Dear anyone who happens to read this,

After spending the last few months reintegrating GiantBomb.com back into my life, I am happy to announce that I will be having an Appleseed Month in June. That is, I will be reviewing four animated movies from the Japanese manga series in the following order:

June 4 - Appleseed OVA (1988) (*update* it's done! Come check it out here)

June 11 - Appleseed (2004) (*update* it's done! Come check it out here)

June 18 - Appleseed ex Machina (2007), (*update* it's done! Come check it out here) and

June 25 - Appleseed Alpha (2014) (*update* it's done! Check it out here)

I will be watching the English dub of all four movies, except for the 1988 Original Video Animation (edit [30-5-18): even the Original Video Animation)

For those unfamiliar with the series, Appleseed was a 1985 manga written by Masamune Shirow, the same person responsible for the acclaimed Ghost in the Shell franchise. It tells the tale of a world ravaged by war, with the human population dwindling to a fraction of what it once was. Nation-states failed and collapsed, leaving most of the conflict's survivors to settle in Olympus, a large and futuristic city that doubles as the most powerful polity in its time. However, all is not fair in this oasis of glass and steel, for the humans are not alone there. Along with some cyborgs, they have to share the urban space with a group of artificial humans called bioroids. These bioroids constitute over half of the Olympus population and most of the city's government, and their defining feature is a variety of physiological checks that render them more emotionally subdued than their non-artificial counterparts. Not everyone is cool with this equilibrium for a variety of reasons, and thus conflict amongst the city's factions is all but inevitable. Outside corporations also join in on the action from time to time.

Keeping the peace amongst Olympus' denizens are Deunan Knute and Briareos Hecatonchires, two members of the ESWAT organization that serves as the city's police force and standing army. Deunan is the action girl with extensive combat training and weapons knowledge. Outside of duty, she is a tomboy who performs poorly in 'womanly' things like cooking or dressing up; if not stopping bad guys on the job, drinking at a bar in civilian garb is more to her speed. Briareos is a human-turned-cyborg and a one-man wrecking crew. He has super strength, high durability, and technologically enhanced shooting skills that give Chris Kyle an erection. He is also Deunan's mentor, co-worker, and lover, meaning their relationship is all over the place and usually fraught with tension. But when everything clicks between the two, they prove that their reputation as ESWAT's best is well justified.

OK, so Briareos gets injured at the end of the hostage rescue, but the point still stands.

Appleseed probably does not have the same cultural caché as Ghost in the Shell, but it also rises above the level of chopped liver. Winning the 1986 Seium Award for Best Manga is no small feat; and the fact that the series received a variety of anime adaptations (and some video games) after its original run speaks to its modest yet noticeable resonance in Japanese media. But the movies that I will review must stand on their own; none of them had Shirow at the creative helm, and the world that he created was in the hands of other writers and animators. Now, I cannot tell if Gainax, Shinji Aramaki, and John Woo can take the creative liberties that evoke the manga from whence the movies came. After all, I did not read the books. But could they produce entertaining cyberpunk flicks with flashes of philosophical brilliance? That is what the Appleseed Month will find out.

My review of the manga's first Original Video Animation will come out on the 4th of June.

Thank you for the attention.