Appleseed


	Appleseed

Official Intro

Drawn into the vortex of the Third world war, the Earth was turned into ruins. In the midst of this, the Bureau of General Administration built the "Central City of Olympus", an infinitely peaceful society, in order to rebuild and unify the Earth.
[ I don't think this is a good introduction to Appleseed! ]

Masamune Shirow on Appleseed
Passages taken from Intron Depot 1 ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha

At the time I started Appleseed I resolved to make it as pan-national as possible ( by that I mean not only the art, but the comics contents as well). But when I look at all the characters (...), I see that the racial balance is skewed after all (some people say it's better to avoid black characters and other dark complexions because adding screentone takes too much time when you're on deadline...).

Don't my character's faces faces (?) change and change? Recently Deunan has had a lot of opportunities to wear skin-fight ultra-thin membrane datasuits. I don't want to be crude and make her too erotic, but I don't want her to be a ugly pile of gear and equipment either. It's a fine line...

Franco on Appleseed

Shirow's concern for Appleseed I don't remember where Mr. Shirow has said that Appleseed is his preferred work. Certainly this manga has accompanying Shirow since the beginning of his career. Appleseed book 1 "The Promethean Challenge" was published on 1985 directly as a paper-back (it was never serialized and this is very strange in the Japanese market), book 2 "Prometheus Unbound" on 1985, book 3 "The Scales of Prometheus" on 1987, book 4 "The Promethean Balance" on 1989 and the Appleseed Databook on 1990. Book 5 will not be released anytime soon. Every way more pages have been published inside Comic Gaia in 1992, but you can find them in Appleseed Hypernotes too.
On 1985 Shirow won the Sejun Sho award (the Japanese "Hugo") at the national SF convention. At the beginning Shirow had foreseen to draw 10 Appleseed books!!
I like a lot to read this manga and see how Shirow's style has changed through the years, from Black Magic to Ghost in the Shell. Look at the picture above, Shirow has said about it: "You could say that the ratio of my concern for the characters and my concern for the total Appleseed universe is proportional to the surface area each aspect got in this painting." As you could see landmates and cyborgs are very important (or only very big?!).

During 1994 somebody made an Appleseed videogame for the Super Nintendo.
Note about the Italian edition: the correct name of the episode at page 184 book 1 is: 8. ALIEN.

Origins of Appleseed

I know it could seem strange, but one of the main subject dealt in this manga is prompted from a book first published on 1932. I'm speaking about Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963). This novel takes place in a future totalitarian State, where the citizens don't know wars and illnesses and they can get every material pleasure. To hold this equilibrium, the population is conceived and industrial produced by genetic engineering. During this stage, the look and the intelligence are modified, while during infancy, the children are conditioned by drugs, hypnosis during sleep and Pavlov system (to connect instinctively something to the pain provoked by an electric shock) (Hitomi uses it when she wants that Yoshitsune dislikes motorbikes). When they'll become adult, they'll hold and like jobs decided before their births. The castes (showed by Greek letters) are clearly divided by the colors of clothes and appearance.
These are one of the hypnotic phrases repeated every nights to the Beta children: "Alfa children are dressed in gray. They work much more than us, because they are very intelligent. I'm very happy to be a Beta because I haven't to work so hard. And then, we are better than Gamma and Delta. Gamma are stupid. They are dressed all in green, and Delta children are dressed in kaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilon are worse. ..."

I don't know if now you have a correct idea about this book, however I'm thinking in a different way about Hitomi and the other bioroid after having read it. In particular, have you ever thought to the real effects of Project Elpis? Signed plate US Appleseed 1 Signed plate US Appleseed 2

American Signed Edition
Thanks to Jose Hernandez, De Prince Jeffrey and Studio Proteus.

"Of the first edition of Appleseed Book One: The Promethean Challenge, 300 copies have been casebound and signed by the artist, of which this is number ..."

"Of the first edition of Appleseed Book Two: Prometheus Unbound, 300 copies have been casebound and signed by the artist, of which this is number ..."

This words are written on a separate color plate, glued on the first page of the first and second issues published by Eclipse International. The publisher sent the plates to Japan and Shirow signed them all by hand. Toren Smith wanted to do the same for Ghost in the Shell and a special printing was done, but the demand for a quick reprint was so strong they ended up binding them in softcover.

Greek Quotations

I think you have noticed that in Appleseed there are a lot of Greek names (as in Black Magic). I have found so many quotations that I have thought to make a list.
Some of these information come from the Appleseed Databook ©1990 Shirow/Seishinsha.

In ancient Greece In Appleseed
ALPEIA: One of Artemis Goddess' names. It's the real personal name of the feline bioroid called Artemis.
APHROS: The foam where the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Venus for Romans) was born from. It's the first name given to bioroids; in the episode "16. Life Point" Hitomi says this is the reason why Greek name are used often in Olympus.
ARES: Greek god of war (Mars for Romans). The chief of the Olympus Air Police.
ARGES: Perhaps it comes from Argo, monster with 3, 4 or 100 eyes (according to various legends) and very watchful. Chief of the FBI Mobile Assault Unit.
ARTEMIS: Goddess of hunting, skilled bow women. She isn't a true battle bioroid, but she is very good in fighting; her DNA contains important information for Olympus. Artemis is the name of the bioroid model, while her individual name is Alpeia.
Her three daughters are Hecate, Selene and Telon.
ATHENE: Goddess protectress of houses, arts, works. Athene Areios is a bioroid, she is the Permanent Secretary of Olympus (one of the most important offices).
BRIAREOS: Greek giant with 50 heads and 100 hands (hecatoncheires). Briareos Hecatombcales is one of the principal characters of Appleseed. After an explosion he had to be transformed into a cyborg. He has the boundless wiring hecatoncheires system.
BRONTES: One of the cyclops, killed by Apollo. One of the chiefs of FBI. Artemis steals from him the pistol (more some hairs) in the episode "15. Point Man". He has a lens on one eye.
COTTUS: Another of the Greek giant with 50 heads and 100 hands (hecatoncheires). Police robot made in Olympus. It has been projected to accomplish very dangerous tasks.
DAMYSUS: Deunan says he is one of the Titans (a fast one!) [I haven't found any confirmation]. A gravitational control system who uses an oscillating magnetic field. It's used by the millepede platforms and the PAN landmate.
DORIS: One of the ancient architectonic order (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian). The false name used by Yoshino to infiltrate into ESWAT.
ELPIS: When Prometheus created men, Zeus, angry, created the first woman, Pandora, and he gave her a box containing every misery of the world, and he told her never to open it. When she opened it all miseries escaped and spread over the world. Pandora tried to close it back, but she only managed to keep hope (elpis) so very few of it could escape in the world. Project Elpis: it forecasts to apply to humans a programming (like bioroid) to avoid their auto destruction.
EUMENIDES: Divinities protectresses of moral. If seen as punishers they were called Fury. Translated: benignant women. Organization constituted to protect the rights of black people and eliminate racialism.
GAIA: Greek Goddess symbolizing the Earth (sometimes of dead and hereafter). Together Uranus she conceived Titans and Giants (Hecatoncheires too). Translated: Earth. The super computer who controls everything in Olympus.
GUGES: Another of the Greek giant with 50 heads and 100 hands (hecatoncheires). A type of landmate used by Olympus Police forces (Guges, Guges-MM, Guges-D).
HECATE: Greek Goddess in origin associated to Artemis. She has a threefold look and in different ages she was Goddess of streets, night, dead. One of the three Artemis' daughters.
HECATONCHEIRES: They were three Greek giant brothers (Briareos, Cottus, Guges). They have 50 heads and 100 arms.
Shirow (from ID2): "Hecatoncheires is the name of a giant with one hundred arms that appears in Greek myths. He apparently gave the gods a lot of trouble by throwing rocks. Among peoples the Greeks conquered, perhaps there were stone-throwing combat units of fifty or more warriors..." It's a system for cyborgs and it allows boundless wiring to connect and to control every type of machinery.
HERMES: Greek God protector of travelers but in particular messenger of Gods. The name of the man employed in the communication department (episode "12. Battle of Tuphon").
In the Appleseed section of Intron Depot 1 (page 20) it is quoted as a weight reduction gear. It produces a field of magnetism which cuts the weight down to fractional amounts and keeps the unit agile.
HIERAPOLIS: Old Greek city in the Frigia region (Asia Minor). Hierapolis Park; the park where has been captured Artemis (episode "19. Dead Point").
MAGAERA: Perhaps from Megaera, one of the three Fury. Translated: hag. A friend of Mrs. Melampus; she is a fighting cyborg and a member of Eumenides.
MELAMPUS: Mythical Greek seer. Marsha Gavlova III's body-guard; also she comes from the Soviet Union and she is married.
NEMESIS: She was a Greek Goddess and, as personification of the justice, she punished people who have violated the universal order. In the Appleseed Databook it's indicated as a version of the PAN landmate and in particular as the model who blows up when the magnetic field of the Damysus breaks [really I don't know when it happens].
The Perseus is another PAN type.
In Black Magic it's the super computer who controls Venus. Practically it was the general test for the Gaia.
NIKE: Greek divinity, personification of the victory; often its worship was associated to the faith of Athene. She is the Olympus Home Secretary and Athene's right hand.
OLYMPUS: At the top of Mount Olympus, always wrapped by clouds, the ancient Greeks put the seat of Gods. Olympus is the higher mount of Greece. It's the name of the city (or of the island?) where Appleseed takes place. It has been built on an artificial island in the Atlantic Ocean (between the Azores and the Canary Islands).
PAN: Greek God of mountains and rural life. He had horns and goat legs. He was able to infuse panic. A type of landmate used by Olympus ESWAT; it's provided with the Damysus system and it's completely built in Olympus. Its legs seem like goat legs.
PERSEUS: Son of Zeus and Danae; he defeated Medusa who was able to petrify enemies. A version of the PAN landmate. It's the model used by Magus against Artemis in the episode "19. Dead Point".
The Nemesis is another PAN type.
POSEIDON: Greek God of the seas; Zeus' brother. It's a powerful nation (Poseidon and Olympus own together all the world communication systems); probably it corresponds to the present Japan.
PROMETHEUS: He was one of the Titans and he helped the humanity against Zeus. He stole the fire and he gave it to the men. After this he was condemned to have his liver eaten by an eagle for ever. This word is in the titles of all Appleseed books.
SELENE: Personification of the Moon; later she was identified with Artemis. She influenced the human life (waxing or waning moon) and in the Hellenistic period she was identified with Hecate. One of the three Artemis' daughters.
STEROPES: Atlas' daughter, she was one of the Pleiades. According to a legend she and Ares begot Enomaus, according to another she married Enomaus. He is one of the chiefs of the Olympus FBI as Arges and Brontes. We never see his face in Appleseed.
TARTARUS: It was the place where Zeus put the defeated Titans or, according to another legend, where Uranus put the Cyclops. Differently from Hades (where there were human souls), the Tartarus contained mythological monsters. It's the huge dome where bioroids are created and brought up and also it's the name of the computer who control it.
TELON: The mythological king of the Teleboi, a population who lived in some islands of the Ionic sea. One of the three Artemis' daughters.
TITAN: Name of the six sons of Uranus and Gaia. Their were defeated by Zeus and the others Gods of Olympus when they tried to defend their predominance on the Sky. "Battle of Titan" is the name of the 6th chapter of Appleseed (when Chiffon attacks the Gaia computer).
TUPHON: Perhaps it's the Greek word meaning Typhoon, mythological monster, personification of earthquakes and eruptions; he was one of the Giants and Tartarus and Gaia's son; he rebelled against Zeus but he was defeated and put in Tartarus. "Battle of Tuphon" is the name of the 12th chapter of Appleseed (when the millepede platforms attack the Tartarus area).
She is the main character of Black Magic too.

	In ancient Greece	In Appleseed
ALPEIA:	One of Artemis Goddess' names.	It's the real personal name of the feline bioroid called Artemis.
APHROS:	The foam where the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Venus for Romans) was born from.	It's the first name given to bioroids; in the episode "16. Life Point" Hitomi says this is the reason why Greek name are used often in Olympus.
ARES:	Greek god of war (Mars for Romans).	The chief of the Olympus Air Police.
ARGES:	Perhaps it comes from Argo, monster with 3, 4 or 100 eyes (according to various legends) and very watchful.	Chief of the FBI Mobile Assault Unit.
ARTEMIS:	Goddess of hunting, skilled bow women.	She isn't a true battle bioroid, but she is very good in fighting; her DNA contains important information for Olympus. Artemis is the name of the bioroid model, while her individual name is Alpeia. Her three daughters are Hecate, Selene and Telon.
ATHENE:	Goddess protectress of houses, arts, works.	Athene Areios is a bioroid, she is the Permanent Secretary of Olympus (one of the most important offices).
BRIAREOS:	Greek giant with 50 heads and 100 hands (hecatoncheires).	Briareos Hecatombcales is one of the principal characters of Appleseed. After an explosion he had to be transformed into a cyborg. He has the boundless wiring hecatoncheires system.
BRONTES:	One of the cyclops, killed by Apollo.	One of the chiefs of FBI. Artemis steals from him the pistol (more some hairs) in the episode "15. Point Man". He has a lens on one eye.
COTTUS:	Another of the Greek giant with 50 heads and 100 hands (hecatoncheires).	Police robot made in Olympus. It has been projected to accomplish very dangerous tasks.
DAMYSUS:	Deunan says he is one of the Titans (a fast one!) [I haven't found any confirmation].	A gravitational control system who uses an oscillating magnetic field. It's used by the millepede platforms and the PAN landmate.
DORIS:	One of the ancient architectonic order (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian).	The false name used by Yoshino to infiltrate into ESWAT.
ELPIS:	When Prometheus created men, Zeus, angry, created the first woman, Pandora, and he gave her a box containing every misery of the world, and he told her never to open it. When she opened it all miseries escaped and spread over the world. Pandora tried to close it back, but she only managed to keep hope (elpis) so very few of it could escape in the world.	Project Elpis: it forecasts to apply to humans a programming (like bioroid) to avoid their auto destruction.
EUMENIDES:	Divinities protectresses of moral. If seen as punishers they were called Fury. Translated: benignant women.	Organization constituted to protect the rights of black people and eliminate racialism.
GAIA:	Greek Goddess symbolizing the Earth (sometimes of dead and hereafter). Together Uranus she conceived Titans and Giants (Hecatoncheires too). Translated: Earth.	The super computer who controls everything in Olympus.
GUGES:	Another of the Greek giant with 50 heads and 100 hands (hecatoncheires).	A type of landmate used by Olympus Police forces (Guges, Guges-MM, Guges-D).
HECATE:	Greek Goddess in origin associated to Artemis. She has a threefold look and in different ages she was Goddess of streets, night, dead.	One of the three Artemis' daughters.
HECATONCHEIRES:	They were three Greek giant brothers (Briareos, Cottus, Guges). They have 50 heads and 100 arms. Shirow (from ID2): "Hecatoncheires is the name of a giant with one hundred arms that appears in Greek myths. He apparently gave the gods a lot of trouble by throwing rocks. Among peoples the Greeks conquered, perhaps there were stone-throwing combat units of fifty or more warriors..."	It's a system for cyborgs and it allows boundless wiring to connect and to control every type of machinery.
HERMES:	Greek God protector of travelers but in particular messenger of Gods.	The name of the man employed in the communication department (episode "12. Battle of Tuphon"). In the Appleseed section of Intron Depot 1 (page 20) it is quoted as a weight reduction gear. It produces a field of magnetism which cuts the weight down to fractional amounts and keeps the unit agile.
HIERAPOLIS:	Old Greek city in the Frigia region (Asia Minor).	Hierapolis Park; the park where has been captured Artemis (episode "19. Dead Point").
MAGAERA:	Perhaps from Megaera, one of the three Fury. Translated: hag.	A friend of Mrs. Melampus; she is a fighting cyborg and a member of Eumenides.
MELAMPUS:	Mythical Greek seer.	Marsha Gavlova III's body-guard; also she comes from the Soviet Union and she is married.
NEMESIS:	She was a Greek Goddess and, as personification of the justice, she punished people who have violated the universal order.	In the Appleseed Databook it's indicated as a version of the PAN landmate and in particular as the model who blows up when the magnetic field of the Damysus breaks [really I don't know when it happens]. The Perseus is another PAN type. In Black Magic it's the super computer who controls Venus. Practically it was the general test for the Gaia.
NIKE:	Greek divinity, personification of the victory; often its worship was associated to the faith of Athene.	She is the Olympus Home Secretary and Athene's right hand.
OLYMPUS:	At the top of Mount Olympus, always wrapped by clouds, the ancient Greeks put the seat of Gods. Olympus is the higher mount of Greece.	It's the name of the city (or of the island?) where Appleseed takes place. It has been built on an artificial island in the Atlantic Ocean (between the Azores and the Canary Islands).
PAN:	Greek God of mountains and rural life. He had horns and goat legs. He was able to infuse panic.	A type of landmate used by Olympus ESWAT; it's provided with the Damysus system and it's completely built in Olympus. Its legs seem like goat legs.
PERSEUS:	Son of Zeus and Danae; he defeated Medusa who was able to petrify enemies.	A version of the PAN landmate. It's the model used by Magus against Artemis in the episode "19. Dead Point". The Nemesis is another PAN type.
POSEIDON:	Greek God of the seas; Zeus' brother.	It's a powerful nation (Poseidon and Olympus own together all the world communication systems); probably it corresponds to the present Japan.
PROMETHEUS:	He was one of the Titans and he helped the humanity against Zeus. He stole the fire and he gave it to the men. After this he was condemned to have his liver eaten by an eagle for ever.	This word is in the titles of all Appleseed books.
SELENE:	Personification of the Moon; later she was identified with Artemis. She influenced the human life (waxing or waning moon) and in the Hellenistic period she was identified with Hecate.	One of the three Artemis' daughters.
STEROPES:	Atlas' daughter, she was one of the Pleiades. According to a legend she and Ares begot Enomaus, according to another she married Enomaus.	He is one of the chiefs of the Olympus FBI as Arges and Brontes. We never see his face in Appleseed.
TARTARUS:	It was the place where Zeus put the defeated Titans or, according to another legend, where Uranus put the Cyclops. Differently from Hades (where there were human souls), the Tartarus contained mythological monsters.	It's the huge dome where bioroids are created and brought up and also it's the name of the computer who control it.
TELON:	The mythological king of the Teleboi, a population who lived in some islands of the Ionic sea.	One of the three Artemis' daughters.
TITAN:	Name of the six sons of Uranus and Gaia. Their were defeated by Zeus and the others Gods of Olympus when they tried to defend their predominance on the Sky.	"Battle of Titan" is the name of the 6th chapter of Appleseed (when Chiffon attacks the Gaia computer).
TUPHON:	Perhaps it's the Greek word meaning Typhoon, mythological monster, personification of earthquakes and eruptions; he was one of the Giants and Tartarus and Gaia's son; he rebelled against Zeus but he was defeated and put in Tartarus.	"Battle of Tuphon" is the name of the 12th chapter of Appleseed (when the millepede platforms attack the Tartarus area). She is the main character of Black Magic too.

Errors, mistakes, oversights: mail me.

Appleseed OAV and ...

Original Story:  	Masamune Shirow
Director:        	Kazuyoshi Katayama
Screenplay:      	Kazuyoshi Katayama
Character Design:	Yumiko Horasawa
Mecha Design:		Takahiro Kishida
Production:		Bandai, Movic, 
                        Tomoku Shinsha
Running time:    	70 minutes
Release Date:    	1988

This anime is very different from the style of the manga (Shirow, disappointed by the

Above you can see the original cover for the OAV, drawn by Shirow. Shirow: "This painting was done for the Appleseed video box. Deunan's handgun (or whatever it is) is poorly done and still annoys me, but I rather like the overall atmosphere. I personally think this sort of coloring and paint scheme is very "Shirow." ." (from Intron Depot 1; page 9). About the back cover: "The painting on the next page was used for animation merchandising - specifically, the video package." (from Intron Depot 1; page 30).

Appleseed CD On 1988 the Appleseed Creations book has been published. It is all black and white (except for an inner cover), A4 format, softcover, 66 pages, containing hardware design and character sketches for the OAV, anyway I think it's difficult to find now.

There is a music CD for this OAV too. It has been released by Start Child and King Record and it contains 11 songs. The understandable titles are: My Storm, Curious Game, Crystal Celebration, Civvy Street, Life Point, Dead or Alive, Appleseed, Ambivalence. Inside the cover there are the text of the songs and some comments about the comic and its characters. The code is K32X 7122 and it costs 3,200 yen.

Official OAV Blurb: "After the devastation of World War 3, the scattered governments of the world construct the perfect city administered by perfect Bioroids - artificially created half human/half robots. Life in Olympus is carefully controlled and monitored, however some of its human population have had enough. A dedicated band of terrorists plot to destroy the central computer and restore freedom to mankind. Will they be stopped before they ruin the dream of paradise?"

Well, I think it's better if you buy something else (Dominion's OAVs are quite good).

Live Appleseed

... Appleseed Live

Live Deunan and Briareos! This is how they look on the cover of a sort of "Making of Appleseed" video. It contains a documentary about the animation, explaining the various processes and showing animators at work, more the interviews with the American woman and the Japanese man (as Briareos) that acted in the live commercial for the anime. Running time is 30 minutes. Thanks to Jose Hernandez!

Also a Film Comic book (by B-Club) and a Laser Disk version of this OAV have been released in Japan. Note that the Deunan used for the film comic cover has been drawn in the Appleseed Hypernotes style.
Shirow, speaking about the same pictures used for the LD cover: "These two paintings are still unpublished. Eventually they may get used someplace, but since I didn't leave any space for titles or text, this may be their first and last appearance." (from Intron Depot 1; page 29). It wasn't! The problem about text has been solved adding borders and since ID1 has been published on 1992, this LD has to have been released after that year.

Film comic Appleseed Laser Disk

Flying Shirow Pictures Copyrights
From the Top: 1-2) Intron Depot 1 ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha, Appleseed © Shirow/Seishinsha. 3-4) Appleseed © Shirow/Eclipse International. 5) Appleseed OAV ©1988 Shirow(?)/(?) respective companies. 6) Appleseed Creations © Shirow(?)/(?) respective companies. 7) Appleseed CD © Shirow(?)/Star Child/King Record. 8) Making of Appleseed © Shirow(?)/(?) respective companies. 9) Appleseed Film Comic © Shirow/B-Club. 10) Appleseed LD © Shirow(?)/(?) respective companies. Left: Orion ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha.

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