If you were hanging around anime forums in the mid-2000s, you probably remember the absolute chaos that was the shift from hand-drawn cels to 3D. It was a messy era. But then, in 2007, Appleseed Ex Machina dropped. It didn't just walk into the room; it kicked the door down. This wasn't just another "mecha movie." It was a John Woo-produced, Shinji Aramaki-directed fever dream that somehow blended high-fashion aesthetics with gritty cyberpunk philosophy.
Honestly, it’s a miracle the movie even exists in the form it does. Most sequels feel like a cash grab, right? This one felt like an experiment. It took Masamune Shirow’s legendary manga—the same mind that gave us Ghost in the Shell—and decided to see how far they could push the "cel-shaded" look before it broke. They didn't break it. Instead, they created something that still looks surprisingly crisp even by today's standards.
The John Woo Influence and the "Gun-Fu" Legacy
You can't talk about Appleseed Ex Machina without talking about the "Woo-isms." When John Woo signed on as a producer, he didn't just put his name on the poster for clout. He brought his entire cinematic vocabulary. You see it in the opening sequence—a frantic, high-stakes cathedral breach that feels more like Hard Boiled than Mobile Suit Gundam.
Deunan Knute, the lead, moves with a fluidity that was basically unheard of in 2007 CGI. She isn't just shooting; she's dancing. There are doves. Yes, literally. John Woo managed to get his signature white doves into a futuristic sci-fi city called Olympus. It’s ridiculous. It’s over-the-top. It’s peak 2000s action cinema.
But there’s a technical reason why this worked. The team used motion capture in a way that felt "human." Often, 3D anime characters feel like wooden puppets sliding across a floor. In Ex Machina, Deunan and her cyborg partner Briareos have weight. When Briareos lands after a jump, you feel the hydraulics in his legs absorbing the impact. It’s that attention to physical logic that keeps the audience grounded when the plot starts going off the rails into "mind-control satellites" territory.
Prada Designs in a Post-Apocalyptic Utopia?
Here is a weird fact: Miuccia Prada designed two of Deunan’s outfits in the film.
Think about that for a second. We’re talking about a hardcore military sci-fi flick where a world-renowned fashion icon is handling the wardrobe. This wasn't just a marketing gimmick. It served the story’s central theme: the contrast between the "Utopia" of Olympus and the reality of being a soldier. Olympus is supposed to be perfect. It’s shiny, clean, and filled with genetically engineered "Bioroids" who don't feel hate or anger. Of course the soldiers would be wearing high-fashion tactical gear.
This visual polish is what separates Appleseed Ex Machina from the 2004 Appleseed film. The first movie was revolutionary for its time but looked a bit "crunchy" around the edges. Ex Machina smoothed everything out. The lighting became more volumetric. The skin textures looked less like plastic. It was the first time many Western fans realized that CGI anime could actually have a distinct "soul" rather than just being a cheap alternative to 2D animation.
The Love Triangle That Isn't Actually One
Let’s get into the weeds of the story because it’s actually pretty tragic if you look past the explosions. You've got Deunan and Briareos. They’re partners, they’re in love, but Briareos is 75% machine. He’s a Hecatonchires-system cyborg who looks like a giant metal rabbit (the ears are actually sensors, but let’s be real, he’s a rabbit).
Then enters Tereus.
Tereus is a Bioroid created using Briareos’s DNA from before he was blown up and turned into a robot. So, he looks exactly like the human version of Deunan’s lover. Imagine the psychological mess that creates. It’s a fascinating exploration of identity. Is Briareos still "him" if his DNA is walking around in a different, younger body? Deunan is forced to reconcile her feelings for a man who is now a machine versus a "man" who is just a biological copy.
📖 Related: Kanye West Cousins Lyrics: The 250k Laptop Story and the Dark Truth Behind Bully
Most action movies would use this for cheap drama. Ex Machina uses it to ask what actually makes a human. It echoes the themes Masamune Shirow has been obsessed with for decades—the ghost in the machine, the evolution of the species, and whether technology is a tool or a successor.
Why the Tech in Appleseed Ex Machina Still Holds Up
Usually, CGI ages like milk. Go back and watch some 3D shows from 2010 and you’ll find yourself cringing at the stiff movements and flat lighting. Yet, Appleseed Ex Machina remains watchable. Part of that is the art direction. Instead of trying to look "photo-real" (the trap Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within fell into), they leaned into the "manga" look.
They used thick outlines and vibrant color palettes. The mechanical designs of the Landmates—the power suits the characters wear—are masterpieces of industrial design. They look functional. You can see the bolts, the exhaust ports, and the way the armor plating slides to allow for joint movement.
💡 You might also like: A Court of Mist and Fury: Why Everyone is Still Obsessed with ACOMAF
- Director: Shinji Aramaki (The master of power-suit designs)
- Producer: John Woo (The king of stylized violence)
- Score: Haruomi Hosono (Legendary electronic musician)
The music is another layer people forget. The soundtrack featured tracks from various electronic artists, giving the movie a cold, rhythmic pulse that matches the heartbeat of a cyborg city. It doesn't sound like a generic orchestral film score. It sounds like a nightclub in a dystopian future.
The Critics and the "Bioroid" Controversy
Not everyone loved it, obviously. Some purists hated the move away from the grittier, darker tone of the original 1988 OVA. They felt it was too "clean." And yeah, the plot gets a bit convoluted toward the end with the "Halcon" virus and the whole hive-mind plot. It’s very "classic anime" in that the stakes jump from a local police shootout to "the fate of all human consciousness" in about twenty minutes.
There’s also the debate about the Bioroids. In the film, Bioroids are the majority of the population in Olympus. They are designed to be stable. But the movie subtly asks if stability is worth the loss of free will. If you’re engineered to be "good," are you actually good, or are you just a programmed tool? The film doesn't give you a straight answer, which is honestly the mark of good sci-fi.
How to Watch It Today
If you’re looking to dive into Appleseed Ex Machina, you have a few options, though it’s strangely harder to find on streaming than it used to be. It’s one of those titles that often rotates through platforms like Crunchyroll or Amazon Prime, but physical media is still the king here. The Blu-ray is worth picking up just for the behind-the-scenes features on the motion capture and the fashion design.
📖 Related: Why Linda Ronstadt Silver Threads and Golden Needles Still Defines Country Rock
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Fan:
- Watch the 2004 Movie First: While Ex Machina is a standalone story in many ways, the 2004 Appleseed sets up the world of Olympus and the relationship between Deunan and Briareos. It provides the emotional context you need.
- Pay Attention to the Backgrounds: The architectural design of Olympus is heavily influenced by the idea of a "Green City." Look at how nature is integrated into the high-tech skyscrapers.
- Compare with Appleseed Alpha: If you finish Ex Machina and want more, check out Appleseed Alpha (2014). It’s a prequel with a much more realistic CGI style. It’s interesting to see how the same characters are interpreted through different visual lenses.
- Read the Manga: Masamune Shirow’s original work is much denser and more political. If the movie felt a bit "action-heavy" for you, the manga will satisfy that itch for deep world-building and techno-babble.
Ultimately, this film represents a specific moment in time when big-budget experimentation was happening in the anime industry. It’s a bridge between the hand-drawn past and the fully digital future. Whether you’re there for the Prada suits, the John Woo gunfights, or the philosophical questions about cyborg DNA, it’s a ride that doesn't let up until the final frame.