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Armitage III |
This review is for the Armitage III: Polymatrix movie. This anime was originally a four part OVA, so the movie has some of the scenes cut out for the sake of time. On the plus side, this version does feature some new animation and voice talent. This is a futuristic cyberpunk anime, and it will seem very reminiscient of Ghost in the Shell in terms of theme and setting. The story deals with the classic anime dilemma of robots becoming more like humans with every new upgrade. The story is quite touching, and Naomi Armitage is one of the most loveable yet intense characters I have seen. I thought the animation was very high-quality, and though the action scenes are not the most frequent in anime, they were quite nice. I like Elizabeth Berkeley as Armitage(of Saved by the Bell fame), but I could not stand Keifer Sutherland's droning, emotionless voice as Ross.
The movie tells the story of detective Ross Sylibus who transfers to the Martian Police Department after his parter is killed by a robot. When he arrives on Mars, he meets his new partner, Naomi Armitage. No sooner do they meet than they get in a shootout with homocidal maniac, Rene D'anclaude , and his robotic bodyguards. D'anclaude escapes, but drops his luggage, which spills open to reveal the corpse of a popular country music singer. Upon inspection, our heroes realize that the corpse is not that of a human, but that of a unprecedentedly advanced robot, one that is externally undistiguishable from a human. Ross and Armitage try to stop D'anclaude, who is killing of all such robots that have infiltrated human society. Along the way, Ross discovers that Armitage is one of these "thirds", a robot so lifelike that it has free-will, emotions, and the ability to reproduce. As they try to stop D'anclaude, they must discover the secret to Armitage's origin, and Ross, who hates robots, must come to terms with his feelings about Armitage. This is a powerful story that asks us what it means to be human. I give it an 8 out of 10! Buy this movie unless you just have to have constant action and violence.
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