Based on the manga by the renowned Shirow Masamune (perhaps best-known stateside for creating GHOST IN THE SHELL), APPLESEED might very possibly have been a high-octane, high-performance piece of anime when it was first released in 1988. But that was almost fourteen years ago, and APPLESEED holds up more like an '88 Honda Civic than an '88 Porsche.

Like so many other animated films based on manga titles, APPLESEED presents just a tiny excerpt of a long-running story arc. (And I do mean tiny—this anime is merely 68 minutes in length.) It's a common problem with such productions that they take much of the environmental background and the characters' motivations for granted. Even if you read the ten screens of character bios (the only real "extra" on this DVD) beforehand, you still will be left mostly in the dark about who these people are and why they're acting the way they are.

That wouldn't be such a big deal if APPLESEED presented spectacular visuals or powerfully emotional moments or even the occasional gibbet of humor. But with its limited length, crude animation techniques and easy-listening musical score, this animated version of APPLESEED sputters from start to finish.

In terms of plot lines, APPLESEED is somewhat different take on a theme that's been recurring over and again in anime ever since BLADE RUNNER was first shown in theaters. After World War Three, humanity is just recovering from the violence and chaos with the help of Biodroids (half human androids). Of course, there are still those that distrust the utopia the Biodroids are trying to establish, and a police force of humans and robots are entrusted with protecting the city of Olympus. Our heroes are the hot-tempered human woman Dunan Nats, and her giant android partner Buliarous Hekatonecles (he's the one with the expressive, mechanized rabbit ear things on his head). When terrorists try to take command of an enormous and indestructible tank in order to destroy Olympus’ central computer Gaia, Dunan and Buliarous have to use all their wits and high-tech weaponry to save the day.

If you're interested in hearing more about that story, allow me to recommend that you read the APPLESEED manga instead. This anime simply cannot compare to Shirow's graphically dense and dramatically rendered comic presentation. Sadly, the animated characters and equipment are much less aesthetically pleasing and the action is far less fluid. Furthermore, I was very confused why the animators had the characters wield late 20th century firearms (you could actually read the name "Colt" on one handgun) when Shirow reveled in devising complicated and nifty weapons for the manga.

A little research online soon revealed that Shirow decided not to be involved in this anime after an unpleasant experience with BLACK MAGIC M-66, and that is perhaps the final word in why APPLESEED the anime is better left in the junkyard. I'm not even sure it's worth spending gas money to even go rent this DVD.