Appleseed Alpha

I really liked this Manga. The story was good, I like the art style. The characters had more depth than I expected. It was easy to understand what their basic temperament was. The first few pages are in color, something which was nice to set the stage. There are a couple of glossaries of sound effects (in the middle and in the end) which, by the time I realized, I wasn't much interested in because I was very engaged in the story line. I'll integrate the glossary when in future readings. This story predates the appleseed story, which I have not read but I have heard of it. There is a very interesting letter from the original author of Appleseed in the back, kind of a "send off" giving his characters to the new author, which was very touching. I consume Japanese manga and anime lightly compared to other people. I've had a subscription to Crunchy Roll, I own DVDs for various series, and I have a small collection of printed manga. So this review comes from someone who understands the basics and is used to enjoying Japanese culture, but I am by no means an avid collector or devotee. If you are an avid collector or devotee, lets be up front here, you won't find my review very interesting or enjoyable, as my level of sophistication is below yours. Coming from that perspective, I'm going to say that I enjoyed the story very much. I didn't want to put it down, it really held my interest. I thought the relationships between the various characters was very well thought out. Like many books of this type that are really for adults, the story is fast moving. In this case, "fast moving" means that stuff happens on the page and you have to make some mental leaps to realize what they were trying to say. Kind of like in a movie where they can show two characters talking about how "everythings gonna be all right", and then a cutscene of devastation, and you realize that things really weren't all right, but you skip over the middle and just "realize" what happened. This happens a few times in the book, and its really ok and fine. Just don't expect every moment to be spelled out for you. Like any graphic novel, the artist occasionally tries to be clever with the way the panes are presented on the page, and that can, very occasionally, cause you to say "oops I read that out of order". You've got to be patient about that, they are just trying to enhance the art. Devotees won't have any problems. If you are brand new to manga, this story is a good start, very understandable, works on its own. You will have to get used to reading the book "backwards", that is, from right to left, instead of from left to right. But I think you would figure that out just fine on your own, most people do. Overall I would say its a great book, and I look forward to continuing the series.

The drawings are like superbly childish... complete waste of my money.

The original Appleseed manga was really good. The artwork was great. The story was very good. The anime hasn't been nearly as good and I've only seen the 2004 movie. I was expecting more here in the caliber of the manga, but I guess it's not by the same people. I Know there also is an Appleseed Alpha move. I wonder if this is the Japanese equivalent of a book based on a movie. It feels more like an ok ova of a manga than a good manga in itself. My first disappointment is the artwork. The brush strokes are very thick and it makes it look rushed. It almost feels more like storyboards than final artwork. Well, it's better than that, but I much prefer the style of artwork in the previous manga. My second disappointment is the story. It feels like a two part episode in a serialized anime. I like many serialized anime shows, but I would like them much less if there were only two episodes. The story is complete, but it feels like a side-story. Also, there is much less depth than the previous Appleseed mangas. Lastly, the story doesn't really take you anywhere or leave the characters any different. It's ok, but it's not great. So overall, I'm not sad I read. But I didn't like it enough to really suggest it. I think the Appleseed manga fan is better off reading only the other mangas. I also don't think there's enough interesting for a new fan. I'm not saying you'll be sad if you read this, but I think there are much better things to read.

In this prequel to the classic manga, Deunan,and Briareos arrive in the ruins of New York where a cyborg mayor is building an army to combat what he believes are invading aliens. They soon find themselves caught between the 'human farm' outside the city and the mayor's cyborg army. Meanwhile the 'aliens' are moving behind the scenes. Let me start by pointing out the obvious, this is not by Appleseed creator Shirow Masamune, it is based on an anime and written and drawn by Iou Kuroda. Kuroda's art is a lot sketchier and stylized than Masamune's making for a jarring change. The humans are very stylized, several times I wondered if characters were supposed to be stunted dwarves or it that was just Kuroda's style. The technology, highly detailed in the original books, is a lot looser, for example the legs on a robot walker are little more than scribbled lines. The writing is also not what I expected. The book starts by spending time on the logistical problems of caring for humans and highly-complex cyborgs in a devastated world. This was really the strongest part as the cyborg Briareos is humbled, starved of parts and power and barely able to walk. But a lot of these points are quickly dropped and the book never really feels as fleshed out as the tech-heavy books of the original Appleseed. In the end I just couldn't connect with the characters or the world. My main take away was to pull my old copies of Appleseed and Black Magic off the shelf for a reread. I think that Kuroda is talented and I'd be interested in seeing some of his original work, but this was just the wrong property for him. Plus this is a hardcover that charges $25 for a book I would expect to pay $7~$10 for, Really at that price I can't recommend this.

Does this manga live up to the Appleseed name? Definitely not. However, I'm not disappointed with this release overall- it's a good manga, it's just not Appleseed quality. Pros: Revisit Deunan and Briareos. These are definitely the same characters, same world- just a different part of that world. Solid stories. Every mini-story has its own setup and resolution, these are complete works and not just a series of vignettes. Expressive art. This is not the original artist, Masamune. The art is in a fast-paced, frenetic, expressive style. Many of the scenes involve lots of dirt and junk strewn about a postapocalyptic future, and this is conveyed in a messy art style. That will appeal to some. Huge. It's a hardcover collection of a lot of smaller, serialized stories that add up to a larger tale. It's a gorgeous book, and that's why I'm still comfortable giving it 5 stars. This will be a great addition to any collection. Cons: Not as good as the original. In terms of story quality and art, it's nowhere near as good as Masamune's original. Masamune did great, clean mechanical designs. People looking for great mecha shots of the cyborgs will not like this new direction very much. Overall: I can see why fans would be disappointed. This is certainly not as good as the original. However, it's a great manga in its own right. It's like if your favorite version of Star Trek was Next Generation, and you might argue that Deep Space 9 was not as good. Deep Space 9 is certainly a valid show in its own right, and very different from Next Generation or even the original series. Deep Space 9 might not appeal to all fans, but it's a great show in its own right. Most fans are probably going to gripe, which I completely understand. But if you can page through a copy in your bookstore before you take it home, I think you'll find it's a great read and worth picking up regardless.

I see mixed reactions to Iou Kuroda's "Appleseed Alpha". Yes, Kuroda is not Shirow Masamune, the original creator, and yes, the art style is different. It may be that I'm not as tied to either the anime or original manga that I could enjoy this on its own. It starts with a dramatic cyborg announcing that aliens (of the UFO kind) are infiltrating the city. It turns out that he is the mayor and he's very serious. Deunan, human and former SWAT, and Briareos, her companion and cyborg, need supplies, specifically batteries as Briareos is running low on energy. It is convenient that the mayor also needs Briareos to help combat the 'aliens'. The art style is a little different. It is sketchier and not as 'smooth'. Having read Shigeru Mizuki and Yoshihiro Tatsumi, this doesn't really bother me and once I was into the story, I didn't really notice. I do like that there is humor in the story. Masamune also has humor so I was glad to see that. There were so jarring transitions here and there so I had to read and then re-read to get the flow but again, that was fine. Overall, I enjoyed the read and Kuroda's take on it.

Utter garbage. Kuroda writes like a spastic 13 year old girl and the art is literally some of the worst drawings I have ever seen anyone be paid for. This is not Appleseed, this is the manga equivalent of dumpster juice and diaper squeezing.

First, it should be stated, this is a spin-off of the Appleseed Alpha movie which is non-canonical prequel to the original Appleseed. Fans may be disappointed as it falls short of the original manga. However, if you just want some new Appleseed content to read, this is alright if you can get past the different art style. The style looks almost childish which is a huge contrast to the setting and theme. Some of the panels get confusing due to heavy detailed shading on characters as well as all the background and objects. It is sometimes difficult to determine exactly what is going on. The story is decent so far but forgettable. One of the main things I wanted to see was more interaction between Deunan and Briareos since this is a prequel, but at least in this volume they are separated for a large portion of the story. Something this excels at, however is humor. I was surprised at the times I caught myself laughing(usually regarding the mayor). Newer readers should probably read the original manga if they want to get into the series, but if they just want something to read, this can work as a standalone.

This is not a reflection of the product itself more a warning over the advertising THIS IS NOT A MASAMUNE SHIROW PRODUCT.

I was expecting at least the quality of the original serie but what i got was not even from Masamune Shirow and look more like a sketchbook than a final product. This franchise deserved way better.