What can I say about the final part of Appleseed? Well it is certainly entertaining so I can say I enjoyed it. The art is the best I've seen from Shirow so I can certainly say its the nicest looking volume so far. Even the action sequences are very well structured, thought out and paced so I can't complain about them. However, and its a big however, I can't say I cared about the story.
This book begins very well. There's some nice development of the characters and even the background guys from previous volumes get fleshed more out which was good. I particularly enjoyed the mission briefing, I really got the sense that I was looking at an early blueprint for Section 9, the central team from Shirow's later work Ghost in the Shell. I'm sure Deunan wearing an eye patch is another reference to Snake Plisskin and I must say it suits her.
By the centre of the book however things start to change. There is a lot of talking about foreign powers, imminent war and the death of a senator but I felt nothing regarding them. They were too distant and too vague for me to really care and ultimately for me that is Appleseed's biggest flaw. Too often things left unexplained, there are sections that feel cloudy or muddled and I often found reading it frustrating. I can easily see why this series is loved by many and I realise it is an early work of his but as I read this volume I was a little disappointed. Personally I thought book three was the highlight of this series but I'm glad I read it all.
After reading all this science fiction I think its about time I read some fantasy. Luckily for me the next series I'll be rereading is Banya: The Explosive Delivery Man.
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