Background

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina is a futuristic anime film that was directed by Shinji Aramaki and was produced by John Woo. The plot, as summarized on IMDB is as follows:

When a paramilitary task force called E.S.W.A.T. and its operations in the year 2199 Olympus, a futuristic utopia where humans, cyborgs, and bio-engineered human beings called "Bioroids" are attempting to live in perfect harmony. However, a series of random terrorist attacks perpetrated by cyborgs and humans alike threaten to throw Olympus into total chaos.

Hot Toys released a 1:20 scale E.S.W.A.T. snap kit series that consists of five different characters from the film.

Packaging

The line is packaged in blind box form.  Each box has photos of the characters and figures on all four sides.  It lists what weapons each figure includes as well as the part of the Landmate that is in the package.  Inside, the figure is packaged in a plastic sheet that separates the pieces so there is no paint exchange.

The Figures

The Appleseed Sage: Ex Machina E.S.W.A.T. snap kit series features five different 1:20 scale E.S.W.A.T. figures.  Each figure stands between 4 and 5 inches tall and has 20 points of articulation.  They all come packaged with multiple weapons and a part of the Landmate.

Deunan Knute: machine gun, pistol, sword, belt, sword hilt.

Briareos Hechatonchires: large gun, two automatic guns, belt.

Tereus: machine gun, pistol.

Manuel Aeacus: handgun.

Rhoetus: machine gun, pistol.

The Landmate stands approximately 7” tall and has 32 points of articulation.  By buying a sealed box, you’ll be guaranteed of getting all of the pieces needed to make the Landmate figure.

Our Opinion

If you’re not familiar with snap kits, they basically package your figure in separate pieces that you then have to assemble.  It’s a fun concept, since it gives a little more interactive feel to the average action figure.  It’s because of this that these figures are a little tougher and have better playability.

Since I’ve never seen any of the Appleseed films, it’s difficult to tell whether or not the character sculpts mirror their anime counterparts.  Just doing a Google search, I’d say that Hot Toys has done an admirable job here.  Have they ever produced a poorly sculpted figure?

Each figure is given a decent number of accessories.  But maybe the best part of the line is that you can produce the entire Landmate figure by purchasing a display box.  While you’ll end up with an extra set of the five figures, I feel that it’s worth it to assemble that giant blue machine.

You can pick one up at the following:

Sideshow: $12.99 ea. (Wait Listed)

Appleseed Saga Ex Machina Snap Kits Grades:

Quality: 8/10
Paint: 7/10
Packaging: 9/10
Durability: 9/10
Hype: 7/10
Fun Factor: 9/10
Value: 8/10

Overall: 8.8/10

Have these figures?  What do you rate them?