Anime Screened in Japanese Cinemas This Weekend
This weekend is a quiet one in terms of anime released in cinemas but there is one screening taking place.
Appleseed Alpha
アップルシード アルファ
Appleseed Alpha is Shinji Aramaki’s prequel to his 2004 anime Appleseed and its sequel, the 2007 anime Appleseed Ex Machina. Set in a post-apocalyptic world that is the result of a 22nd century world war, we are transported place to the ruins of New York City, a place inhabited by humans and genetically engineered clones called bioroids. The main characters are Deunan Knute and her bioroid partner Briareos. They work as mercenaries but are also looking for a highly advanced city named Olympus. They get their chance to find it when they encounter a mysterious girl and her cyborg bodyguard who claim they are on an important mission for Olympus and are fleeing a team of highly advanced cyborg mercenaries who are chasing them
The film is based on a manga by Shirow “Ghost in the Shell” Masamune and was made using motion capture and CG to achieve a look somewhere between animation and live action. The director is Shinji Aramaki and he has a long filmography in anime with work on Megazone 23 and the TV mecha anime Gasaraki. His name has become more familiar to western fans thanks to the Appleseed movies and the recent Captain Harlock movie. Each of these titles has been released in the UK and that includes Appleseed Alpha which is available in physical and digital versions.
As ever, trailers can be found on the news forum.
