Vexille, which has been shown in numerous film festivals around the world and has won the Animation Award in the Philadelphia Film Festival, is to be released on May 20, 2008. The film is directed, written, and edited by Fumihiko Sori, producer of the anime Appleseed. It is being distributed by FUNimation Entertainment and soon the DVD will be released for the enjoyment of anime fans in America.

The story of Vexille takes in Japan in the year 2077. The U.N. has declared the development of androids as hazardous to humankind and has prohibited all R&D into the subject, with most countries obeying. Japan, however, has closed itself off from the rest of the world and no one knows what is happening in there. Vexille, a member of a security group called SWORD, and her group is given the mission to infiltrate Japan and see what is going on in the fortress country.

To anyone that has seen Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Appleseed Ex Machina, Vexille will seem familiar while still original.

The technological aspects seem similar to those found in Ghost in the Shell, both the films and the TV series. The robot designs, floating keyboards, giant screens and other examples might remind watchers of Stand Alone Complex. The shading and texture of the characters and locations look a lot like the ones seen in trailers for Appleseed Ex Machina.

The trailer revealed showed shots of battle suits, guns, robots, explosions and lots of mayhem, everything that you would expect from a sci-fi CG anime. May 20th is only a few days away, but already I’m anticipating seeing it. It will tide me over until Appleseed Ex Machina comes out while still being a good film by itself.

Source: Anime News Network