Shelf Life

Apples and Ogres

Herein lies both the good and bad part about the series. The story itself, and all the little side tendril stories (of which there are many), is… not that interesting. Because we know from episode one that Aki is Really Evil and Really Violent, it takes away a lot of the mystique surrounding the series and the character. It's not until the middle flashback episodes that any of the characters are fleshed out at all, but that's also the only time they're developed. Just about every character, even the new bad guys that flit into and out of the series, gets their own special village flashback. It certainly gives them a ready backstory, but it's a little formulaic, especially considering that once they're back in the present again, they rarely grow or change.

Still, of the thirteen episodes in this series, the flashbacks are amongst the most interesting. We learn why Aki is the maniacal, psychotic killer he is, and we learn why Kyohei has such a disdain for the kakashi. Sadly, because character development is constrained purely to these village flashbacks, we absolutely don't learn anything else about any of the other characters, including big-breasted girlfriend Hibino. Every hero needs one of those. As mentioned., there are a handful of other minor antagonists—but the highlight of the series, if there is one, is really Aki and Kyohei. Their backstories are better developed than most of the plot lines, which tend to drag a little. There are also just one or two characters too many—even near the end, new micro-villains are still introduced, which further takes away from the main conflict.

It doesn't help that only one season was ever made of this show, so there are a lot of loose threads that remain untied at the end of the series. There's an ominous, “NEXT SEASON…!” teaser, but to my knowledge, no second season has ever been announced. So if you're hoping for a full and satisfying conclusion at the end of the series, you will get none. Then again, nothing about the series is really that satisfying, so your baseline is pretty low. You can't have any cliffhangers if you're standing out on the plains. And that's kind of what Kamisama Dolls feels like. The show is entertaining enough if your only goal is to pass the time. Otherwise it comes up a little empty.[TOP]

Taking place after a deadly worldwide war, the story takes place in a so-called "Paradise" known as Olympus. It's supposed to be a haven of peace, but it's rife with racial (does it count as race if it's natural-born humans versus clones? Flesh-folk versus cyborgs?) tension and political conflict. A large part of that tension comes from mixed feelings about bioroids, which are clones engineered to serve humans. Look, I'm no human-clone relations expert, but even I could've told them this would be a terrible idea. Fifty years from now, when the government decides it wants to clone "superior humans" and make them serve us, I'll be sure to write a letter to my senator.

Anyway, all is not well in paradise, and there's lots of problems. Appleseed franchise staples Deunan and Briareous are called upon to quell all sorts of issues, like when a bunch of bioroids are seemingly killing themselves, or when greedy politicians and corporations are getting too big for their britches. And of course, human and bioroid conflicts, and the terrorists who oppose the mere existence of the latter.

Even with all these stories to pick and choose from, every episode just feels the same. Sure, the settings change and the people at the end of the scope change, but there are no highlights or lowlights in this sea of turmoil. One rare exception is this kind of heartbreaking episode where a little sick girl makes friends with a robot, and they have a lovely time plucking dandelions. He is soon disposed of and reprogrammed, and the last shot of a dandelion will have your heart cringing just a little bit. I would gladly rewatch this episode again and again, because I feel like it's a wonderful vignette, but that's the exception . The rest of the series just doesn't live up to standard. For characters who've been around for quite a few iterations, Deunan and Briareos are woefully underdeveloped. We see the pain and guilt that Deunan feels regarding Briareos, but with the utter lack of chemistry and meaningful interaction between the two, it doesn't go anywhere. Briareos is less of a character in this series than a prop, and Deunan seems to be there just to have a familiar face. She also spends a lot of time wallowing in Greek mythos (I mean, the city is called Olympus), but whatever lofty goals the series set out for itself regarding its philosophies and ideals gets lost in a jumble of run-of-the-mill fights.

We can't talk about Appleseed without talking about the visuals, though. The style of CG animation they use in Appleseed XIII takes a while to get used to. It kind of looks and feels like a video game, like you'd expect Deunan to just bob back and forth while you decide whether or not to buy a potion. I learned from the extras (which are actually pretty fascinating, for those of you who actually watch DVD extras) that a different production company was tasked with making each episode. The end result is that each one is made with remarkable care, and it comes out in the way the characters' mouths move, and the way their eyes express subtleties. It's a little eerie, but it's strangely beautiful, and I found the animation to be one of the most striking aspects of the show. Now, if only any of the actual storytelling felt the same way. [TOP]