The year is 2046. Detective Ross Sylibus is transferred to Mars when a country singer on her flight is murdered. Making matters more complicated is that the singer is a "Third"—a robot that looks and feels like a human. Sylibus is partnered with Armitage—a beautiful female cop with a bad attitude. As they investigate the murder of the singer and other women on Mars, they uncover a conspiracy that can have them both killed by the Martian government.
(Source: ANN)
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Comentários
Archaeon
I will admit that I'm a fan of cyberpunk in its many forms, from novels by the likes of William Gibson and Iain Banks to movies like Blade Runner and Mad Max. As a child of the 80s, these were mainstays in my entertainment repertoire. By the time Armitage III was released in February 1995, I had already been exposed to titles such as Appleseed, Battle Angel Alita, Cyber City Oedo 808, Genocyber, AD Police Files, and those classics Akira and the Bubblegum series. Now, given the time of it's release, much of the hype of that moment centred around the forthcoming Ghost in the Shell,set to be released later that year. Because of this, Armitage III has been somewhat left by the wayside when it comes to mid 90s anime, especially given the huge marketing campaign devoted to GitS. This irony is that of the two major cyberpunk releases of 1995, Armitage III just pips GitS as being the best of that year.
The story is set in the year 2046 in the city of Saint Lowell, on the planet Mars. Earth has become overpopulated, and Mars has subsequently been terraformed to deal with this issue. Humanity was aided in the terraforming process by the first generation of androids, and by the time of the story the second generation of androids had become widely used for service and pleasure purposes. Unfortunately, Mars has been suffering from declining birthrates, and whilst the planet is autonmous from Earth, this fact is one of the main drivers for the story.
The plot is well thought out on the whole (barring a few inconsistencies), and the pacing is very good. There is a nice mixture of action and intrigue, as well as a dollop of political machinations (nowhere near as much as GitS though). The story does suffer from its flaws, however the premise is one that is just as plausible as GitS and, given the advances in medical science since 1995, may prove far more "real". The biggest irony is that both Armitage III and GitS ask the question "What is life?", but approach the answer from different angles.
The animation is very well done on the whole. AIC, who are also responsible for AD Police Files, Bubblegum Crisis and Now & Then, Here & There, have done a great job animating the show, however there are some moments when the animation loses its polish. The backgrounds are nicely drawn and are generally atmospheric, but they lack the detail that is one of the hallmarks of GitS.
One of my biggest problems with this series was the design of Naomi Armitage. The other characters were quite well done on the whole, however I initially had difficulty taking the show seriously given that her outfit seems more appropriate for a dominatrix than a police officer. It may be that the designers wanted to emphasise that Naomi is different from other humans by garbing her in very little, however they seem to have forgotten about the utility of clothing in their approach.
The sound is generally very good throught the OVA. The music is very much of the time, so lots of beats are prevalent in many of the actions scenes. The sound effects are well handled on the whole, however there are moments when the sound and music can clash quite badly.
As far as characters go, Ross Syllabus is very much a stereotype - an honorable and decent man who unfortunately hates robots and androids (although he has his reasons for this, and the series tries to explain them to a degree).
Naomi Armitage, on the other hand, is very much a tomboy. Brash, cocky, somewhat arrogant, and very often wilful, she seems to be just another normal, albeit unusually dressed, human being. It's not until the last two episodes that we begin to see more of her true character, however this is still not enough to ensure that the audience can relate to, or sympathise, with her.
Aside from these two, there are sundry other characters who play their part in the OVA, the chief one being René D'anclaude - a man who has been targetting and murdering specific women on MARS.
Although I had some difficulty at first, I thoroughly enjoyed this series and it's sequels. The balanced mixture of action and drama could have been improved, as could the characters, however that would have needed at least 12 episodes to achieve.
There's a definite appeal to the show because of its scripting and unusual (for anime that is), premise. As it's only a four part OVA, there isn't really any time for any real development ofthe characters or the plot, however this is purely a perceptional issue, and one that I can ignore in favour of being entertained.
With inspiration drawn from many sources, like I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and Neuromancer by William Gibson, this OVA is one of the reasons why GitS became so popular here in west. Even by todays standards the story holds up well, whilst much of the artworks bright and cheery palette belies the story's much darker plot.
Who says cyberpunk is dead?
Gundroog
Armitage III is a good example of how important execution is now matter what concept you're working with. At the core this is a standard cyberpunk romp about the complex role of ever improving technology in human society, in this particular case it's about incredibly advanced androids that are not much different from humans in their make-up and functions. I don't think there's much wrong with the plot since story is not the highlight this time and more of a vehicle for stylized action that's occasionally mixed with some noir and drama. Art\animation - I'm not quite sure who did the character designs for this showbut sometimes it felt like it was done by two different people. The show is not entirely consistent with its style so some main characters fit this archetype of 90s fashion with sci-fi elements, particularly strong on the titular Armitage but a lot of side characters kind of dress like normal people. Same with world design, even though there's a lot of future elements like floating city blocks, abundance of neon signs and such there are also pretty normal looking bars and offices so I'm not sure if there was one clear vision of what the world of Armitage should look like. If there was a clear distinction between what's futuristic and advanced and what's old and decrepit then it would contribute something to world building and atmosphere but as is it just feels like another part of the show that creators didn't much care about. Also even though Armitage looks solid for overwhelming majority of the run it also has some moments where characters looks so out of proportions that it hurts to look at.
As far as animation goes it's about as good as you'd expect from a 90s OVA, lots of detail, pretty fluid too but it lacks flare and style to be really memorable. So, it's not exactly bad but without proper direction it won't be impressing anyone. To be a single action scene from Mezzo DSA overshadows all the "sakuga" moments in Armitage because of this.
Direction - this is where I want to kind of continue talking about the art while also bringing up music and some of the story though this will be spoiler free.
The direction is probably the biggest flaw in this OVA, as I mentioned in the beginning, I don't think there's much in terms of plot that keeps this from being an entertaining sci-fi action OVA but all of the potential is squandered thanks to bad direction. First of all the pacing is too slow, even action scenes feel dull when the director and editor don't care to depict urgency, intensity or danger involved. It's horribly mundane and unexciting and music is only making it worse. While on its own it's not necessarily bad, when paired with scenes where it's used I felt like someone just looked at the scenes and thought it's getting too quiet so they just randomly slapped the first bleep bloop track they could find. It doesn't fit the mood or action so what's the point? My next issue with direction is editing, I started paying more attention to it towards the end where the flaws became too bad to go on unnoticed and sometimes the choices made were flat out baffling. Like in episode 3 I think there's a relatively important action scene with higher stakes than most other fights prior but we cut away from it to boring investigation work, just why? Other time the faults were less egregious but there's still plenty of amateurish cuts that disrupt the flow of action as well as spacial continuity. The last complaint is that it's just not interesting to look at. There are too many shots with boring framing that give you nothing to look yet they linger on as if you're shown something important. One shot stood especially stood to me when it was like a 2 or 3 seconds long still shot of an almost completely brown back alley with 5 inches of some neon sign in the upper left corner. That scene was so dead and boring that it took me out of the show. It might sound like a nitpicks but I'm only mentioning it cause it's bad and it's common so stuff like that builds up.
Writing - no surprises here cause pretty much all you need to know how this is gonna go is in the synopsis already. The show doesn't get too deep and it's better for it cause otherwise they'd be encroaching on the territory that's already been covered by far better written sci-fi classics like Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell. The script is kind of cheesy and very much in your face at times but I don't think the show pretended to be more than it is and wrapped it all up in the end, can't say it was entirely satisfying but when you got a show that can't offer and interesting story, doing as little to create more problems is fine.
Fun factor - this is the part where I'm supposed to justify why I still gave it a 5 cause so far it seems like a bunch of negatives and not really anything to justify it. No matter how underwhelming the execution is I think it still works as a cheese little sci-fi romp that can be a fine casual watch. It's not good but it's not offensively bad either so if it peaked your interest in one way or another it's worth to have a go at it.
PandaMaster99
The story is focused on two cops, Ross and Armitage as they try to discover the reason behind all the chaos. At times I was under the impression that it is maybe too much influenced by Hollywood movies such as Blade Runner or AI but in the end, the story is well constructed and presented through the 4 OVA's. This is well explained with the use of the great animations. This came out in 1995 and it looks amazing for its time. The high amount of details is very impressive and you can see another anime that influenced The Matrix with the now famous greendata line flowing down the visor. The faces of the characters are a little sharp and maybe needed a little polishing but that's a minor detail. The sound was awesome. Industrial and some metal riffs fit any cyberpunk anime like a glove. As far as characters go, only Armitage is worth mentioning. Ross is ok to see as the tough (yet soft on the inside) cop but Armitage is the real star of the show. She's sexy, badass and an attitude that would even make Alucard shit his pants. You don't mess around with her.
In conclusion, Armitage III is awesome. Any SF/cyberpunk anime lover should see this. Great visuals, great OST and a memorable main character bring this anime a big well deserved 10.
Krunchyman
“I wish I had no brain to think and worry.” — Naomi Armitage Ah, the age-old dilemma of being human (or a robot emulating a human), that which separates us from the animal kingdom — namely being, our superior cognitive abilities — is the same variable that alienates us, as well. We have the capability of creating fantastic technological instruments to ease our lives, yet those same instruments have the ability to “replace” our intended “purpose” of existence. From a biological perspective, we tend to believe in passing on our genes to future generations in a process known as procreation. The senseof “fulfillment” gives us great pride, yet evolutionary theory does not adhere to a designed “purpose,” nor does it care how genes are passed on, or if they are passed on at all.
Faced with the prospect a diminishing/stagnant population, the Mars colony deems it “necessary” to hasten their biological development by means of using advanced robots (otherwise known as: “thirds”). The ethical/sociological dilemma’a comes to the fore when job displacement becomes an issue, and feminists begin to protest as their “woman-hood” is supplanted by the female “thirds.” The absence of purpose is evident from the outset, as numerous people define themselves — and take great pride — through their job, or their capacity to start a family. Think about it: how many times does a person ask you what you do for a living, and you responded promptly with, “I work at [fill in the blank.]” We tend to believe we have a life outside of our job, but the fact remains: without a job, we cannot live as we please. As of writing this review, our very own society will be facing this same predicament as automated cars replace truckers, robotic arms replace surgeons, and artificial wombs (potentially) replace human conception.
The political easement of the people’s woes through the faux slogan, “one world, one nation,” as they eliminate their enemies with, “coincidentally” enough, their own robots, highlights the hypocritical nature of politicians and national governments. The Earth Federation Chairwoman, like many politicians, appears before a crowd with a sense of dignity and virtue, but behind the scenes, loose ends are being “taken care of,” for the “betterment” of society.
The characters of the show are fairly interesting, as we get some useful insights into their motivations and their uniquely distinct characteristics. Armitage, while being a robot, struggles with the same basic questions that plague the majority of humanity: why do I exist? There are no easy answers, but it sparks the audience to ask the question themselves, and where the line between robot and human should be drawn? Ross Sylius, in a weird way, represents the anime public, as he falls in love with an “artificial” girl, someone who is not “human.” Think about it: he married, and impregnated his waifu. Well done, sir. Well done.
Final thoughts…
A fascinating anime relic from the past, Armitage III resembles the highly popularized Ghost in the Shell, but, interestingly enough, its first episode predates the latter’s release. Coming from the mind of Chiaki Konaka — who would later write Serial Experiments Lain, several episodes of Texhnolyze, and Digimon Tamers — it’s no surprise the series deviated from the high-paced action sequences, to a philosophical view of the human condition. That being said, it suffers from a surface level approach to its own philosophical themes; thus, leaving the viewer yearning for something more substantial. Also, the story seems sporadic, at times. Giving the impression of poor planning on the staff’s part. But given the brief nature of the show itself, it did a fine job of accomplishing an entertaining action-drama with philosophical musings, and sociological ramifications of proliferating technology.
In addition, that opening theme song is fantastic. I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I absolutely love it. Perhaps you have to be a 90’s kid to understand.
DARGONofWitWGARA
Humans from Earth who created androids known as the "Second Types" colonize mars. People on Mars eventually become paranoid about these very human looking androids, causing riots and lynch mobs to burn the "Second Types" in mass quantities. The androids begin to resist the only way they can, by evolving into a new class of Android the "Thirds". A group of these "Third Types" begin to murder humans in retaliation for the way their kind is treated. The "Thirds" are soon classified as unlicensed androids, for the simple fact that they not only look, but act exactly like human beings. Upon arriving on Mars DetectiveRoss Sylabus is thrust in to the middle of a baffling murder, which eventually spawns an investigation into the mysteries of the "Thirds." During this encounter at the Space Port he stumbles upon his new partner; Naomi Armitage, a young girl with what you might call an outgoing personality.
Being the typical Human of the times Detective Sylabus is openly prejudiced against all androids, but ironically finds he is becoming more and more like those things that he hates. As the story moves forward Detective Sylabus finds that his body is slowly being replaced by cybernetic implants, and is forced to confront many of the same feelings and bigotries that androids deal with on a daily basis.
Arimitage though, is in actuality a "Third Type" android, one that possesses a secret that if revealed, will thrust both of them head long into an adventure that could easily lead to their destruction.
DARGON / Tera-Alpha's Notes:
This is my favorite Anime Movie! I have watched it several times and am still not bored with it. The plot is very well developed and extreamly exciting. The end does seem cut short even though the movie is 90 minutes, but that is explained by there being a sequal ("Dual Matrix") now available on DVD. I have not seen the sequal yet, but predict that it will be at least as good as the original!
See more Reviews: http://teraalpha.com/STA/anime/modules/content/index.php?id=49
Tropeskiller
First let me give you a little backstory as to what Armitage III really is. It was one of the first cyberpunk animes to feature a strong female character (coming out the same year as the first Ghost in the Shell movie). However, it typically receives much less attention. It takes place on the planet Mars, and plays out in a "buddy cop" detective style. Detective Ross transfers to the Mars police force trying to escape his mental anquish he feels from his former partner being killed by a cyborg. His new partner is a woman named Armitage who is secretly a "third type" robotmasquerading as a human. The central plot focuses around a spree of murders involving these robots, detective Ross trying to come to terms with his psychological damage and mistrust of machines through Armitage, and finding out the secrets about these machines.
Story 10/10:
If you enjoy a bit of action or mystery you should be able to find something memorable in this story which delves into coming to terms and overcoming things that cause you pain.
Art 10/10:
As previously mentioned it was one of the first cyberpunk animes of this type and the setting is wonderfully gritty and future techy.
Sound 8/10:
While I thoroughly enjoyed the electronic/techno themed pieces I was left feeling like they could have done more with it.
Character 9/10:
I enjoyed the chemistry between Detective Ross and Armitage as it feels very natural like if you just met your future best friend. It also bears mentioning that there are a lot of personal issues for each character to overcome which I feel made me appreciate Armitage and Ross more, such as Armitage coming to terms with what she is meant for.
Enjoyment 9/10:
The futuristic setting, character models and weaponry, art of Armitage, and prevailing action/drama overtones of the anime definitely make it a fun ride.
Tuls
Conceptual merit is probably the only positive of Armitage III, but that’s entirely by virtue of the cyberpunk themes. It’s simply half-baked, inept at forming an identity for itself as it meanders in its lackluster plot and world. Mars has developed a civilization advanced enough to develop Androids physically and intellectually indistinguishable from humans, and it leads to an insurgency from the human populace that fears they’ll snatch opportunities away from them. Armitage (an Android) and Sylibus are designated with the task of capturing the terrorist D’anclaude, who murdered a Third (advanced Androids), propelling the majority of the show to operate as a police procedural.The direction is downright awful, with nothing of worth occurring throughout the show as it insistently surrenders itself to a barrage of asinine retcons. It wastes potential by emphasizing the chase (in a tedious manner) instead of examining the Androids’ reception to political strife and intolerance. A significant amount of plot points go nowhere, which could be a product of the short runtime, but I’m rather inclined to believe this is due to the production being severely mismanaged. It is most evident from the egregious last episode that suddenly features overdue exposition in hopes of wrapping things up quickly. Even the action segments are uninspiring, with dreadful editing playing a significant role in how scenes are strung together, constantly switching focuses. The show also lacks stylistically, with only Armitage having a chic and risque fashion sense, while the other character designs and the world layout are disappointingly humdrum. The Techno music tracks don’t fit most of the scenes, with the show’s opening being the only exception; in hindsight, Armitage III would’ve been better if it had ended right after the first opening had concluded.
warniefn
This was a really amazing anmie with great(though aged graphics ), good sound work and a really really solid story. Armitage really steals the show , one major hawt bad ass , if you ever saw one. what i liked even more , was some of those awkward questions raised as whats just considered life ,who deserves to be protected and how society deals with its demons and outcasts.lots of thought provoking stuff. damn good anmie and well worth yourtime.
TheTaxiAE
Setting is probably 100years from now after we’ve colonized mars and are capable of creating advanced robots capable of being both useful and aesthetically pleasing to the eye as well. There exists hidden within the human population of mars a new generation of robot, one that has both emotions and another interesting ability. The animation is nice and detailed though not overly drawn and the sound is not the worst ever. There are 4 eps that I have found and if anyone wanted to they could probably be turned into a movie. Nothing special, has an interesting concept but over all I was just boredwith it
AnimizeEU
The first thing you should keep in mind while watching Armitage III is 1995... It was released back than... So for sure the drawings and animations can't keep up with newer works, but for the given time it was near to stand of the art. Same goes for the sound, the music isn't anything special nowadays, but back than it was good (Oh yes, just good ;)). To the setting: In the 2040's mankind has teraformed and colonized mars, and lives there in a highly technologized society, meaning Robots, Cyborgs and so on are fully developed and can be used for all kinds of things... IfArmitage would have been released today you could say it's old food - but back than the idea was somewhat fresh... Cool, so it's a +.
To the characters:
Police Detectives seem to be kind of nostalgic, even in 2040 they are running wild with a long coat... Hm still, feels cool. Ross seems like a Latino, who lives in a bodybuilding studio, and Armitage is the counterpart: Little girl in hot pants and suspenders... Yay nice one on this too... It's important to say that Ross has lost his (female) police partner while they fought an cyborg, so he dislikes robots... Too bad Armitage is a robot herself - oh well, standard setting, but cool non the less...
Conclusion:
I enjoyed watching Armitage - even if I wanted to turn off in the first minutes, it seemed kind of boring, but somehow I got to watch the whole OVA... Well if you like the cyberpunk setting and don't care about the old school art, a few storyline errors, shortcuts and so on - you'll like Armitage for sure.
Voivodian
Cool anime that was completely overshadowed by the far more influential and spectacular Ghost in the Shell movie that came out the same year! Only room for one cyberpunk epic and unfortunately, this anime would of came out on top if it was any other cyberpunk anime. For one the story is above par, for both a 90s OVA and a cyberpunk anime. Written well, cute snappy dialogue, no plotholes that were particularly unsettling (but strong inferences are needed when some events lead to the next) and the cyberpunk compulsory themes of government/ megacorporation conspiracy and robots vs humans in the battle over who possessesmore humanity. Not everything is fully explained to a satisfying depth; whether the characters or the premise that features political backgrounds fit for a 18 episode series rather than just 4 ovas (in fact, this aspect is only explored in the final episode). Despite all the material they had to fit into 4 ovas, pacing is done very well but it does jump from detective story to full blown conspiracy thriller halfway through.
The characters are very solid considering the run length of the ova. Armitage is a female cop in red latex; Streets of Rage memories! But just as SoR is a brilliant game, Armitage is more than just a smutty punk girl turned detective. Her rebellious attitude is merely a cover or response to her more sensitive side. A side that drives the themes of the anime. The male protagonist, Roy also develops his character in tandem to Armitage. However, the villlains are definitely underdeveloped if not relentless and unsettling!
Art is on the upper side of the spectrum when it comes to mid 90s anime OVAs. This anime is rather bright and vibrant compared to many other cyberpunk animes but the atmosphere is still there. However, it is not quite up there with the technical and visual brilliance of 90s movie level animation. Polish and detailing drops off at certain scenes. The mechanical and aesthetic design itself is more or less slightly above average for cyberpunk (AKA still really fcking awesome).
I put far lower scaling on how my rating for music affects the overall score of an anime as I generally just don't care for anime music or film scores in general. This is as of the time of this writing, the only instance where that low scaling has worked against the anime. Personally I enjoyed the ost as a whole far more than any other anime ost. Its a nice mix of techno, synth rock, film score and acid jazz. For the unconventional rock fan who likes abit of jazz or synthesizer in their music.
Other things to note? The movie version condenses the ova down (I know we needed more expansion on the franchise but at the same time, it wouldn't hurt to streamline some scenes). It also has an unique introduction scene, extra scenes for Roy's flashbacks and a changed and shortened ending. Though far from a mindless action romp; there will be enough action scenes if that takes priority for any viewers out there.
Recommended to fans of cyberpunk and retro sci fi (anime).
JebekiSan
I have a great nostalgia for Armitage III (OVA), for it is among the first anime I had seen, having found an abandoned copy on VHS in a dorm room in 1995 (its year of release). I'm not sure it is possible for me to distance myself from that bit of affection in writing a review, but I have seen it many times since and it remains among my favourite and most esteemed works. Not for its story or art, in which it has surely been outdone by others, but for its sheer visceral feeling. To clarify, I must make two suggestions. The first isto be certain that you watch the four-part OVA, rather than the film (Polymatrix), as the latter leaves out enough material to be a disservice. And secondly - very importantly - do yourself a favour and watch it subbed. The dubbed version, as so often is the case, is languid and uninspired. The original Japanese language voice-actors did a very fine job and you will benefit from their efforts. I believe that between their very well characterised acting and Hiroyuki Namba's excellent original score, much of what may be perceived as deficiencies in the animation are more than made up for.
I won't be reviewing the plot here, as it is straightforward and much is written on it already. What I will say is that the story covers a number of very important and often divisive issues, namely how we treat the "other." In the best tradition of sci-fi we find androids used as a stand-in for the minority or immigrant population of your choice. "They're taking our jobs," "they're sub-human," "they're here for our use," and "they couldn't possibly produce great works on their own," etc. Not only is Armitage one of these minorities, both in fact and as analogue, but she is in addition a female. Doubly a second-class citizen! And yet imbued with indomitable character tempered with sensitivity, great power balanced with compassion. Ross, likewise, is a fantastic bridge between human (or white/male/majority) and android (non-white/female/minority), for despite his prior prejudices, he uses the best human qualities of reason, empathy - and ultimately - love, to guide his relationship with Armitage. In many ways the cop-buddy human/non-human pairing owes a lot to "Alien Nation" (1988) and "Mann & Machine" (1992). From the looks of it Armitage has likewise gone on to influence the upcoming "Almost Human" (2013).
A great many comparisons can also be made between Armitage and Ghost in the Shell, but here I will attempt brevity and say that while GITS is cerebral, Armitage is emotional. If GITS concerns itself with the nature of the soul, Armitage looks at what it means to have a heart. Despite all the similarities between the two franchises, in some ways they could not be more different. We accept Kusanagi Motoko as human because she is, though she often behaves more like a machine herself; while Naomi Armitage is not human at all, but behaves more like one than "the real thing." She embodies some of the quintessential essence at the core of the cyberpunk genre. What is it to be human? If you can't tell the difference, what's the difference? It is this last that, in my opinion, Armitage III examines perhaps better than any other work, on par with Bladerunner itself. One really can't give much higher praise than that.
Huntsman
Arimtage III is a truly great anime OVA. Sadly it came out about the same time as the original GHOST IN THE SHELL, and was overlooked for the overrated Ghost in the Shell movie. The story is far better, truly delving into whether machines are alive or not and could they be considered human, along with many other questions. Can they fall in love, or even have children. Then there are the two main characters, Naomi Armitage and Ross Sylibus. They add depth and bring life to the story. The action is great keeping you watching even in thequiet times of the anime. The animation isn't as great as it was after all it's been 13 years since it first came out, but it still holds up today. I would highly recommend this anime over any of the Ghost in the Shell anime.
MarryMeSenpai
I haven't watched too many anime that fit in this category, so keep that in mind when reading the review overall the story was my biggest problem. the first two episodes are pretty good and dragged me into the story. but the last two episodes feel rushed and forced in ways. had me questioning if i missed part of the episode multiple times. several thing are not really explained. art was pretty good actually thought this was an early '00 anime. character designs are real nice and the backgrounds are fitting for the story. sound had a nice wanna say funk vibe going on. op and edwere both nice and enjoyable.
guess i said all i had to say characters are semi developed but never full fleshed out
overall its worth a watch. it is about as long as a movie so its not super long or anything.
Gsarthotegga
Armitage III is a cyberpunk noir written by Chiaki J. Konaka, who is probably best known for his scripting on Texhnolyze—a superior work that is certainly a lot more artistic. Armitage, on the other hand plays out like a hollywood hardboiled detective story, just updated with cyberpunk themes and gloss; entertaining enough, but the story becomes muddled and kind of pointless the more we learn about what's really going on. There will be some minor spoilers here to talk about the themes, but most of this is revealed pretty quickly in the story or is obvious, and Armitage III is not so much about thestory—it's about the visuals, the action, and the experience.
The character Armitage follows the trend of female characters in other cyberpunk productions from the time—most notably Ghost in the Shell: a focus on sex appeal, skimpy clothing, and a frame so lithe you wouldn't expect her to be able to put up a fight against a nursing home patient, but she's badass enough to take on a small military! She tries her hardest to act cute and is very childish; of course, she's also an android, and due to the social climate, that makes her neurotic and insecure. Her background and how she ended up as a police officer is never clear, and her backstory seems to have been an afterthought.
The other detective is a huge lunkhead named Sybilus, who was designed to be as big as was realistically possible to contrast with the tiny stature of Armitage. His backstory indicates his wife (???) was probably killed by an android, so he HATES THEM WITH A PASSION. This is basically explored in a 10 second dream sequence, he says stuff like "DAMN ROBOTS, KILL THEM WITH FIRE AND TURN THEM INTO SARDINE CANS!" and people on the force that he has only spoken with for like 5 seconds reference his backstory randomly like they've known him for years. He sort of has an identity crisis as his human parts are replaced in the line of duty, and he starts to feel more robotic, and Armitage is just so cute that he wants to mate her, so any hatred he has is dissolved pronto. Eh, there could have been a lot more conflict here and more natural character drama or philosophical considerations, but he's not all that well-written. I don't find the romance all that believable, and it's frankly a little gaggy.
In fact, none of the characters are especially well-written, but they have quite a presence, and they do a lot of scenery chewing that allows one to easily nod along to the wonderfully realized futuristic world, complete with upside-down and vast cityscapes, holograms, female androids with funny little protruding elements on their heads, Martian landscapes, and really some of the best cyberpunk imagery you'll see outside of Bladerunner, GITS, Akira, or a few other select titles, reinforced by pulsating synth rock; plenty of fast-paced action with good animation and enough explosions to sate Michael Bay; and even some interesting, though somewhat half-baked thematics along the way. It's well-paced and directed as well, so it holds up favorably compared to most OVAs of the time period.
Speaking of scenery chewing, the villain D'anclaude has one of the most over the top performances, bringing to mind the manic portrayals of the Joker from Batman (notably, Konaka also is known for doing a lot of the writing for MECHA BATMAN, AKA Big O) or some silliness like that—he always does his trademark—VERY GRATING WARLOCK-LIKE—cackle, yells one liners, and does that insane anime look where he makes one eye bigger for maximum intensity. It gets hammy as hell. He spends the whole OVA brutally murdering android women in lurid pulp fashion.
We do have the typical plight of cute android girls wondering why they were created, wanting to become human, being so conflicted, you wonder why they were programmed to replicate women so well that they're basically all mentally ill basket cases, etc. What does it mean to be human? I mean, she's basically entirely the same as a human in this, they just remind us otherwise by showing an exposed metal chassis under damaged skin and SUPERHUMAN strength. There comes a certain point where the question loses all meaning, and that is the case here.
On Mars, the birthrate is low, and for some reason, no one wants to immigrate to a desolate, dystopic Martian hellhole, so most of the themes are related to automation and reproduction. Humans are mad that androids are stealing their jobs, so they riot and destroy androids. It's hilarious how much of a background element this is, and you never see police enforcement at all. But no amount of cute android girl uwu moments are going to make me care, and I rejoiced in the wrecked, burnt-out, and twisted frames of the androids—the word for them is SCABS and home wreckers. There was an opportunity to add a balancing act with some kind of civil rights movement... but that's not really there, and instead there's something vague about "feminism," which in this case pertains to human women wanting sexy female androids genocided, so I guess that's why there isn't a backlash against the riots? I don't know.
The really odd part of the script is that there is only one female human interviewed on television indicating this message, there is the female president (who looks like an Americanized Margaret Thatcher) of the earth federation, which is part of what is leading to a Martian policy shift, complete with a Martian politician blushing about how Martian society isn't feminist enough and putting a hand behind his head like he's embarrassed in typical anime fashion; and there is Sybilus' wife who has no dialogue. These are the only REAL women in the whole 120 minute OVA, appearing for barely even 2 minutes of screen time! All other women are androids.
There's really no contrasting femininity to Armitage's synthetic charms. And that brings us to the other amusing aspect of the show. The so-called Third androids replicate humans so well that they are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing AND they can reproduce with men. The idea was just to make female sex androids for reproduction. This could be seen as a critique of feminism—women entering the work force and clamoring for equality (or female dominance), leading to a decline in family formation and birth rate. Yet... the Third android women are all pretty much feminist role models. A career woman/CEO, independent women, a butch lesbian painter, etc. ONLY ONE OF THEM IS EVEN PREGNANT, AND NONE OF THEM HAVE KIDS! Would the Third ever have even made a dent in the population issue with expanded production? Doesn't seem so.
The story holds together well with the gumshoeing, but it's a mess by the second half, once all the conspiracies emerge. It appears the reason for the assassinations of the Third androids is because of the feminist plot to genocide all sexy female androids to secure their dominance, and to increase integration between Mars and Earth. XD
I'm laying this out pretty directly, but the way everything is written is extremely vague and rushed. The themes aren't well-explored at all. There are a bunch of sexy female android bombings, which aren't integrated into anything coherently AT ALL, so I'm assuming these were false flag attacks by the government to increase resentment against sexy female androids. Nothing in the last episode really makes sense, and it's not clear to me why Sybilus and Armitage take on a small army by the end. It seems completely pointless, though it also appears to be a "confidence boost" for all the sexy female androids who are watching the action scene on TV for whatever reason. Be empowered, you sexy female androids, before you get genocided and turned into a toaster, that is.
Considering hypergamy, no-fault divorce, feminism, and various other factors, it's true that family formation is harder and child birth is lower, and given that the focus is on Armitage and the Third androids, and we're supposed to feel sympathy for sexy female androids, it appears to me that this was probably kind of meant to favor sexy female androids with wombs as a viable reproductive alternative in a sexual arms race that could compete with strong independent waman and lead to an incel revolution. Better hit the gym, fatty. ;)
Konaka has had a lot of attention lately for being "based" and dabbling in various "conspiracy theories," and he does seem to have some degree of right-wing views, so I think this is actually kind of likely, but the story is also insanely muddled and contradictory (at one point Armitage even says she can't feel pain, then later says she can feel pain—even the most basic of details are contradicted), so who even knows?
Additionally, there is a movie version of this OVA that removes and adds scenes, and it has a shorter running time. That version might be better executed, but I haven't seen it. I'm aware that one scene in particular was removed: a Neuromancer-styled bit with the main characters "jacking in" to a terminal and getting information from a digitized character... the only problem is that this is a waste of time and just meant for cool visuals because the only information given is stuff THE CHARACTERS ALREADY KNEW! Although it's kind of a cool scene, its extraneous nature is obvious. I could definitely see this production benefitting from a bit of editing and some rewrites. Most subplots are left dangling or unexplored.
Honestly, this OVA was a blast, but as I've been typing this out, I can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, and this is definitely style over substance and a bit of a mess, but it's also fascinating to see Konaka as a developing writer.
Motokogummi
Armitage III, where Bladerunner meets Japanese minds and reaches to stratospheric levels. Let me get one main thing out first, this work is not a very cohesive work like many people want to expect likes of Akira, Ghost in Shell SAC shows or maybe something like that of Psycho Pass. But it's more of a like Midnight Eye Goku by Kawajiri. One of the finest Cyberpunk Sci Fi Classics. The reason is this one will just indulge you into the world of the setting and what the artists want rather than exploratory aspects. You would be first intrigued by how they construct the show over thetime. The OVA gets more interesting after 2nd. Because until then it just shines light on our protagonist lady Armitage, so please do not think it's not that great or such because it's not extremely fleshed out the way you think. But rather enjoy how Japanese took the Bladerunner concepts to a whole another level.
Art - The cel shaded work is simply flawless, a slight differences can be observed with Armitage art among the OVAs and Ross. Not any thing to point out hard but it's just a small observation that doesn't impact you in any case. Naturally the Japanese old works of this Sci Fi genre are always unique and their own take with the concepts. I love Armitage design, her get up is simply hot and she is very loving as well for her character and keeps her femininity and compassion, the design work of her costume is very cool. The robot designs are great for what they are and how the detail just pours out of these cel works always shows how superior this style of animation is. The scale of the city and how the Androids are drawn with their designated nature of their roles while Armitage and the others are pleasing to make you feel immersed.
Characters & Story - Not much to write about the story revolves around the concepts of Bladerunner, I won't spoil it since it's better left to the person to discover it. Characters of Ross and Armitage are the only ones which are explored the reason is the show revolves around them there are few bits of their past sprinkled over the OVAs so it's very subtle that explains both the polar opposite character writing. And how they are magnetic to each other is how the story progresses, that's the beauty of this show. You get to see opposites attract. It's expected but the show carries it out in an commendable way. And wow they are truly based, in the whole Earth's approach vs how Mars want to build and sustain their own. It reflects out current Politically Correct culture a bit and we can clearly draw any sort of imagination to many possibilities etc, you will understand what I'm talking once you watch the full OVAs. The main characters are simply superb in their driving seat and you will never feel strayed.
Sound - The shortest aspect that I can explore but the most packing of punch, Armitage theme is simply stellar. It just hits in perfect spot even if it's not very abundant on the different tunes or tracks. But it's just enough to keep you glued to the show, the effects are well made and are timeless and adds it up the signature of the show and leave you impressed.
That's pretty much about it and you will be pleased, I will say that we do not get these type of shows, unfortunately these are very bold stories and very unique ones. This is a masterpiece for those who like similar Cyberpunk Sci Fi works.
As always, hope this helps you. Have a great day !
barsoapguy219
Nostalgia Alert - I used to see the laserdiscs for Armitage at the video store way back in the day. I was intrigued because I was a teenager and the cover art featured a scantily-clad waifu. Also, I was into cyberpunk and robots and all the like. So that was in 1997 or so and I finally got around to watching all four episodes in 2022. 25 years later but I got it done. Story The story is pretty good actually. It's a Blade Runner type set up with a few twists and turns. I always enjoy stories about robots and people grappling with their humanityand this is no exception.
While the concept is intriguing, it's played out slowly and awkwardly. I was not a fan of the pacing. One of the problems is with the runtime. There are only four 30-minute episodes isn't much time to explore all the story has to offer.
The ending was definitive and satisfying and that's always a plus.
Art
This anime is from the mid 90s and it shows. The art isn't good. The animation similarly is not great even though there are some high points during the action scenes. There were times when the character faces and body parts were far out of proportion.
That said, the backgrounds were generally well done and interesting to look at. The action was pretty good too.
Sound
The OP was slick and cyberpunkish. Cool stuff. The ED is a basic ballad. I watched this in Japanese and people sounded the way they look. Sound was average +1 for the OP.
Characters
Decent chars. Armitage and Ross make a decent cop buddy duo. Armitage has her character evolve a bit and its nice. The bad guy is a constant force through the OVA and has a little twist. The supporting cast is basic but solid. Nothing out of the park with the characters but they are solid.
Enjoyment and Overall
Armitage is a decent time. It is a little slow and has the plot explanation dumped in the last episode. There are only four eps so I can't hold that against it.
It is decent sci-fi fare. I think of this as the Anime Blade Runner. The story concept is the best part and the other aspects are very average compared to modern times. I wonder how it was received in the 90s.
Bensonas
(Clap clap clap clap) Armitige III, well done. After a strong of watching really disappointing OVAs, my expectations were low. Even if my expectations were high however, I would still have enjoyed this as much. There are many positive elements to mention here so be prepare for some gushing. First off, the music and sound. Goodness me it is perfect. I am really not a fan of anime intro and outro tracks normally. Far far far too often they are cheesy parodies of themselves. This show however is most certainly not. I watched the intro and outro of every episode. Within the show, the musicis even better. Maybe I'm a little biased in this regard. One of my favourite bands is Front Line Assembly so with me being a huge fan of early nineties techno industrial, I was already the target audience before I started watching. It's bold, it's loud, fits every scene perfectly and is utilised perfectly. I was very impressed with this shows music. Absolutely outstanding. 10/10.
The story is also very fascinating. Very often with have these types of Sci-fi themes involving robots or mech and humans do not like them. It's been done many many times and will be done many many times again. This however, I believe, is one of the finest examples of this I have seen. The pacing is superb, especially with the double length first episode. It gave the show so much room to set the pace and develop the characters. It gave us the time to love the characters, be pulled into the story and by the end of ep 1, you are wondering where the heck those 40+ minutes went. By the final episode I was very apprehensive as to how it would be drawn to a close. Normally, you are taken on a wonderful journey for it to be abruptly written to a close in the last two minutes. Here, this is not the case. A very satisfying ending that leaves the story open, yet closed at the same time.
Finally the animation. The show has a great pallet, it's classic nineties animation delivered exactly the way you want it to be. I felt every frame was draw with a purpose. The character art is great, has an excellent varied look to each individual. The world the story is told within looks stunning. A lot of time was clearly spen making sure the surrounding of the scenes was detailed and in line with where the story was taking you. The action scene animation was handled incredibly well too. Not OTT, just enough to deliver an exciting and engaging scene to guide you along the story.
All in all, this is a fantastic OVA. Great animation, excellent story and brilliant music. Definitely one of the best OVAs from the nineties. Definitely watch this, you won't be disappointed.
lj28
As a title released in the mid-90s, it could fit perfectly in that folder of "dystopian/dark/deep sci-fi classic anime" along as other more or not so mainstream works as Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion, B'tX or even Cowboy Bebop, when refferred to how seriously it plot takes itself. It could be normal to see this title and quickly get stuck by tags like "cyberpunk" "sci-fi" "OVA" etc and expect some kind of a hidden gem of the decade. Is this anime that? Well, i would say no, but it has it own worth and also some flaws, but in spite of it I think thisshould be a sure must-see for every lover of the genre.
Armitage III is set in a -on these days- not so far future where humans could achieved the colonization of Mars, and its urban structure and population got enough developed to the point where a nice portion of the latter consist of very humanized robots. In this setting we got the two main characters: Ross Sylibus and Naomi Armitage, an earthling cop who joins martian police department and a martian policewoman. These two, alongside the main villiain takes the most of the time in screen so other characters are just there to cover the definition of secondaries.
Beyond the action, the core ot this anime lays on its own questions and those existential and moral issues these characters (and also the whole world in there) are forced to face, and it is so correctly developed that it takes the main attraction of the series.
The characters, the script, the stage and the global atmosphere sourrouning the ova result on a well developed but also no so deep worldbuilding, enough to just get focused on the plot though, which fortunately is aided by a limited but great soundtrack, a nice sound mixing and cool visuals, especially during the action scenes (as you could expected from an OVA of the mid 90s). It's not an Akira or End of Evangelion level of technical work but it's far beyond than acceptable and for sure much better than anything new you could find on a random season from the last 15 years (of course there're exceptions, but when you reach those ~23 fps-action-scenes or those techno sounhdtracks you inmediately remember that this kind of anime is not made anymore unfortunately).
As a whole Armitage III is a pretty and very interesting sci-fi show which nothing has to envy to other titles of its genre when referred to the main idea and philosphy around the plot. Such is this that it's inevitable to not think of GitS when it comes to the main questions the characters and the show make to themselves, or even during those fights in a small space between an android and a giant armored robot controled by someone-else. Is it something not seen before? Probably not. And is it enojyable? most surely it is. Is it worth-watching? if you like cyberpunk futuristic and philosophical sci-fi analogue-shooted anime, get the hell out of here and go watching it now.
