A splendid Japanese SF animation that combines 2D and 3D. APPLESEED, released in 2004, drew a lot of attention for its 3D CG technique that was so close to live action and now, an upgraded CG technique is presented in APPLESEED: EX MACHINA. In the future, after the war that killed half the human population, a city-state Olympus where humans, cyborgs, and bioroids live together is the hope of human race. The young and beautiful female warrior Deunan and her lover/partner veteran cyborg warrior Briareos are in charge of Olympus’ security. One day, Deunan partners up with Tereus, a bioroid designed on the foundation of Briareos’ DNA, and they begin a strange relationship. Cyborg terrorism infests the city, and Deunan and Briareos step up to carry out the final task to stop the grand conspiracy. A John Woo production, the film’s golden combination of artists, original comics by Shirow Masamune, and director Arakami Shinji makes APPLESEED: EX MACHINA the most anticipated animation of the year. (Kim Ji-suk)