First released in the middle of the 1980s, the Appleseed franchise has become one of the most popular manga series not only in Japan, but all around the world. With a post-apocalyptic setting, interesting characters, and numerous genres explored, it isn't har to see how this series has won over so many. ***

Appleseed Ex Machina, a feature film in the series that was released in Japan last Fall, is the latest in the series. The film follows the aftermath of a war that eradicated half of the human population. Survivors of the conflict have been living in societies ruled over by artificial intelligence. Humans and humanoid cyborgs have been living in peace for quite some time, and all seems well. But things take a strange turn for Denuan Knute and Briareos - two soldiers who are in love , when the city's force recruits a mysterious new soldier. This new soldier not only resembles Briareos, but has equally-strong feelings for Knute - leading to inevitable complications. ***

Appleseed is one of those franchises that almost always manages to entertain…. And aside from some minor issues, Ex Machina proves itself to be no exception to this rule. Fairly dated animation and an often sluggish script and dialogue bog the experience down, but it's redeemed through a nice mix of action and well-paced storytelling that will hold your attention from start to finish. ***

The storytelling and action of Appleseed Ex Machina is every bit as good, and in some ways better, than what you see in your typical live-action Hollywood blockbuster. The animation feels a little dated, but this doesn't keep the feature from entertaining. There's something for everyone here. Even if you're not up to date on the Appleseed franchise, it doesn't matter. You can dive right in with this movie, and you'll still be entertained (the story pretty much tells itself, so don't panic if you haven't seen any past installments.) ---

Image And Sound:

This is an absolutely fantastic DVD transfer. As a piece of Japanese animation, it's naturally a very colorful presentation - and all of those colors come across perfectly on the DVD format. I noticed no visual blemishes or glitches of any kind, either. ***

As with most Japanese Anime DVDs, this one includes the option of watching the presentation as an English dubbed version, or the original Japanese audio version, subtitled in English. And the sound quality trade-off is what you'd expect, as well. English audio has less-than-stellar voice acting and a weak script, but fantastic audio quality. On the other hand, the Japanese audio version has weak audio quality (it doesn't get full-blown surround sound like the English audio), but the translations in the subtitles are far more accurate than the dubbed version. So it's a trade-off whichever version you decide to watch. ---

The DVD from Warner Bros. has plenty of entertaining bonus features. The movie alone would have been worth the price of admission, but these extra featurettes only sweeten the deal. A commentary track is included, and it's both entertaining and informative - well worth checking out if you enjoyed the movie. Four featurettes are included as well, spanning 15-20 minutes each. Amongst the subjects explored in them are the collaboration itself, the animation, an overview of Anime and how it is seen in America, and last but certainly not least, a “history of Appleseed” featurette. The latter I found especially entertaining - if you only have time to watch one of the bonus featurettes, make it that one. Warner Bros. has handled the DVD version of this film excellently - if only ALL Anime DVDs had extras like this! ---

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