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Appleseed Alpha
A NEW CHAPTER IN THE APPLESEED SAGA Before the events of Appleseed, Deunan, a human woman and former SWAT officer, along with her combat-cyborg lover, Briareos, arrive in war-torn New York City. The city’s mayor is a dapper but delusional cyborg, preparing for the UFO invasion he’s convinced is right around the corner. Briareos’s powerful abilities earn the pair refuge, but there are few human comforts to be found in a city catered to cyborgs…After the couple parts ways, the mayor’s nightmare takes a turn for the worse. Deunan’s group of outcast humans may be just the extra manpower the mayor needs—but can the two factions put aside their differences in time to save the world?
431 pages, Hardcover
First published December 22, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 23, 2026
This one has nothing in common with movie of the same name.
This is prequel explaining some of the early adventures of Deunen and Brierarios. Two elements make this standout from the original work.
First, the art style. Not even near the original work. Overall it is very dark, and when it comes to characters they seem to be drawn in that naive-art style, oversized heads and rest of limbs out of proportion. Deunen is the only proportionate figure, all other humans are just .... weird. Art is such that concept art given at the end is way better than anything given on the pages of actual comic. I definitely did not like it, it just looked out of place for SF story in general. For me it was way too nightmarish and confusing.
Second, story itself. I have to admit it is interesting, lots of discussion on post-apocalyptic survival, and in this setting divisions between cyborg and humans. Even Olympus, ever present Big Brother, their actions are also interesting, overall there is sacrifice here and hard decisions. But .... man some parts of story are just .... wtf. Especially with the Mayor, and sometimes this chain of illogical actions would affect our protagonist, some things just did not make any sense. Also I am not sure how this lines up with our protagonists meeting Olympus for the first time in original works? I mean if they were aware of everything from this prequel story.... and I am talking about technology here too.
Overall, story made more impact on me so 3 stars at the end. Art was way too confusing.
If you are interested in Appleseed stories I recommend the book. BUT, do check sample pages and decide if this is your cup of tea. Because, again, it cannot be visually compared at all with original works.
This is prequel explaining some of the early adventures of Deunen and Brierarios. Two elements make this standout from the original work.
First, the art style. Not even near the original work. Overall it is very dark, and when it comes to characters they seem to be drawn in that naive-art style, oversized heads and rest of limbs out of proportion. Deunen is the only proportionate figure, all other humans are just .... weird. Art is such that concept art given at the end is way better than anything given on the pages of actual comic. I definitely did not like it, it just looked out of place for SF story in general. For me it was way too nightmarish and confusing.
Second, story itself. I have to admit it is interesting, lots of discussion on post-apocalyptic survival, and in this setting divisions between cyborg and humans. Even Olympus, ever present Big Brother, their actions are also interesting, overall there is sacrifice here and hard decisions. But .... man some parts of story are just .... wtf. Especially with the Mayor, and sometimes this chain of illogical actions would affect our protagonist, some things just did not make any sense. Also I am not sure how this lines up with our protagonists meeting Olympus for the first time in original works? I mean if they were aware of everything from this prequel story.... and I am talking about technology here too.
Overall, story made more impact on me so 3 stars at the end. Art was way too confusing.
If you are interested in Appleseed stories I recommend the book. BUT, do check sample pages and decide if this is your cup of tea. Because, again, it cannot be visually compared at all with original works.
February 7, 2023
I am a big fan of the Appleseed movie(s) I saw as a kid. I am not a fan of the art style of the anime, which is unfortunate. But reminders of Appleseed still ring true, and it is interesting on the take and the things that were added to the universe.
Overall, an interesting read, but hard to recommend.
Overall, an interesting read, but hard to recommend.
June 6, 2025
I desperately want to read more Iou Kuroda manga, because Sexy Voice and Robo is fantastic and I love his art style. But it's very annoying this Appleseed prequel is the only other manga of his that's been translated into English. It's long and pretty boring, and action isn't really the best showcase for his style IMO. Bring us his original stuff, please!
November 26, 2017
I enjoyed this. Yes, it isn't Masamune, the artwork is different, but I liked it on its own merit. It was fun and funny and if I can read MIzuki and Tatsumi with their sketchy art style, I can handle Kuroda's.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews