Appleseed

After Earth was decimated by World War III, the ruins of civilization were rebuilt, with the futuristic city of Olympus standing out like a crown jewel. Overseen by the supercomputer Gaia and populated with an extremely large number of Bioroids—genetically engineered people designed to handle all administrative functions—Olympus affords its citizens lives free from all worries. However, a surge of crimes has been occurring within this seemingly utopian environment.

In order to protect the people, Deunan Knute and her partner Briareos Hecantochires work for Olympus' Enhanced SWAT team, taking on the most violent criminal cases. When a group of terrorists threaten to destroy the Olympians' way of life, Deunan and Briareos swear to take them down—no matter the cost.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hecantochires, Briareos Main

Sakaguchi, Yoshisada Japanese

Knute, Deunan Main

Katsuki, Masako Japanese

Areios, Athena Main

Sawada, Toshiko Japanese

Mautholos, Calon Main

Furukawa, Toshio Japanese

Hitomi Supporting

Shou, Mayumi Japanese

Nike Supporting

Takizawa, Kumiko Japanese

Sebastian, A. J. Supporting

Wakamoto, Norio Japanese

Sugita, Tsutomu Producer

Maki, Taro Producer

Katayama, Kazuyoshi Director, Script, Screenplay

Wolskel, John Script

Reviews

Jan 8, 2026

spacenewtype

Recommended

There's nothing here to really dislike - it's just that this work never goes as far as it could have with anything if it had picked a lane and went balls to the wall with it - whether it was action, philosophical morality, mecha, or fanservice.

Character designs, animation, and voice acting are all pretty good. The setting is reasonably interesting, insofar as much as we learn about it. The best parts about about Appleseed are really the promotional artwork, and I found the antagonist very non-standard and sympathetic in motivations. He will be remembered.

I think this is worth seeing at least once, especially if ... you are a fan of things like Bubblegum Crisis, Venus War, Crusher Joe, Riding Bean... Those all came to mind while watching, but they are all better in their totallities than this pretty but quick flick.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 7, 2025

FAKEANIMEGIRL

Mixed Feelings

(Check my profile for a link to my personal site containing more up-to-date reviews and bonus media!)

Originally written on January 11, 2017 4:13 am EST

Appleseed is Masamune Shirow‘s non-Ghost in the Shell baby. I was lukewarm towards the 2004 CG movie, and my appreciation for this franchise hasn’t grown after this OVA. I recall the movie having more action than this OVA, which is a plus in this OVA’s favor, if you ask me. This focuses a lot more on the dynamic and banter between Deunan and Briareos, and I’m more of a “script” guy than an “action” guy.

For some reason, I also expected this ... to be the same story as the movie, but it’s entirely different. From what I remember, even the setting is significantly different. Deunan and Briareos are already working together, and Deunan’s clearly accepted his bioroid augmentations. The council of old men from the movie aren’t seen or mentioned anywhere, and neither is the OVA’s namesake.

I can’t recommend anyone start with this one, because it puts in next to no effort to establish the characters or setting, but it works fine if you watch outside of production order (as you should be willing to). There’s a bit more philosophy and psychology in this one, but nothing as impressive as Ghost in the Shell. It only really scratches the surface of how a sterile, utopian city like Olympus could impact society.

Appleseed is mostly a buddy cop-styled police procedural action story with the duo investigating a terrorist plot. Not much else to it, but I enjoyed the style and setting. Like Black Magic M-66, it’s not riddled with problems—it’s just lacking an extra spark.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Nov 22, 2022

KamuiX1999

Not Recommended

I haven't seen this since I was a teenager in the '90s, and I remember being pretty underwhelmed after all of the hype surrounding it back in those early days. Having revisited it, my feelings haven't changed. This is only the second film animated by Gainax, and when compared to their first, Royal Space Force Honneamise, it's pretty obvious where all the money went. Appleseed looks like amateur hour, with a lot of stilted animation and just an overall bland look, which considering this is based on a manga by Masamune Shirow, is a massive problem. All of the characters are weakly defined, and it ... also has some of the most inappropriate music as well, which manages to lull one to sleep rather than excite. Every other Appleseed adaptation is far superior in literally every aspect, and when taking into account I am a much bigger fan of hand-drawn animation over CG (which is how every other adaptation is animated), that is saying a whole heck of a lot about how weak this is.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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