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Vexille | 
| Director: Fumihiko Sori
Actors: Toshiyuki Morikawa, Romi Park, Shosuke Tanihara, Akio Ôtsuka, Meisa Kuroki
Studio: Funimation Prod
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 31.99
Buy New: CDN$ 18.61
You Save: CDN$ 13.38 (42%)
New (12) Used (4) from CDN$ 17.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 754
Format: Ntsc
Languages: Japanese (Original Language), English (Original Language)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 0
UPC: 704400095900
EAN: 0704400095900
ASIN: B0012Z5UM0
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: May 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item, factory Sealed. Buy direct from the U.S. and save! We only ship airmail to Canada (7-15 days).Caiman, les prix qu'on aime! Tous nos produits sont neufs. Envoi par avion des Etats-Unis
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| Customer Reviews:
 Vexing agent July 16, 2008
It doesn't come as a huge surprise that "Vexille" is from the people who brought the world "Appleseed" and its even better sequel "Appleseed Ex Machina."
The CGI look, the cyberpunk flavor, the big mecha, and the futuristic world full of political and technological conflict are all firmly in place, along with some pretty slam-bang action sequences and a darker, grittier feeling. While it lacks some character development and feels rather bleak at times, it's still a pretty entertaining story -- if only it fleshed out the main cast a little more.
About seventy years in the future, the American tech police known as SWORD are sent into Japan to find out if the isolated country has been doing illegal robotics research. They aren't, and the movie ends there. No, seriously, they are, and all the SWORD agents are killed except for Vexille and her boyfriend.
Moreover, Vexille finds that the once-proud Japan is ruled over by the evil Daiwa Corporation, which wanted to experiment with robotics, biotech and so forth. Now it is barely more than a mass slum. Even worse, a nanotech "vaccine" has reduced its inhabitants to mindless husks. Vexille's only hope of saving herself -- and her lover Leon -- is to join forces with a small band of rebels.
Those hoping for another "Appleseed" will probably be quite disappointed with "Vexille" -- the colorful, sparkling "utopias" of those two movies are not to be found in this one. Instead "Vexille" seems to be aiming at a darker, grimier aesthetic, with a more complex plot full of political machinations and some fairly hefty moral questions as well.
It's a pretty amazing spectacle -- action-packed fights, nanotech leviathans, and a small-scale apocalyptic finale, rendered in detailed, fast-moving CGI animation. And there's a certain element of horror when we see the devastated Japan, and what its inhabitants have been turned into by the nanotech. Call it a warning about how far you take technology, much as in the recent "Appleseed Ex Machina."
And the animation is pretty astounding. While it has an oddly rotoscoped look, it's still detailed and gloriously vivid. And that includes details like snowflakes being individually swept from a windshield, or the inner glow of a gem -- or even a smooth-skinned, nimble mecha exploding into a building. This glorious look almost makes up for the stretches of relatively action-free plot.
Perhaps its biggest weakness is in the characterization. It feels like they put a lot of effort into creating lifelike-looking characters. But despite some moments of spunkiness from Vexille, with her bubblegum and her gritty determination, the characters never quite come alive. The best-rounded character is probably Maria, the tragic rebel leader who also provides a little romantic tension for our elf-faced heroine.
"Vexille" is a flawed little semiprecious gem -- it's not the best "lifelike" anime movie, but its plot and artwork have enough style and substance to be worth the watch.
 Balls to the wall action June 6, 2008
I looked this movie up on youtube first. It looked alright! and the comments were pretty good too. So I placed my order. A week later I recieved it. I looked at the box and it said "Balls-to-the-all-action"
I laughed at it and said "what ever". 20 mins later..I was against the wall. Vexille is an awesome movie. I cannot give it five stars because it's not Transformers ;)
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