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Appleseed (1988)

Review:

People are more likely to be familiar with the new computer-graphics Appleseed than this late-80s version, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still out there. Despite the fact that I had been forewarned that this Appleseed was not up to snuff, I enjoyed this take on the Appleseed universe just as much as, and maybe even a little more than the new version. Think of it this way - if the newer Appleseed is a exquisite three course meal, the older Appleseed is like a box of Pocky.
Briareos and Deunan are cops in Olympus; a year or so ago, they were both brought in from the wasteland by the bioroid Hitomi. Briareos has a been given a new, mostly robotic body, and on the surface, things seem to be going well all around. But Olympus has a problem with terrorists, and they attack the Tartarus area of Olympus where bioroids are born (or created, as the case may be). Soon, they are assigned to track down the terrorist leader and arrest him. When it's discovered that someone in the police department is helping the terrorist plot and Hitomi's profile has been stolen, all hell breaks loose.
Make no mistake about it, Appleseed's all about the action. From a new prototype legged tank that's above and beyond anything else (and hovers around a bit strangely) to the slightly larger than life mechs that go head to head in multiple shootouts, there's just one fight after another. And, of course, a car chase or two. Although the ethical issues surrounding the bioroids aren't seriously looked at - this anime is too busy blowing things up - there's some discussion about whether they're mere tools for humanity, lording over real humans, or actual human beings themselves. But who cares - bring on the junk food.

Rating: 3/5 - Good
Format: OAV
Added to FanCruft: March 19th 2006
[Buy Appleseed (1988) at Amazon]

Angst: 3	Overlord: 4	Experimental: 1	Mech: 8	Weird: 1	Action: 9