Appleseed

A Parent's Guide to Anime
Rated: M

Recommended for Mature Audiences

Reviewed by Michael Wilson:

Appleseed is a futuristic sci-fi action/adventure film. If you miss the text inserts at the beginning (they fly by extremely fast) there is not much in them that is valuable, so do not worry. The plot is simple. Some time after World War 3, a city called Olympus was built, its location is not given , but it does not include the entire world. It is very much a utopia and was built to ensure peace. Its inhabitants are citizens of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and cyborgs. There are no worries, the water is absolutely pure, everyone is employed, the streets are clean and there is a sense of general well-being. But how do we live in a perfect world? After achieving such perfection in life, is there any more reason to live? There are many terrorist groups that seek to destroy the main computer controlling this city because they feel that humans have finally become slaves of their own inventions. Eighty percent of the citizenship is made up of bio-droids who are human in every way (they have regular emotions, they eat, sleep, grow etc.) but are programmed to accept Olympus. As the Olympus police force pursues these terrorists, they are forced to examine if they are really fighting on the right side.

The animation and artwork was average. It is a 1988 anime and it really shows its age. The music is not much to care for either. However, the plot and the action are what keeps a person watching. In great contrast to the effort put into the animation, the plot is superb. It reminds me very much of the Matrix, but is far easier to follow. There is much philosophical discussion and a viewer will probably wonder if this is the type of world that will be created to ensure peace after World War 3. It is based on the manga series (Japanese comic book) called Appleseed. You will realize that the artwork is far better in the manga and the plot is a bit more complex. There is no subtitled version that was made by US Manga Corp./Manga Entertainment, there is only a dubbed version. This is an action-packed movie and should appeal to anyone with a taste for shoot 'em up, knock 'em dead type flicks.

Parent's Guide Rating:

red (recommended for mature audiences)

There is a lot of violence. At times it does get a bit bloody, and the blood is not cartoony but real looking. However, it is not at all overly graphic or disturbing. If the animation were upgraded to the level of Ghost in the Shell or Akira, then maybe. It does not make an incredibly bad presence in the film and will not create any lasting mental images.

profanity: There is plenty of explicit language. This is probably the most objectionable part of the movie. Each character uses every cuss word in his/her vocab. Because there is only a dubbed version, you can be sure that your child will hear every single cuss word in English.

Suitable for most audiences. Contains explicit language. Parental discretion advised. Dubbed, it would be PG-13 in America.