yorkii said:
i just watched the trailer.... wow!!
i have heard of appleseed but have never read any of the manga... just to put a noob in place, could you confirm that this anime/manga is by the author of GITS..? also, do you recommend that iread the appleseed manga before watching the movie ?? :?
thanks in advance,
/yorkii
yes, the authors name is masamune shirow, he created ghost in the shell, dominion tank police, orion, black magic m-66, among others. i would recommend
to anyone that they read the manga first, but since the movie is out, and appleseed is a very long story, you might go ahead and watch it, you will be no less impressed
here is a summary -
the manga was a series of four 200 page plus books in japan. the fifth book has yet to be published. shirow (creator) has promised it for years now, but with no definite release date
as for the movie, there are no plans for a sequal as yet, because the movie covers almost everything from the books. the movie, with a few minor acceptions, is true to the books. truly one of a kind. as manga goes, appleseed has been a landmark story in japan since the release of the first book in 1985. shirows artwork is beyond extraordinary, and is considered by most manga fans to be the pinacle of the style. he has a more serious look to his design, and incorperates a realism in this story the likes of whitch i have never seen, that is what attracted me to the story to begin with. although there are many things in the books that simply could not be put in the movie for length/time reasons, it remains solid. if you have not read the manga, i urge you to. it is possibly the most realistic look at the future of cybernetics and artificial intelligence. for me, it blows his other works (ghost in the shell, dominion tank police, etc) out of the water. appleseed is his epic, his lifes work, and it shows in the manga. a very moving story. the relationship between the ex-lovers deunan, and the now cyborg briareos, is compelling and heartbreaking. most stories fail to make it believable, this one does not. it has a very "real" feeling to it, and you can actually sympathise with the two. the story itself revolves around the moral issues of artificial life, and the ability of humans to co-exist with it, alongside the advent of cybertechnology, whitch saved briareos' life, but also gives rise to advanced crime. it centers on the two main characters, but never deviates from the moral side of the story, absolutely brilliant stuff.
appleseed is the reason i became serious about art. i have been a manga illustrator ever since, and now im a film major
i can only hope to achieve the level of complexity that shirow puts into works like appleseed. i hate to admit it, because im no softy, but the first time i read it as a teenager, i broke down crying it was so moving.
RockLee > no word on a subbbed version, but my buddy says it should be out soon
lets keep each other posted