltron III (Lion Voltron).
Decades later, and to appease fans who wanted to see a spawned feature from the Voltron II
toy, Gladiator Voltron made a brief, one-panel appearance in Devil's
Due comics in 2004. Character dialog indicated that it was an earlier
failed attempt in the efforts to duplicate the Lion Force Voltron's technology (efforts which, in this continuity, resulted in the creation of the Vehicle Force).
All three Voltrons appeared together in the fifth issue of Robotech/Voltron, during a page which showed potential alternate dimensions.
They say the mecha genre is dying. They say a lot of things, don't they? Today's magnificent entry will take us back to our beloved Giant Robot/Mecha genre ,so popular in the late 70s, and so massive in the 80s. Economy in Japan was blooming, and animation studios were working day and night to deliver a tremendous catalog from the most varied genres to all ages audiences from all over the world.
The giant robot genre premise of having a team of teenagers piloting the most awesome transforming/non-transforming robot, sold as much as Coca-Cola does even today. Then, with Mobile Suit Gundam, a more realistic take on the genre was born, and people would call it the "mecha genre". This time the robots would need maintenance, and even repairs that would have them non-operational for most of an episode. The Late Yuzo Yamamoto, whocreated the J9 trilogy (Braiger, Baxinger, and Sasuraiger), and worked in the above mentioned Gundam, was also a creative force in today's post: 亜空大作戦 スラングル / Mission Outer Space / Gorilla Force.
Gorrilla Force, or "Comando Especial Gorila" as I've originally experienced it in myhome country decades ago, is yet another story of a team of brave men and women with a set of special skills, and fantastic vehicles to fight corruption in space.
Sexy is much more than her name implies.
Secret information is still kept in cassette tapes.
Obscure
Now, it's amazing how obscure this 1983 Animé is even today with all the global access the internet has given us. First of all, the synopsis you google are all describing the Macron 1 Animé that combined Go Shogun with Srungle into a single show in 1986. Common practice back then due to TV syndication.
the correct synopsis for Mission Outer Space Srungle is as follows: In the 26th century humanity has colonized the stars and settled in the Garrick Space in a special area known as the Outer Space
Zone. This special area is in between two stars that conveniently have oxygen and gravity. Humanity has built a
large city known as Garrick Space Town and inhabits many asteroids in the area
as well and is protected by the United Garrick Space (UGS) and the Garrick Police. However the large evil organization known as Crime disturbs the
peace; however Doc Mandy of the Garrick Police has gathered six pros and
created Gorilla Force to oppose Crime.
Gorilla Force crew is led by Captain Chance, who was previously a member of
the Galac Police graduating from the Galac Space police academy and
leading a special team in the past. Chance works a lot on collecting the
data and is cool and composed. Jet is the marksman of the team and
previously graduated from the military academy he forms a friendship
with Super Star. Super Star is the expert pilot of the team, Sexy is the
explosive expert and ends up naked a lot in the show and she’s not shy
about it at all, Babyface despite his large intimidating appearance is a
very gentle person and a mechanics expert, Magician is the espionage
expert on the team and the oldest member he can pull of magic which is
the only way to describe his ability to turn into anyone despite body
shape and fit right in. The team chemistry reminds me of The A-Team, which also premiered in 1983 in the US, but of course, that's nothing but a mere coincidence.
Sexy would always rip her clothes after battle.
More than meets the eye
The tone of Srungle is that of an adult audience. Espionage, corruption, blackmail, graphic violence, space narcs, politics, nudity, death, death of important characters, you name it. All themes that now may seem like nothing, but back then even the Animé industry refrained from going all in in order to reach wider audiences. Another element that set a realistic perspective in this futuristic world is that all their vehicles, including the Srungle transforming robot, need repairs. While this concept was introduced earlier in the above mentioned Mobile Suit Gundam, it added the extra tension that would make you jump out of your seat and root for the team once they were ready to go into battle.
On the other hand, each member of the team not only have their own particular set of skills, but also different personalities that would sometimes make tasks easier, more difficult, and sometimes reveal their past and struggles. While the show seems to have an episodic narrative, don't be fooled! Each story, and every character counts! Our team progresses one step at a time in the battle against Crime. Which brings me to that frequent critic of "why would you name your super secret organization crime?" In Japanese, the word hanzai (犯罪) has no phonetic resemblance to the English word.
Another important element that plays a major role during the 53 episode run of this animation, is the fact that our characters visit different worlds with episodic pace. This serves a purpose with us, the viewers: We're experiencing a larger world where corruption has expanded to the farthest places in the universe. Very much like the original Star Wars trilogy implied.
Our dedicated team of experts.
Team work is greatly appreciated by the Gorilla force.
Tough competition
By 1983 the mecha genre was well established in Japan. On the other hand, the Western world was still a few years from experiencing it in full power. Some people attribute the "Western robot fever" to The Transformers (1985), which one way or another were deeply linked to what was going on in Japan. A year earlier Voltron was already on TV offering a formula that a year later would be reprised by Harmony Gold and their beloved Robotech. Nevertheless, Srungle was released partially in 1986 in the US as part of the above mentioned Macron 1 series, and it would later be seen in full form in Latin America in 1991. While the series seem obscure to some, it was quite popular in South America, being re-run in 1995, 2004 and 2017 respectively.
Sadly, the animé experience would take longer for Western audiences to catch up, and since the toy industry was tightly related to the latest cartoon craze, not every great animé from the 80s premiered simultaneously outside Japan. After all, the 80s had amazing American cartoons as well. Thundercats, Masters of the Universe, She-Ra, Jem & The Holograms, Silverhawks, to name a few, and they all sold thousands of toys, and some still do today. Srungle did have a toy line as well, with transforming vehicles and model kits, but Clover, the company producing the toys, went bankrupt halfway during the production of the series. What's ironic about this is that Clover produced the first toys for Mobile Suit Gundam. TV moguls may have been too busy worrying about which cartoon was Toyetic, and which one wasn't, as to pay attention to every Japanese animation being imported back then. Besides, multicultural openness would take some years to reach out to everyone.
The disgusting leader of Crime.
Srungle in full attack mode.
Worth the watch
Living in the 21st century is great.No longer do you need to wait for your local TV station to air your favorite shows. Moreover, there's no need to go to your friend that knows a friend that made him a copy of the latest unsubbed OVA. The internet changed everything! Even access to information of obscure Anime can be found, if you know where to look. In addition, most of these shows have been remastered and released on DVD and Blu-Ray with subtitles, and audio tracks in your language of choice. Again, thanks to the internet you don't need to fly to Japan to get a physical copy. Western companies have also made the effort to release local versions of a vast catalog of Animé from decades past.
Some people tend to say that once you've seen a mecha animé, you've seen them all. Although there are shared elements in the genre, there are some notable differences in some of them. Srungle arrived a bit too late in the "Japanimation" fever. A lot of people dissed the show and called it derivative, formulaic, and so on and so forth. This show was made in 1983! even before other shows that people label influential, groundbreaking and practically "the show that brought Anime outside of Japan". Unfortunately, like a vast list of Animé from the 80s, there were no official releases outside of Japan until decades later. Moreover, there were neither English dubs nor subbed releases of the series. Even today, the official Japanese Blu-Ray does not feature an English track or subtitles. Of course, you can find bootleg releases that have fansubs. The show is also on youtube in TV quality but, only in Spanish and Italian. Today, could be a good day to practice your foreign language skills.
Enter Dolly the PG-13 version of Sexy.
Gorrilla Force 2.0
Please, hear me out
Srungle is the story of a politically charged special force that serves a government that took centuries to build up a peaceful civilization in space. Commitment is a strong word for the team. The first story arc ends by episode 26, and boy what a ride it is! The team not only loses their boss Doc Mandy, but also Sexy is crippled and Superstar sacrifices himself to let the rest of the gang escape enemy fire while abandoning their headquarters. Moreover, there is a path the show never really explores by the second half: What if the bad guys were only trying to recover what was once theirs? Humanity's arrival to subspace may have meant that they encountered Volklazer's people and had to make the "necessary adjustments" to settle in. I guess, we'll never know.
The death of important characters was always a plot twist that may have seem unexpected or shocking for Westerners, but for the Japanese it was just another Sunday ice cream truck passing by. New characters, Sugar & Dolly are not exactly a carbon copy of their former, and a character return from the death will also shake the team dynamics.
With Sexy out of action, her "battle damaged" scenes ended.
Super makes the ultimate sacrifice.
Not the same magic
Nostalgia is a bitof a tricky word. Shows that you swear were magnificent masterpieces the likes of Shakespeare's greatest plays, would have you falling asleep and take the best nap of your life once you've become a fully functioning adult. I say this, because timing is definitely of essence, when our memory decides to add that extra value just because we experienced it in our long gone childhood where responsibilities were non-existent. That flavor from the past is what is missing in Srungle, and many other animé that took years to make it overseas. So, can you watch , a 42 year old show you've barely heard of? Adult criticism can be severe, while your inner child would always take a lighter read from your past. Try watching a Masters of the Universe episode without falling asleep, I dare you. Nevertheless, here is where Mission Outer Space Srungle excels. Episodes matter. There are no random enemies never to be seen again. Crime is such a gigantic organization, that on any episode you'll find nuances that will directly lead into the conclusion of the show. The destruction of the Crime base proved brutal, and the retaliation was even worst. Our heroes not only lost their home, but also key team members. Exhaustion and desperation could be felt in every animation cel from episode 25 and 26.
So?
The mecha genre is not for everyone, and we know it. Regardless of all the things I can write here, it's a matter of personal choices. Older people like me, would certainly be a tad more driven into Anime with robots and space dogfights, but the Anime audiences have changed and there is no one-size-fits-all choice. I for one, think Mission Outer Space Srungle while offering mostly the same experience that other shows from around the same time do, you get better animation quality for 1983 standards. Also, the nature of the show isn't episodic. Consequences do have an impact on following stories as above mentioned. Moreover, characters are not stereotyped. Every character gets the chance of displaying its skills, thus making it clear why they're needed in the team. Even Sexy has a job to do. Her occasional nudity occurs randomly and is nothing but moderate fanservice. Another thing I think it stands out, is the fact that you don't get the impression Srungle is a one man show. The more episodes you watch, the more difficult it is to say "this is Jet's anime". The team dynamic is to blame. They work as a unit, and that means you root for the whole team, instead of a single hero, like it happens with other similar shows where it is clear a main character is essential for a team to work. 53 episodes may be a bit too much, tough.
"In the year 2029, Niihama City has become a technologically advanced metropolis. Due to great improvements in cybernetics, its citizens are able to replace their limbs with robotic parts. The world is now more interconnected than ever before, and the city's Public Security Section 9 is responsible for combating corruption, terrorism, and other dangerous threats following this shift toward globalization.
The strong-willed Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 spearheads a case involving a mysterious hacker known only as the "Puppet Master," who leaves a trail of victims stripped of their memories. Like many in this futuristic world, the Puppet Master's body is almost entirely robotic, giving them incredible power.
As Motoko and her subordinates follow the enigmatic criminal's trail, other parties—including Section 6—start to get involved, forcing her to confront the extremely complicated nature of the case. Pondering about various philosophical questions, such as her own life's meaning, Motoko soon realizes that the one who will provide these answers is none other than the Puppet Master themself."
Motoko Kusanagi ladies & gentlemen.
Impressive visuals.
This blog was opened decades ago, 17 years ago to be exact. Hundreds of films, TV shows and Animation from the most diverse genres have been reviewed. Today, is the day I pay a long overdue debt I had with one of my all time favorites: Ghost In The Shell, by maestro Shirow Masamune. While, this intro may seem useless to the reader, I actually think this review is arriving just in time. Society has evolved enough to have people making friends with AI, and even typing "Please" before every prompt we make. That science fiction distant future, is slowly becoming a reality, and we are now "wired to the network" even as we sleep at night.
Bare with me, and let's try to answer two larger than life philosophical questions: What makes a person, a person? is there a soul? If so, where is it, and where does it come from? Science fiction interest in using philosophy, religion, and mythology as part of what sets its context and drives its characters, has been explored and exploited since the beginning of time.
Ghost In The Shell, GITS from now on, it's a 1995 1 hour and 22 minute OVA based on the first volume of the eponymous manga. The source material was originally published on the Kaizokuban magazine from 1989 to 1990, in 11 publications. Obviously, you can't expect an hour and a half movie to cover the source material in its entirety, so we won't go through the usual "The Manga is better than the OVA because...". The original source material will always remain the best. Even for the Snow White classic tale.
"Cybernetic organism with living tissue".
The outside looks very real.
In case you're still reading, the OVA heavily condenses the original storyline, reducing the original material's comic relief and sexual content in favor of a more serious tone and changing the setting from Japan to a city modelled after Hong Kong. The artwork within the animated film was produced using an innovative mix of cel animation and digital effects that had never been seen before in an animated feature from the genre which perhaps helped in making GITS one of the world's most famous Japanese animated films, being the first to reach #1 on Billboard magazine's video best-seller list, and also served as a major inspiration for the Wachowskis in their creation of the Matrix movies.
Plotwise, Cyborg cops battle an anonymous super-hacker who takes control of people's computerized brains and forces them to do his bidding. It's a wicked sci-fi thriller, yet it's also so much more. Not only is it a refreshingly original take on the standard Coppers vs Robbers plot, but it manages to do it in such an intelligent manner. The philosophical questions above mentioned, are never shoved into our faces every five minutes, yet the producers of the OVA seem to know exactly the type of audience this story is aimed to. Casual sci-fi enthusiasts may feel a bot overwhelmed with the lack of a clear background context for characters and even the city where the story takes place. This isn't a Marvel movie. This is based on a Manga that knows that its niche audience has a brain that works.
Visuals, as above mentioned already, are one of the elements that make GITS essential viewing. The action scenes take it to the next level with Kokomo's invisible suit. Moreover, every scene is full of atmosphere, due to detailed backgrounds, and a clever use of CGI technology that was limited at the time, and yet it delivers a seamless visual experience even today. Yet the most astonishing part of the art is not the quality of the animation, or the artwork. It's the level of thought and polish that went into creating the look and feel of this film. I mean, the Manga artwork is already impressive, but here they found a way to make it even more impressive.
In for a surprise.
The Matrix has you...
Now, going back a bit to the philosophical questions the original manga asked, and this movie also asks, I'd like to focus on three crucial elements that I think the film manages to pull off nicely for an 82 minute animation. One, the question "what makes us human?" Most humans living in Niihama City have chosen to enhanced their bodies with cybernetics. There is one crucial scene, near the climax of GITS where producers cleverly ask "Does pain make you human?". The answer in this futuristic cyberpunk world comes in the shape of "when you're a cybernetic organism, you no longer feel pain, even if your limbs are taken to the extreme".
Second question: Does building memories make us human? Well, the super hacker behind the story is certainly a philosopher himself. When people start falling victim of his tricks, they lose their memories. Moreover, this puppet master implants foreign memories into his victims making them believe they actually lived these experiences in the past. Quite clever if you ask me. A lot of people in the real world are discussing the good ol' days, and nostalgia as if they experienced it first hand. Many youtubers and influencers alike, only talk about what they read on the internet. Especially when they want to discuss retro tech, or cartoons from before they were born. This clearly makes them misunderstand some key information and eventually produce content that has a lot of misinformation in it, yet they strongly believe they know what they're talking about. Also, you can go back to adolescence, and think how hard we try to fit in with our group of friends sometimes forcing ourselves into enjoying things others find cool just to be a part of something.
Yes, big secret mecha.
This man deserved more screen-time.
Third and final question, where does our soul go after we die? Thinking about the OVA title, our "ghost" inhabits a body (shell) for a limited period of time, so can machines host souls in their mechanical skeletons too? Motoko certainly experiences this long before her dying body is rescued and replaced by a newer, younger version of herself. When she encounters the puppet master, a special connection happens between the two, despite having different motivations and responsibilities they ultimately blend.
I'm simply amazed at how philosophical Animé can be. There's so much content underneath the science fiction cover, that I think that's what makes us come back for another watch. Moreover, some of the greatest celluloid franchises come packed with philosophical questions that can only be seen after a few rewatches. Star Trek, Star Wars, Terminator, Matrix, are amongst some of the films that have used science fiction as a facade to push people into the "more than meets the eye" motto a certain transforming robots cartoon preached long ago.
Still here? waste no more time and go watch Ghost in the Shell!
The
work of Shirow Masamune is largely recognizable, and it has inspired the world of Manga and Animé, as well as their enthusiastic fans. With cyberpunk titles like Ghost in the Shell (not reviewed here yet, I don't know why), Dominion Tank Police, and today's entry,
Shirow explored what makes us human through futuristic settings mingling technology and flesh. Sadly, trying to tell the original 7 chapters from volume 2 of from the manga, seems a nearly impossible venture. Be thankful they chose to work with this volume alone. Volume 3 was released on July 31st, 1987, around the same time this OVA began production, and the final volume wouldn't be released until April, 15th, 1989. Imagine how much of a mess it would have been to fit 25 chapters into and hour animated feature.
The 70-minute OVA from 1988 is based upon volume 2 of the manga, and opens with a woman's suicide scene. We soon realize it is part of Caron Mautholos nightmare as he nightly revisits his wife's suicide. He's a member of
the police force of Olympus, a city built after World War III. Charon's mental health has reached a sticking point that secretly drives him into teaming up with terrorist A.J.
Sebastian to bring down the city and its entire
leadership. I just love how antagonists have a tendency to avoid going to therapy, and prefer to choose elaborated schemes to destroy the world as if massive murder and chaos could make you come to terms with your inner demons: "hey, I know a good therapist you could talk to". "Nah!, I'll destroy the world instead".
Good ol' opening titles style.
The future.
Enter the good guys Deunan and Briareos, two cops ready to go beyond the call of duty. Deunan can be the animated equivalent of any female action hero from an 80s film. She could be Red Sonja, Ellen Ripley, and Sarah Connor at the same time, while on the other hand Briareos is actually a human being, a WWIII survivor. Underneath his cybernetic implants and new body parts, he still enjoys burgers and fries. Their mission is clear: find who's behind the stolen new defense technology. Little do they know though, that their enemy is right next to them.
For someone from the 80s, the animation on this film is good enough.Some of the action scenes come off nicely. It looks like an average OVA
from its era. Some will always criticize this, as the source material will always be superior regarding character design and action sequences. Obviously, the manga NEEDS TO provide attractive visuals in order to survive in a world where hundreds of thousands of the same work are being still made as we speak. The OVA on the other hand, like most of them, suffers from time constraints, and modest budget, so here and there you will see some ugly animation but, I would neither call it an abomination nor a crime against Shirow Masamune.
Dining with colleagues is dangerous.
Nothing is more chill than cleaning your gun in your underwear.
From a plot perspective, director and writer Kazuyoshi Katayama scrapped all the subtleties the Manga had to offer, turning off everything that makes Appleseed an interesting read. Instead we're offered a standard cop story where everything is reduced into "the good guys battle the bad guys" type of story that may appeal to children, instead of teenagers and young adults, who are the original target audience of the story. I have to admit, in rewatching the OVA I fell asleep several times. As a matter of fact, I had this review incomplete for several months because I simply couldn't watch it from start to finish paying attention to details in order to have something to say other than "the manga is better, discard this from your watch list". However, Appleseed is worth watching as an early exercise on trying to adapt Shirow's work into the small screen. Most online reviews agree it's neither the worst, nor the best you can find in the cyberpunk genre during the OVA craze of the second half of the 80s. Perhaps, its only value lies in the fact this is an adaptation from one of the most popular authors of all time. Not everyone reads manga, they prefer the animated adaptations faithful or not.
Cassette tapes in the future.
That 80s look Animé nails like no other.
My earliest memories of seeing some Shirow Masamune work, was through the Robotech comics. There were pages of ads from a variety of Animé/manga being published for the first time in the US, and one of those was Dominion Tank Police, originally released in Japan from 1985 to 1986. The Manga would obviously be adapted into an OVA in 1988 but it wouldn't be officially licensed until 1993. All I had was the ad, there was no chance I could get my hands into either the Manga or the OVA before it was legally available. My second encounter with his work would be his greatest work to date, Ghost In The Shell. This is circa 1996/1997 were there was a small but healthy industry producing dubbed/subbed VHS tapes with some of the most popular titles. Most of them would be from the 80s, but in the case of GITS, they managed to release a year or two after the Japanese release date. I was blown away. I even managed to get a deluxe reissue of the original manga and its sequel decades later. I know I should have reviewed it long ago, but since I like it so much, it takes me a longer time to decide how to proceed to avoid fangirling all over a post. Moreover, I did review the 2017 LAM, which I thought was pretty decent despite the negative reviews focused on Scarlett Johansson not being Japanese. In case you're interested here it is.
Robotech bioroids?
We're only here for the Mecha.
Another interesting fact we can observe on Appleseed, and in many other cyberpunk productions is how the artists perceived the future. Robots, cyborgs, transforming mecha, and power armors are everywhere. Yet, some of the most rudimentary technologies seem to be stuck in the past. The police department still has typing machines, and while they do have computers to profile criminals, they're still large in size. Watches are just watches, and phones haven't gone that far from video calls. No smart technology unless we go back to the robot part above mentioned.
Now, we know and understand this retro futurism is there only for entertainment purposes, not to be historically accurate. Yet, in 2025 people are still listening to cassette tapes, wearing that old Casio F-91W, while living in an environment that is fully connected through the internet, very much like it is on Appleseed's city of Olympus, where Gaia, a super computer, runs the various utilities and networks that make the city a safe place for humans, cyborgs and bioroids. So, old and new technology do share room in today's world. Two points for Shirow Masamune for predicting it. And two extra points for making the villains skip therapy and go straight into terrorist mode, just like it is today as well.
Yes, I'm sort of a hipster myself.
Yes, a collect call for Mr. Baldnutz, please.
Want more predictions? Well, just when you thought that was it, let's go back a bit to that opening suicide scene. Charon's wife, Fleia was an artist. The problem is felt stifled with all the artificial intelligence surrounding her. Aren't today's artists struggling with AI generators? Of course they are! that's why none of us should be using image generators to get some artistic result with a few prompts here and there. Fleia simply felt there was no reason for her to exist in such a pre-programmed world where there was scarce room for creativity and artistry. You can even create full songs with AI today. After she kills herself, Charon's anger towards this technological world grows bitter. Even though he's aided by A.J. Sebastian, who is only partially human, the reasons why Sebastian joins in the battle against technology remain unclear. I mean, you have survived with the aide of cybernetic limbs, why hate what kept you alive? Perhaps, he wants to secretly control the city?
There is no room for artists in the future.
Fleia warned us.
Overall, Appleseed is an experience you can choose to live or skip. If you're interested in the few animated adaptations of Shirow, go ahead give it a try. If not, perhaps try reading the manga instead. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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