There have been some movies throughout history that leave such an impact that many future films can’t help but borrow some ideas. Blade Runner, the 1982 science fiction epic by famed director Ridley Scott, was one such landmark film responsible for the cyperpunk legacy in which Armitage III: Polymatrix is steeped. Indeed, Hiroyuki Ochi’s Armitage is based off Blade Runner so heavily that if you’ve seen Blade Runner, you can call the plot twists in Armitage from a mile away. Does this make Armitage a bad anime movie? Not in the least, but it certainly doesn’t win the film any originality points.

Armitage’s plot is set in the near future, in the hey-day of big cities and big technology, when people have already colonized Mars. Humans have built “Second Type” robots for off-world use in menial tasks, but a nationalist force has created “Third Type” robots that think and act like humans. These Thirds secretly live like humans, among humans, until a lone man declares a war on them and begins to execute a systematic extermination of the Thirds. Naomi Armitage, a Martian cop, reluctantly teams up with officer Ross Sylibus to stop this killer. The twist is that Naomi is also a “Third,” transforming this case into a fight for personal survival. As the plot thickens, Armitage has to come to grips with her identity as a Third, just as Ross must come to terms with his irrational hatred of robots. Again, if you’ve seen the sci-fi movie Blade Runner, none of this is new; everything from the dreary industrial future setting to the character development and plot progression bears a deep resemblance. This isn’t to say it isn’t entertaining, however. The movie successfully highlights what it really means to live and sends that message out with style.

The characters are developed well. Throughout the movie the characters’ emotional responses seem genuine, not forced, a credit to the writing skills of Chiaki Konaka. The voices sound like they fit the characters. Unfortunately, this movie version of Armitage was only domestically released in an English dub; there is no Japanese recording to compare it to. You’ll just have to make do with the English, unless you’re fluent in Japanese and feel like paying import prices to see it. As stated earlier, though, the dub is not bad at all. The actors show emotion and convey the character’s lines with impact, as opposed to the fizzle so many are used to.

Ross Sylibus doesn't even make it to the MPD office before his first MPD case begins and he meets his future partner.	Naomi Armitage must gradually come to terms with her identity as a Third throughout the course of the movie.

The animation and design in Armitage is very good. Though it’s noticeable that there are a few skipped frames here and there, overall the animation stays fluid, especially during the fight scenes, which involve some very heavy detail. When zoomed in on the characters, the detail is enormous and the inking job is top notch. The backdrops and scenery throughout the movie are very well drawn and really brought up memories from Blade Runner. The cityscape scenes are sometimes breathtaking. Although I’ve seen better, there’s nothing to complain about, as the combination of such a powerful setting and good animation is quite effective.

The music in Armitage is mainly a mix of techno and light, ambient new age riffs. It resembles, to little surprise, the excellent soundtrack for Blade Runner as performed by synthesizer band Vangelis. The music, by Hiroyuki Namba, is very appropriate and mood setting. It has a good combination of bass and percussion, with synthesizer melodies accompanying them. It’s really the standard for these post-apocalyptic future city style movies, and it feels just like that.

Though the heavy influence from Ridley Scott’s American film masterpiece Blade Runner may annoy some anime fans, I was not bothered much. Armitage still provided an interesting experience, with its combination of good animation, good storytelling, a likeable and well-designed cast of characters, and good music. Additionally, I am reviewing the DVD version of the movie, and I was very pleased to see the anime was kept in wide screen. That really added some cinematic flavor. The Dolby Digital sound was good, and Armitage proved to be one of the few anime films that has great Dolby 5.1 surround sound, rather than standard Dolby Digital stereo sound.

The bottom line: while Armitage may be a heavily derivative film, it’s still got more than enough perks to warrant a viewing.

Distributor: Pioneer
Creator: AIC
Released: 1997

Plot: B+
Character Design: B+
Animation Quality: B+
Music: B
Overall: B+