4/5 Sequel to the 2004 Appleseed film
  by Lesley Aeschliman (Enumclaw, WA)
Appleseed Ex Machina is the sequel to the 2004 Appleseed film that was directed by Shinji Aramaki. It continues the story of Deunan and Briareos, and also introduces a couple of new characters (Tereus and Aeacus).

The languages menu for the Appleseed Ex Machina DVD is a little on the frustrating side. It is done in such a way that the language option for each country is written in that respective country's language. Unfortunately, this means that the Japanese and Chinese options are written with the Japanese and Chinese characters. If you want to choose either of those as a language option, you have to have some familiarity with the written characters. Also, after you choose the language, you are automatically returned to the main menu. In order to indicate that you want subtitles, you have to return to the languages menu and choose the subtitles.

The regular release of Appleseed Ex Machina also has two short documentaries on it. The first is "Team Up: John Woo and Shinji Aramaki." This runs for about sixteen and a half minutes, and through interviews with Shinji Aramaki, crew members, and anime journalists, you find out what each of these individuals brought to Appleseed Ex Machina. The other documentary is "Revolution: Animating Ex Machina." This runs for about eighteen and a half minutes, and it talks about how the animation was done for the film, and it also delves a little bit into the English dubbing for the project. The trailers feature only includes two anime-related trailers (both of which are for the live-action version of Speed Racer). There is also an audio commentary.

There was also a two-disc special edition version released for Appleseed Ex Machina. The second disc includes two documentaries. The first is "The Appleseed Chronicles." It runs for about twenty minutes, and goes into the history of the Appleseed manga. Personally, I was a little disappointed that this feature never touched on the 1988 OVA version of Appleseed or the 2004 Appleseed film directed by Shinji Aramaki. The other documentary is "East Meets West," and it runs for about eighteen and a half minutes. This feature talks about how anime crossed over into the west, and how various terms and ideas involved with anime have been cross-pollinated between the Japanese and American cultures.

In my opinion, Appleseed Ex Machina was a strong follow-up to the Appleseed film. The computer animation used in this film is even better than in the first film, and there are some shots and sequences where you truly feel like you're watching a live-action film.

Appleseed Ex Machina is a PG-13 rated film. It's a violent film, so I really wouldn't recommend it for young children. However, if you're a fan of the first Appleseed movie, you won't be disappointed by Appleseed Ex Machina. It's a DVD that should be in the anime library of anyone who considers themselves a fan of Appleseed.

5/5 Exellence
  by Monica L. Ortez (Las Vegas, NV)
This is an excellent movie. The graphics is incredible and so realistic! I would recommend this movie to anyone

5/5 Amazing graphics
  by R. Johnson (SoCal, USA)
The cell shading looks like a graphic novel rather than a traditional cartoon.
The story is pretty decent for anime.
You know how anime often has really bad stories.
This is one of the better anime movies.
Worth watching.


5/5 Visually stunning and very entertaining!
  by Aztec Warrior (San Francisco, CA USA)
Japanese animators continue to push the envelope in creating drama in animated features which seem to blur the lines between reality and fiction. The complexity of the plots and characters is a testament to their attention to detail and has a tremendous influence in American films(The Matrix, Transformers, etc.). This film is an animated feature and not a cartoon which addresses the idea of man vs. machine and how they co-exist. Filled with cyborgs, hybrids and heavily armored vechicles this movie is very entertaining and never lets go of the throttle once the action starts.

3/5 Appleseed Ex Machina
  by Nightpounce (ACT, Australia)
A new take on the Appleseed story. This anime does NOT follow on from any of the other Appleseed stories and is instead a new take on it.

The CG animation is impressive, the story fun and enjoyable, the fight scenes brilliant. This is a good addition for your collection if you enjoy futureistic, sci-fi animes. I actually enjoyed the story more than in the original Appleseed.