Blu-ray Review “Appleseed Alpha”

Starring: Luci Christian, David Matranga
Director: Shinji Aramaki
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 22, 2014
Run Time: 93 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“Appleseed Alpha” is based on the original manga by “Ghost in the Shell” creator Shirow Masamune. This series has had a great life to do starting in 2004 with the first film “Appleseed” and in 2007 with “Appleseed Ex Machina”, this CG-animated film is a prequel to the series and one of the best installments to date. I love the new look of this film and I couldn’t take my eyes of the TV. Luci Christian and David Matranga return as the voices of Deunan and Briareos as well. If you are looking for a state-of-the-art action packed CG film, look no further.

Official Premise: Left to survive in a post-World War society, two mercenary soldiers – Deunan and her cyborg partner Briareos – are sent on a mission on the outskirts of their war-torn city. During the operation, they run into Iris and Olson, two citizens from the utopian city of Olympus, who might have a way to save the world but the ruthless Talos and the scheming warlord Two Horns have their own plans. It’s up to Deunan and Briareos to safeguard their newfound contacts and help save humanity’s last hope.

Sony is releasing this film as a combo pack including Blu-ray + UltraViolet Digital Copy. The 1080p transfer was simply amazing. I immediately fell in love with the the animation style. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track was easily the highlight though with a killer music soundtrack. This film includes some great songs from today’s top international music artists, including Yasutaka Nakata (CAPSULE), Skrillex & Alvin Risk, androp, CAPSULE, DJ FUMIYA (RIP SLYME), PASSEPIED, Q;indivi+, tofubeats, AKLO, 80KIDZ, nishi-ken, and RAM RIDER. In terms of special features, there is a great filmmaker commentary track with director Shinji Aramaki and 11 making-of featurettes that track the cover the film from script to screen.

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Blu-ray Review “Appleseed XIII: Tartaros & Ouranos”

Starring: Luci Christian, David Matranga
Director: Takayuki Hamana
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Funimation
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Run Time: 168 minutes

Films: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars

If you are a fan of the series “Appleseed XIII”, then you might want to consider checking out “Appleseed XIII: Tartaros & Ouranos”…as long as you do not expect new content. This new release from Funimation is two-film shortened summarization of the 13-episode anime series. I have to admit, I was a little bit hesitant since I did like the “Appleseed XIII” quite a bit, but these two films do work very well. They are tighter and really pack a nice punch. What is nice about these, most importantly, is that I feel that you can own both of these, the movies and the series, since they are both different beasts. A no brainer purchase if you love great anime.

Official Premise: In the wake of destruction from a worldwide non-nuclear war, the city of Olympus has become the control center of the world. As humanity adopts biological enhancements in attempts to achieve perfection, a terrorist organization uprises to prevent what could be the eventual extinction of the human race. Two former LAPD SWAT members join a special mech-piloting, military force to take down the leader of the terrorist organization.

Funimation Entertainment are the best when it comes to their Blu-ray anime releases. They really give a lot of love to these and I respect that. This release comes stocked with a Blu-ray + DVD combo pack. The 1080p transfer is awesome and really works well with this sharp and snazzy CG animation. There are two DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks included for both English and original Japanese audio. In terms of special features, there is nothing too impressive here. There are original previews for both “Tartaros & Ouranos”. There is a textless closing song and trailers included.

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Blu-ray Review “Appleseed XIII: Complete Series”

Actors: David Matranga, Luci Christian, Charlie Campbell
Directors: Colleen Clinkenbeard
Number of discs: 5
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Funimation
DVD Release Date: June 4, 2013
Run Time: 390 minutes

Series: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“Appleseed XIII” is the new Japanese CGI anime adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s 1985 science fiction manga series “Appleseed”. The series consists of 13 episodes (if you didn’t get that from the title). The series focuses on the exploits of ES.W.A.T. members Deunan and her cyborg partner Briareos and stays pretty close the original manga stories. The series was produced in association with Production I.G, aka the makers of “Ghost in the Shell”. I am a big fan of “Appleseed” and I am glad to see this series get some new life. I wish it wasn’t returned to 13 episodes but it still works and it is a blast for fans looking for more.

If you are a fan of the past films “Appleseed” & “Appleseed Ex Machina”, you will be happy to know that David Matranga returns as Briareos and Luci Christian returns as Deunan Knute. So this should make fans of the characters happy. It has also been almost six years since the last film, so this OVA series is very welcomed. “Appleseed XIII” was also compiled into two theatrical feature films in Japan. The first feature film was titled, “Appleseed XIII: Tartaros” and the second titled, “Appleseed XIII: Ouranos”.

Official Premise: In the wake of destruction from a worldwide non-nuclear war, the city of Olympus has become the control center of the world. As humanity adopts biological enhancements in attempts to achieve perfection, a terrorist organization uprises to prevent what could be the eventual extinction of the human race. Two former LAPD SWAT members join a special mech-piloting, military force to take down the leader of the terrorist organization.

Funimation gave this OVA series a lot of love.  This limited edition Blu-ray release comes in a very sharp hard case with two cases, one for the Blu-ray presentation of this show and the another for the DVD. This is a typical “complete series” release from the studio and is very impressive. The 1080p transfers on the episodes look fantastic and work very well with the CG animation style and non-stop action for this series.  There are two audio tracks included, both which are Dolby TrueHD 5.1.  Like I mentioned above, I am fan of the English track due to the voice talent that is included.  But both of them are comparable and very impressive to satisfy either type of fan.

The special features are pretty awesome as well, just like the series itself. There are two audio track for two episodes. Episode #7 features Mike McFarland, Ian Sinclair and Monica Rial, which is a complete blast to listen to and adds a lot to the episode itself. The second is with Episode #12, which features Colleen Clinkenbeard and David Matrenga, also very informative and a must listen for fans. “The Inside” is a crazy long nearly two and a half hour behind the scenes look at the making of each episode. Plain and simple…this is awesome and highly recommend! Lastly there is a U.S. Trailer, and a Textless Opening and Closing Theme.

 

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