Appurushîdo (Appleseed) (2004)

25% of critics liked it
(32 reviews)
75% of users liked it
(19,755 ratings)

Masamune Shirow's celebrated manga of the fusion of humans and technology in a world devastated by war has been given a new and visually impressive adaptation in this anime drama. In the year 2131 A.D., Deunen Knute (voice of Ai Kobayashi) is a female warrior for hire who, after encountering her… More Masamune Shirow's celebrated manga of the fusion of humans and technology in a world devastated by war has been given a new and visually impressive adaptation in this anime drama. In the year 2131 A.D., Deunen Knute (voice of Ai Kobayashi) is a female warrior for hire who, after encountering her former lover Briareos (voice of Jurota Kosugi), discovers he's not the man he once was -- he's now part human and part robot. As Deunen and Briareos venture into the high-tech city of Olympus, they meet Hitomi (voice of Yuki Matsuoka), who is a member of a genetically engineered race of strong and intelligent beings who have taken over rule of the city. They have not done so without resistance, and Deunen and Briareos join forces with Hitomi and her cohorts when rebels launch an attack on the city. But while she defends Olympus, Deunen begins to suspect she has a greater alliance to those who wish to defeat Olympus than those who defend it. Appleseed (aka Appurushido) was previously filmed in 1988; this version incorporates new digital animation technology which combines the look of rounded, three-dimensional images with the visual style of the traditional pen-and-ink process. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Shinji Aramaki
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Anime & Manga, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Oct 16, 2004 Wide
On DVD: May 10, 2005
Studio: Geneon Entertainment

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The stock characters and leaden stretches of expository dialogue are welcome evidence that there's still no computer program capable of telling a decent story.
Leslie Felperin, Variety
Newbie viewers will be left twiddling their thumbs while waiting for Deunen's next bout of butt-kicking action sequences.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Yes, it looks good, but it doesn't come close to exploring the grand themes it has in mind, or to ascending anywhere near the landmarks of anime.
Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger
A cross-pollination of eye-popping combat and provocative ideas.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
The action scenes might grab you, but there's a lot of talky downtime.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Though Appleseed has its selling points, it's not an especially strong entry in the genre, despite the presence of so many pneumatic heroines.
Bill Gibron, DVDTalk.com
It's an exceedingly brilliant combination of future shock set-up and old school moralizing, a deconstruction of what it means to be human rendered in tech tones so slick that you often forget you're watching a cartoon.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
I really wish I could have liked this more.I really wish I could have liked this more.
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
the viewer who abstracts away from the more adolescent elements of plot will find that Appleseed has plenty of ideas at its core to keep the mind stimulated.
Maitland McDonagh, Time Out New York
Shut your brain down for optimal viewing pleasure.
Tasha Robinson, AV Club
It's busy, stiff, artificial graphics are a perfect match for its busy, stiff, artificial plot.
, Empire Magazine
It's an impressive effort, packed with ideas and good action scenes, but still trots out a clichéd plot about a super-soldier babe, a race of meek artificial people, giant robot suits, confusing conspiracies and a lot of explosions.
Matt McNally, BBC
There is plenty to admire from a technical and artistic standpoint.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
With all that gorgeous imagery, you'd think the filmmakers would have found a way to tell the story visually without using mountains of expositional dialogue.
Todd Gilchrist, IGN Movies
The filmmakers are too busy trying to justify their futuristic world, and not enough actually exploring it.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
With so much going on in every frame, Appleseed is one of those anime projects that shouts you to sleep.
, E! Online
There's a little too much talking and not as many battle scenes as we would've liked, but Appleseed is still a decent pick.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Unfortunately, the story is painfully recycled, heavily indebted to Blade Runner (1982), along with healthy dollops of Beauty and the Beast, Isaac Asimov's robot stories and the mythological echoes.
Peter Debruge, Miami Herald
This long-overdue big-screen adaptation makes it hard to tell what was so revolutionary about the series.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
[A] warrior babe cradles [an] injured cyborg bunny in her arms and weeps for him. Take that, Hotel Rwanda!

Read all 20 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

John M

Stylish look good story fun ride. I loved it!
xGary X

After a world war devastates the Earth a Utopian city of the future is the subject of a power struggle between the benign genetically engineered clones and suspicious human military that inhabit it. Appleseed is 100% Japanese Anime in that is literally a Manga comic brought to life… More
After a world war devastates the Earth a Utopian city of the future is the subject of a power struggle between the benign genetically engineered clones and suspicious human military that inhabit it. Appleseed is 100% Japanese Anime in that is literally a Manga comic brought to life with all their inherent strengths and weaknesses. The visuals are absolutely glorious; the opening which can best be described as a Wachowski inspired take on the future scenes of The Terminator and climactic battle sequences are absolutely breathtaking. The CGI may be a little dated in the fast moving world of technology, but this is an example where computers are used in an inventive and creative way, rather than painstakingly trying to recreate reality; I personally could not give a crap whether every hair on a characters head moves realistically or not. This combination of cel-shaded characters and fabulous Japanese production design is far more pleasing to my eyes. The action scenes are brilliantly done, directed in a frenetic and thrilling way and yet are also very clear and easily followed. Bay, are you listening? Unfortunately, as usual the long-winded "explanations" that link these superb sequences tend to be overly convoluted techno-gibberish but the astonishing visuals and action make up for the shortcomings in the plot. If you want some robot-orientated ass kicking without the Bayisms and bimbos, this should be your first port of call.
Luke B

Humans and a kind of genetic robot race live together in a perfect utopia, while a world war rages on the outside of their city. Of course, like all sci-fi, humans and robots don't get along. There are awkward issues about race, and the violence of man. It's all the same… More
Humans and a kind of genetic robot race live together in a perfect utopia, while a world war rages on the outside of their city. Of course, like all sci-fi, humans and robots don't get along. There are awkward issues about race, and the violence of man. It's all the same stuff that has been discussed before and in more subtle detail. Of course emotions are what makes humans both great AND evil. Blade Runner analyzed such themes with a lot more maturity. Here, the animation is nice and the action scenes are fairly awesome, even if some cheesy music invades the film at times. It could have served from dialogue being cut. Do we need lines such as "Move and I'll break your neck?" That's fairly obvious from the way you're holding her. I understand the need to explain such creative futuristic worlds, but writers need a better way to explain, instead of relying on dialogue.
Stuart B

For me personally, probably the second best anime I have seen (after Akira of course). The CG animation works well and although the voice acting (in the english version) is cheesey as hell with some dumb one liners, the film itself is very enjoyable.
_kelly .

Can't believe I've neglected to review this!!! Maybe it's just that a movie like this, I had too much to say and put it off for too long. It's an incredible CG action flick, the characters actually provoke emotion in the audience, the visuals are all stunning, and… More
Can't believe I've neglected to review this!!! Maybe it's just that a movie like this, I had too much to say and put it off for too long. It's an incredible CG action flick, the characters actually provoke emotion in the audience, the visuals are all stunning, and the plot is appropriately complex. Such a great movie and must see for anyone into anime or scifi.
Alexander W

No faults in this CGI cyber punk Mecha Film, If you like that kind of thing of course.
Justin Y

This animation is based off a manga that I have not read at this time, so I cannot comment at how close the story or characters are to it. What I can comment on is the CG effects and the cell shading animation. This movie really does an excellent job at combining the two to produce… More
This animation is based off a manga that I have not read at this time, so I cannot comment at how close the story or characters are to it. What I can comment on is the CG effects and the cell shading animation. This movie really does an excellent job at combining the two to produce a great graphical feature. In short, it is visually stunning.As far as the plot is concerned it takes you on a futuristic sci-fi journey and like many other animes you really need to pay attention or you may be lost. It may require multiple viewings, which isn't really hard to keep yourself from doing anyway.There are quite a few action scenes and they are rendered and animated nicely. You will not be disappointed at the gun power this movie has to offer. The techno-rock soundtrack enhances the action as well.As mentioned earlier the visuals are great, but one thing that the cell shading didn't do too well was express emotions on characters faces. This isn't too big a problem since it is easily to tell what a character is feeling with the tone of their voice, the partial facial expressions that can be seen, and the scene of the movie.Any anime fan should enjoy this film and may want to check out the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series and vice versa. I myself enjoyed the "Stand Alone Complex" series a bit more.
Mike S

Amazing CGI and effects, but the story is quite thin and uninteresting.
Fascade F

By far the BEST sci-fi japanese Anime I've ever watched. Part 2 is coming out.... I can't wait! I "accidentally" purchased it for my PSP...been watching it for a week now....LOL...Timeless well designed computer generated art.
Jonny C

Good movie. Although I felt unengaged by the movie's storyline, the stunning animation made up for it. The battle scenes and visuals were spectacular (particularly in the first 5 minutes), with lots of cool Sci-fi weaponry and futuristic landscapes.
Donna D

The CGI Animation is amazing, and so colorful. I enjoyed the movie.
monty h

Bad ass. This is the type of anime film that makes most Hollywood action blockbusters look sick in comparison. The closet American film that comes close to it is The Fifth Element. But this movie rocks from the very beginning. The opening scene has our heroine taking on these super… More
Bad ass. This is the type of anime film that makes most Hollywood action blockbusters look sick in comparison. The closet American film that comes close to it is The Fifth Element. But this movie rocks from the very beginning. The opening scene has our heroine taking on these super fast and super strong killer robots that wipe out her team. But she fights them head on. There is so much visual eye candy and super charged action going on in this film that it is unbelievable. If you don't like anime films and somebody told you to see one of them, choose Appleseed. It's awesome.