Appleseed Alpha (2014)

Appleseed Alpha: Directed by Shinji Aramaki, Steven Foster. With Yuka Komatsu, Jun’ichi Suwabe, Aoi Yûki, Hiroki Takahashi. A tough, cute woman and a cyborg arrive at a depopulated, post WW3 Times Sq. They leave the ruins of NYC with 2 on a secret mission.

“The oddly named Appleseed Alpha is essentially a series of action sequences punctuated by bland dialogue and weak attempts at character development. First, the story and dialogue are particularly weak and unoriginal. As someone unfamiliar with the comic book series on which the film was based, I was hoping for a little more back story or at least a little more information about the characters and their motivations. Second, the characters are lifeless and unlikeable, and the relationship between the protagonist and her cyborg partner is nearly devoid of humanity–nothing like the cyborg-human relationship in Ghost in the Shell. Strangely, most of the human characters seemed more like cyborgs than the cyborgs did. The animation is the filmu0026#39;s saving grace, however, and hardcore anime fans will appreciate the detailed and amazingly lifelike characters and environments. The voice acting is also decent, considering the laughably bad dialogue. Bottom line: I donu0026#39;t recommend it unless youu0026#39;re a serious anime fan who has run out of things to watch.”