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 work. APPLESEED also uses 3D animation in a unique manner, combining a traditional cel animated look with fully rendered backgrounds and vehicles. The story concerns Deunan Knute, a woman warrior whisked away from the ruined battleground where she lives and fights to the distant city of Olympus, where 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. But when the leader of the human army threatens the Bioroids, Deunan and her cyborg ex-lover find themselves in the center of a series of plots that threaten both the Bioroids and all of mankind. Shirow's strong science fiction plotting, unique use of computer generated imagery, and music by electronica artists such as Paul Oakenfold and Basement Jaxx all contribute to the Animé film APPLESEED.