It’s been a good couple of years on the virtual back-lots, what with the oozing menace of Sin City, or the gorgeous (if pedestrian) Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow. Anime fans, however, have been the primary benefactors of cinema’s ongoing digital revolution, with the release of sumptuous looking science fiction films such as Casshern.
Still, even the most avid consumer of such new cyber-sensual animation will have cause to feel giddy watching Shinji Aramaki’s Appleseed.
Based on the six original graphic novels of the same name by anime legend Masamune Shirow (Ghost In The Shell), Appleseed utilises groundbreaking 3-D CG technology to produce the most incredible hyper-realistic animation ever achieved on film.
Think pounding apocalyptica with a neo-Kubrick, having successfully eliminated the need for pesky actors, at the helm.
“Physically speaking, it was the toughest job of my life,” recalls Aramaki. “I was doing production design at the same time that I was directing so I had deadlines for all these preparatory drawings of characters and machines. Mr. Shirow served as a great observer though. He tried to stay out of the movie in a good sense. We met and talked throughout and his thoughtfulness was a great help. I myself just had to meet his, and the fans’, expectations.”
Given Appleseed’s immense popularity – the graphic novels have already spawned TV spin-offs and an earlier film version – the task of adapting this fiendishly intricate manga is something akin to landing charge of the Batman franchise, had it been originally penned by William Gibson.
“I know, but I strangely didn’t find it daunting,” Mr. Aramaki tells me. “Appleseed is my favourite title so it was a definite yes when I got the offer. I didn’t want to pass it to anyone. It was the first film I’d completely directed and the first 3DCG movie in Japan, so to be honest I didn’t have time to feel pressured or scared during production.”
Set in 2131, Appleseed follows the fortunes of ass-kicking soldier and iconic chick Deunan Knute. Having survived the war that ravaged the earth, Deunan is taken to the dystopian city of Olympus and reunited with former lover Briarious, whose body is now primarily cyborg.
Together they police a city populated by humans and bioroids, a genetically engineered species designed to aid the humans, but regarded with suspicion by a swell of emerging terrorists. Well, I did say it was fiendishly intricate.
“Deunan has always been my favourite anime character”, explains the director. “She is a woman full of energy. She often fights with many problems, but from the moment she finds something that she can do, she starts doing her very best to solve bad circumstances without hesitation. That part really attracts me.”
The director admits to becoming attached to the character.
“After the production started, my first works were story-build and designing Deunan," he says. "And I had continued retouching her until the filming was almost completed. Now I feel she is not an anime character, but my third daughter.”