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| Appleseed Hypernotes |
This is a book really interesting; published by Seishinsha on December 1995 (156 pages, 850 yen, dimensions 150x210 mm, ISBN4-87892-085-8, Japanese text only). Probably in this way they have tried to fill the gap due to the delay of the last episodes of Appleseed (and to earn something more). In fact after the pages (the first of Book 5) included in this book and originally published on Comic Gaia on 1992, Shirow has never worked again on Appleseed (voices say that the monographic volume'll not come out before 2000).
| Chapter 1: Comic Gaia 9 (1992- 4-24) | Chapter 2: Comic Gaia 10 (1992-7-11) |
| Chapter 3: Comic Gaia 11 (1992-9-12) | Chapter 4: Comic Gaia 1 (*) (1992-12-12) |
To increase its value, Hypernotes includes a lot of information, rough sketches and designs about other works more four full color pages.
Perhaps this work has been imposed to Shirow because he seems not so proud of it; in particular Shirow said: "It was a mistake to publish this" and he went on saying that some of these pages from Book 5 might even end up being discarded from the Appleseed story line. He refused to authorized an US edition too.
Anyway I like Hypernotes, it doesn't cost too much and I recommend it (especially if you love Appleseed). Not miss this chance if you know Japanese language: it's really full of information!
Comments?! Errors!! Mail me!
ATTENTION! I don't know Japanese, so the information you'll find below could be incomplete (but I hope at least correct!).
INTRON DEPOT Ver.2.0.0 b
This name identifies four color pages containing six images: three about Appleseed, two about Dominion and a small reproduction of the poster consigned together with the Seburo replica. Anyway there isn't any connection with Intron Depot 2 since none of those images has been reprinted inside the book.
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| CONTENTS | ||
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| INTRON DEPOT Ver.2.0.0 b |
1 | |
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| APPLESEED | 5 | |
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| Apple Note | 92 | |
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| BOUNTY DOG | 98 | |
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| Orion Note | 113 | |
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| Orion Dictionary | 120 | |
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| The Ghost in
MACHINE HEAD |
129 | |
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| INTERVIEW with
MASAMUNE SHIROW |
145 | |
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| SEBURO MN-23 | 148 | |
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Complete Collection of APPLESEED in Comic Gaia (unfinished)
The 84 pages of the new Appleseed episodes are the master piece of this book; finally we can see Deunan and Briareos in action again!
There isn't the name of the chapter and no clear connection to the preceding books, every way the style is great and Deunan is really beautiful. (What about three little Artemis walking around?! Shall ESWAT win always? Shall Deunan eat her fruit tart? ...)
Below there is a brief summary; as you can read, in this book there isn't any "THE END".
: black and white pages. 
: continuity interruption (the scene or the characters are unexpectedly changed).
Pages 1 and 2: The story starts in the city where two tourists are asking information to Artemis, but she doesn't reply and points to a Cottus Police robot. Then she is attracted by the ringing of little bells.
3 and 4: Hitomi's home; She is singing bells probably trying to call Artemis, then she goes back into her house and finds the three Artemis' daughters who are eating and have dirtied everywhere. She tastes one of their biscuits and she likes it so asks which kind of cakes are: larva of crickets biscuits ... Hitomi is vomiting.
5 to 8: a mercenary cyborg (friend of Sokak) is coming back home carrying the shopping while inside Sokak and other two cyborgs (they are the same of episode 18. Dead or Alive) are watching a satellite image of a ship. Then they note that somebody is trying a boarding.
8 to 11: in the sea; the attacker is boarding the ship using a hook.
12 to 16: inside a flying ESWAT vehicle (the same used in episode 20. Dry Run); also Deunan and Briareos are watching the boarding, within other ESWAT members who are getting ready to intervene. Then they use their Guges-D to fly outside (Deunan and Briareos look as in episodes 21. Decoy, but this time on their suits there is painted "Olympus Police" and large ESWAT badges).
17 to 22: the Guges land on the ship and start to sabotage it. In the meantime a Police submarine emerges in the neighborhood and many SWAT Policemen get on the ship equipped with somniferous bullets. Briareos is coordinating the operation and orders to use stun grenades. But the door of the main bridge is locked, so Deunan shots and it blows away.
22 to 29: meanwhile inside the ship the corpse of a battle cyborg is discovered. He has been cut by something very sharp. Deunan leaves her Guges to go to see the body (she wears the K-2 suit and the helmet of the Orc suit, the same used during Benandanti Operation, episode 18. Dead or Alive) while Briareos is following a life-boat which is escaping. Before he reaches it, the boat explodes; so he turns back and runs after another boat. This one is faster and shots a missile while another Guges boards it. Unfortunately inside there is only the suit of the first unknown attacker. Briareos goes back to the ship and watches three more boats escaping and just after the ship explodes and starts to sink. Deunan is still inside!
30 to 37: while the other Guges are rescuing SWAT policemen, Briareos plunges to search for Deunan. Using an explosive paste, he penetrates into the hull and finds Deunan trapped inside. So she is able to go up again, risking to be run down by two Police hydrofoils who are pursuing the last runaway boats. Other policemen helps her to get on the submarine where Briareos joins her bringing her Guges. In the meantime the hydrofoils have stopped the escaping boats, but there isn't anybody inside.
37 to 46: the commando, the first to board the ship and the same who has organized all the diversions, is still hidden. So Deunan and Briareos go to control again the exploded life-boat. It's sailing towards a beach; when it runs aground, the boat crashes against some dunes (perhaps it can move on the sand thanks to special propeller, but I'm not sure). Immediately a female cyborg jumps out and runs away, but Deunan is ready and shots destroying both foots and right hand. The cyborg replies to fire, but Deunan has flown behind her and destroys her gun. The cyborg doesn't surrender: a sort of whip comes out from her right arm. This is a powerful weapon, capable to cut easily everything, included the right hand (the gun too) of the Guges. Deunan succeeds to stop the right arm while another whip comes out from the left hand. Deunan stops this one too, but she can only disengage when other two whips come out from the trunk of the cyborg. The fighting is going to start again, but Briareos shots and hits the enemy. Meanwhile other two ESWAT Guges are coming; the cyborg understands to be done for and she commits suicide cutting herself using her whips. Deunan shots her (to stop her sufferings?) ... but the policemen are not the only to witness the scene.
46 to 48: in fact a group of three female cyborgs are watching from a nearby palace and they see that Sokak is really interested in what has just happened too. These cyborgs look vaguely like the characters drawn on the back cover of Appleseed Book 5 (Intron Depot 1 page 27).
49 and 50: ESWAT members are looking at the weapons and munitions inside the life-boat.
51 and 52: Yoshitsune is eating on the lawn outside Akechi Motors seat.
53 and 54: Deunan and Briareos inside ESWAT headquarters.
55 and 56: Yoshitsune stands in his office while Hitomi comes to visit him. The problem is that she has been accompanied by Artemis' daughters: one is riding Hitomi (using a rod and a "carrot"), another is trying to eat a cat whereas the last has pinched a lot of foods; when Hitomi says her to give back the stolen goods, she eats all in one time (her face becomes as big as half body!).
57 to 61: Briareos is driving a car while Deunan is eating cakes, then they meet another ESWAT member (probably Pani).
61 to 70: the Police is removing the wreckage from the beach and bringing it by air to the submarine. On his way back, the pilot of the transport notices something in the water and sends a probe to investigate. In fact there are two submarines driven by two of the female cyborgs who were spying the fighting near the beach. They hit the Police submarine by torpedoes and then they reach the wreck of the ship (where the battle began) and steal a container. Meanwhile the submarine is running aground not to sink.
70 to 77: Deunan and Briareos go to Preston Coast Guard and then into a warehouse of a port. Here the ESWAT has a hide-out: it looks as a pile of containers, but inside there is a big room, weapons, supplies and a car.
78 to 84: one of the enemy cyborg arrives in the same warehouse, then she leaves her car and gets on a lorry. I think (but I'm not sure) that Deunan and Briareos are trying to follow her.
Apple Note
Detailed notes regarding the new Appleseed pages (something to add to the Appleseed Databook).
Mecha-setup collaboration data for BOUNTY DOG
15 pages full of rough drawings about characters (a cyborg who can turn into a motorbike?!), machines, weapons for the Bounty Dog animation. The storyboards for some animated sequences and many rough designs (mecha, weapons, buildings, suits and backgrounds) are really interesting.
ORION Note
A very long article by Shirow about Orion universe and the theories on which it is based (perhaps something about the yin-yang theory too, ...). Perhaps these are the same pages you can find at the end of the Dark Horse edition.
ORION Dictionary
A 9 pages dictionary about characters, rituals, monsters and gods of Orion.
The Ghost in MACHINE HEAD
This is something quite strange: in fact this chapter contains two short manga, more comments and sketches. On the contrary of the Appleseed pages, this time there are some crossovers too, in particular we can see Hagane Kotetsu and his friends, the Alien, Buaku and Crolis.
In the first 4 pages comic there are two characters (a girl and somebody who looks like Habana from Dominion C1) who are driving a submarine (like the one at page 114 of Intron Depot 1). Near the sea bed, they are attacked by a pirate and must eject while the enemies are celebrating. But something is rising behind them: a huge squid! Now there are more fugitives in the sea.
In the second manga (8 pages divided in two parts) two fighters (like the one at page 116 of ID1), piloted by "Habana" and another girl, take off from a space station and go down on a planet. Then the girl is shot down and carries out an emergency landing in the desert where "Habana" joins her. Trying to survive in the desert they come across a caravan and think to be saved... instead they are imprisoned. After their escape, they arrive in a forest where they meet the cyborg who have kept them prisoners.
Note that the borders of each page are covered by comments and I'd really like to be able to understand them!
Interview with MASAMUNE SHIROW
Nothing to say about it (I have not understood a single word!).
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Pictures Copyrights
From the Top: 1-2-3) Appleseed Hypernotes ©1995 Shirow/Seishinsha. Left: Orion ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha. |
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appleseed  origins quotations oav |
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