Appleseed: Ex Machina (DVD, 2008)

This computer-animated feature continues the story of Deunan Knute, a woman warrior whisked away from the ruined battleground where she lives to a distant city in which mankind seems to have put its destructive past behind it. The utopia of Olympus is maintained by the Bioroids, artificial people whose emotional capabilities are diminished in order to balance the careening passions of regular human beings. As a member of ESWAT, Deunan finds herself threatened by cyborg terrorism, a surprise attack on Olympus, and the appearance of Tereus, a human doppelganger for her cyborg lover and partner Briareos. Based on an early manga by Masamume Shirow, also the author of GHOST IN THE SHELL, APPLESEED explores similar themes as Shirow's masterwork while still containing the action sequences audiences expect from his offerings.