Appleseed Ex MacHina (Blu-ray) (2007)

Based on the manga from reknown creator Shirow Masamune, in this movie, Deunan and Briareos are both partners and lovers. As members of ESWAT, the elite forces serving Olympus, they are deployed everywhere trouble strikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way by the arrival of Tereus who uncannily resembles Briareos before the wartime injuries that led to his becoming a cyborg. At the same time, Olympus finds itself under a stealth attack. Cyborg terrorism, deadly nanotech zealots, and rioting citizens are just some of the threats that Deunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus.
 
"...vividly realized future world and hypercharged battle scenes...innovative use of out-of-the-box animation..."  Mark Schilling, The Japan Times
"...[knowledge of original story] is not required...[as screenplay] smartly establishes the state of play in post-apocalyptic haven Olympus in 2138."  Richard Kuipers, Variety
 


Editor's Note

This computer-animated feature continues the story of Deunan Knute, a woman warrior whisked away from the ruined battleground where she lives to a distant city in which mankind seems to have put its destructive past behind it. The utopia of Olympus is maintained by the Bioroids, artificial people whose emotional capabilities are diminished in order to balance the careening passions of regular human beings. As a member of ESWAT, Deunan finds herself threatened by cyborg terrorism, a surprise attack on Olympus, and the appearance of Tereus, a human doppelganger for her cyborg lover and partner Briareos. Based on an early manga by Masamume Shirow, also the author of GHOST IN THE SHELL, APPLESEED explores similar themes as Shirow's masterwork while still containing the action sequences audiences expect from his offerings.