Very few fictional societies build mechanical marvels capable of wielding weapons of mass destruction because everything is going well. The mecha subgenre crosses into several schools of science fiction while retaining its own identity. The type of grim future that would produce metal men will have a lot in common with other examples. Appleseed Alpha may only feature regular-sized robots, but it lives in the same space as Armored Core.
After a decade away from the franchise, FromSoftware prepares to unleash Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon onto an eager public. The company's president, Hidetaka Miyazaki, stepped away from the director's chair to allow Sekiro lead game designer Masaru Yamamura to lead the project. Fans are thrilled to see the series return, but newcomers have no frame of reference for its unique storytelling.
What is Appleseed Alpha about?
Appleseed Alpha takes place in a grim near-future dealing with the aftermath of an all-consuming World War. The film follows Deunan Knute and Briareos Hecatonchires, a pair of veterans working off a massive debt to a tyrannical crime lord called Two Horns. Briareos is 75% cybernetic after a wartime injury. When his mechanical body starts to malfunction, he and Deunan are forced to stay in Two Horns' employ to pay for repairs. As they use their unique talents to fight deadly drones, Deunan and Briareos meet cyborg soldiers and a young girl. Their new friends lower the veil, revealing that Two Horns has been working against them to keep them in his service.
While out on the job, Deunan and Briareos attract the attention of another malevolent cyborg called Talos. While Two Horns wants to use the wasteland for profit, Talos wants to reshape what's left of New York in his image. Deunan and Briareos wind up on the same side of the criminals exploiting them as they fight a worse threat. The action heightens as Talos reveals a weapon that could wipe out the survivors and finish the job World War III started. It's a grim cyberpunk action film with a great design aesthetic and likable characters.
How does Appleseed Alpha relate to Armored Core?
FromSoftware is not known for uplifting stories. All the Dark Souls games take place in nightmarish landscapes populated by slavering monsters. Armored Core captures a similar feel with a much more terrestrial location. The Earth depicted in the first Armored Core has been wasted by a global war called the "Great Destruction." Most of humanity was wiped off the map in the conflict. The scars of battle poison the surface, forcing the small handful of remaining survivors to live underground. This era allows the few remaining wealthy conglomerates to take over the world. Two corporations vie for power through violent military engagements. The dubious heroes of the story are Ravens, a group of mercenaries who will take any gig for the right price. Over the four sequels, the story expands, but it rarely gets better.
Like Armored Core, Appleseed Alpha follows skilled soldiers who take questionable assignments from morally bankrupt employers. Both works take place in a future with advanced technology and primitive society. More to the point, both stories demonstrate a glimpse at the reality that is allowed to fester when the most brilliant scientific innovations are put toward weaponry. Mech suits and combat androids are impressive, but they represent the escalation of violence, not its ending. The Ravens, Deunan, and Briareos are warriors trying to get by in a world that exploits their skills. Their humanity is hidden behind cybernetic enhancements, 40-foot robots, or the high-tech scope of a rifle. Their lives might look better than everyone else's, but they only earn their meager existence through the mass graves they leave behind. However, in both cases, the action remains extremely cool.
Are there other Appleseed movies?
Appleseed Alpha is the most-recent adaptation of Masamune Shirow's 1985 manga series. Shirow's other cyberpunk classic, Ghost in the Shell, is slightly better known. There are three other feature films based on Appleseed. The first two, released in 1988 and 2004, take the manga's title and tell the same story. In 2007, a sequel to the 2004 entry launched with the title Appleseed Ex Machina. A 13-episode retelling entitled Appleseed XIII dropped in 2011. Alpha serves as a prequel to the manga while deviating from its canon. The franchise has been silent for almost a decade, but fans remain hopeful for future iterations.
Appleseed Alpha captures the highs and lows of life as a wasteland-wandering mercenary. Its draw will always be the well-crafted cyborg action, but there's so much more under the surface. Like Armored Core, there's a current of grim reality animating the mechanized bodies of its central characters. Fans of FromSoft know how much they love to put anime elements into their games. These two works share more than some cool-looking robot designs.