History Anime / ArmitageIII

A four-episode {{OVA}} miniseries written by Creator/ChiakiKonaka, ''Armitage III'' is tightly plotted and action-packed, yet does not stint on philosophical questions and quandaries. It is old enough to have been created entirely with traditional hand-drawn animation; quality control is high, though, and there is no sign of "rushed" or careless work. Both characters and backgrounds are crisp and detailed -- the Martian cityscapes are a joy to behold at times, as are the main players in the drama, particularly Armitage herself.

In North America, ''Armitage'' was one of Pioneer[=/=]Creator/{{Geneon}}'s first wave of imports in the early 1990s. Unlike most of the other shows in that noteworthy premiere, though, ''Armitage'' suffers from an uneven dub cast. In particular, Sylibus is quite wooden in English. To complicate matters, though, Pioneer [[CompilationMovie edited together the four OVA episodes into a feature-length "motion picture"]] called ''Armitage III: Polymatrix'' and then dubbed it a ''second'' time with "name" actors -- Keifer Sutherland as Sylibus and Elizabeth Berkeley as Armitage. (Unusually for an anime movie, ''Polymatrix'' was never released in Japanese; it only existed in English, and received Japanese subtitles when it screened in Japan.) Pioneer has also brought the sequel movie to North America, with yet a ''third'' dub cast, this one featuring Creator/JulietteLewis as Armitage.

** ''Poly Matrix'': René D'anclaude is the enigmatic leader of a group of murderous anti-robot terrorists who want to rid Mars of robots, particularly [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Thirds]]. D'anclaude himself is [[spoiler:actually a group of [[KillerRobot assassinroids]] created by the original D'anclaude, a researcher and partner of Dr. Asakura who turned against his project [[GreaterScopeVillain at the behest]] of [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression Earth]]'s StrawFeminist government]].

** ''Poly Matrix'': René D'anclaude is the enigmatic leader of a group of murderous anti-robot terrorists who want to rid Mars of robots, particularly [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Thirds]]. D'anclaude himself is [[spoiler:actually a group of [[KillerRobot assassinroids]] created by the original D'anclaude, a researcher and partner of Dr. Asakura who turned against his project [[GreaterScopeVillain at the behest of]] [[TheWarOfEarthyAggression Earth]]'s StrawFeminist government]].

* BigBad: ''Poly Matrix'' has René D'anclaude, the enigmatic leader of a group of murderous anti-robot terrorists who want to rid Mars of robots, particularly [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Thirds]]. D'anclaude himself is [[spoiler:actually a group of [[KillerRobot assassinroids]] created by the original D'anclaude, a researcher and partner of Dr. Asakura who turned against his project [[GreaterScopeVillain at the behest of]] [[TheWarOfEarthyAggression Earth]]'s StrawFeminist government]].
** ''Dual Matrix'' has Demetrio Martini, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Vice President]] of Earth Robotics Corporation, who seeks to block a recent Robot Rights bill and discover the secret behind Thirds so he can mass-produce Thirds as a slave race; to that end, he is willing to kidnap Yoko, daughter of [[spoiler:Ross and Naomi]], to [[IHaveYourDaughter force]] [[spoiler:Ross]] to vote against the bill, and kill Ross and Armitage for interfering.

''Armitage III'', as brief as it is, spawned a sequel movie called ''Dual Matrix''. It is somewhat less compelling, plotwise, than the original series, and a switch from traditional animation to computer-assisted methods resulted in some unappealing changes in character designs -- Armitage, for example, went from looking cute-sexy in a leather-Loli way to looking like a psychotic housewife. (Though in all fairness, she sort of was a psychotic housewife, and with good reason). Taking place years after the end of the OVA, Ross and Naomi live a quiet life on St. Lowell. Ross now works for Astro Technologies, a company seeking to restore oceans to Mars using ice asteroids. A new effort to restart the Third project prompts Naomi to travel to Earth and investigate, which leads her and Ross to oppose [[NonActionBigBad Demetrio Martini]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Vice President]] of Earth Robotronics Corporation, who wants to stop robots from gaining equality and discover the secret of Thirds so he can produce Thirds as a slave race.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: One executive of the Martian [=ConCeption=] corporation from the OVA is involved in the GovernmentConspiracy behind D'anclaude. He also uses a Second [[ShoutOut that looks suspiciously like]] ''Anime\SailorMoon'' as his [[SexySecretary personal secretary]], and apparently also part of a harem of {{sexbot}}s designed to look like the other Sailor Senshi.

* ConspicuousCG: In ''Dual Matrix''.

* BetaTestBaddie: [[spoiler:D'anclaude.]]

%%* IAmAMonster

* JobStealingRobot: The cause of all the tension on Mars, and a pivotal plot point of the series. Especially as Earth objects to the "job" the Thirds are stealing; [[spoiler:pregnancy]].

* RobotMe: [[spoiler:The D'anclaude Naomi and Ross encounter in the first few episodes turns out to be one of several[[KillBot assassinroids]], all built in the image of their creator, one Doctor Rene D'anclaude. Another D'anclaude-bot was [[HeelFaceBrainwashing reprogrammed]] to serve as a lab assistant to Dr. Asakura.]]

* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence

What is the secret of the Thirds, the latest generation of robotics technology? Who is killing them, and why? And what is Naomi's own hidden secret? As Syllibus and Armitage delve deeper into the mystery, they must come face to face with prejudice, sisterhood, and ultimately the very definition of what it means to be human.

In North America, ''Armitage'' was one of Pioneer[=/=]Creator/{{Geneon}}'s first wave of imports in the early 1990s. Unlike most of the other shows in that noteworthy premiere, though, ''Armitage'' suffers from an uneven dub cast. In particular, Syllabus is quite wooden in English. To complicate matters, though, Pioneer [[CompilationMovie edited together the four OVA episodes into a feature-length "motion picture"]] called ''Armitage III: Polymatrix'' and then dubbed it a ''second'' time with "name" actors -- Keifer Sutherland as Syllabus and Elizabeth Berkeley as Armitage. (Unusually for an anime movie, ''Polymatrix'' was never released in Japanese; it only existed in English, and received Japanese subtitles when it screened in Japan.) Pioneer has also brought the sequel movie to North America, with yet a ''third'' dub cast, this one featuring Creator/JulietteLewis as Armitage.

* AndroidsAndDetectives: Ross Syllibus, a detective fresh from Earth who hates robots after losing a leg and an old partner in a fight, works with Naomi Armitage, a experienced Martian CowboyCop who is one of the [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Third-type humanoid robots]] living in secret on Mars. TheyFightCrime, and FantasticRacism. Their initial relationship boils down to the stock "I hate technology." "I ''am'' technology." dialogue associated with this trope.

What is the secret of the Thirds, the latest generation of robotics technology? Who is killing them, and why? And what is Naomi's own hidden secret? As Syllabus and Armitage delve deeper into the mystery, they must come face to face with prejudice, sisterhood, and ultimately the very definition of what it means to be human.

* AndroidsAndDetectives: Ross Sylibus, a detective fresh from Earth who hates robots after losing a leg and an old partner in a fight, works with Naomi Armitage, a experienced Martian CowboyCop who is one of the [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Third-type humanoid robots]] living in secret on Mars. TheyFightCrime, and FantasticRacism. Their initial relationship boils down to the stock "I hate technology." "I ''am'' technology." dialogue associated with this trope.

* BrainUploading: [[spoiler:Julian, after dying, uploads the brain of both him and all the murdered Thirds into the main registry of Mars.]]

* {{Cyberspace}}: One of the scenes from the OVA not included in the ''Polymatrix'' movie has Ross access a VirtualReality terminal to accompany Armitage into cyberspace to find [[spoiler:the virtual ghosts of Julian and the other murdered Thirds. Ross muses that being able to do that is another sign that he's becoming less human. The cyberspace scenes are strongly reminiscent of ''Film/{{Tron}}, but the scene was so minor that ''Polymatrix'' is able to write it out with a few seconds of new [[LoopingLines ADR]].]]

%%* AndroidsAndDetectives

* {{Cyberspace}}: One of the storylines from the OVA not included in the ''Polymatrix'' movie has Ross access a VirtualReality terminal to accompany Armitage into cyberspace to hunt for clues.

* RobotMe: [[spoiler:The D'anclaude Naomi and Ross encounter in the first few episodes turns out to be an [[KillBot assassinroid]] built in the image of their creator, one Doctor Rene D'anclaude. Another D'anclaude-bot was [[HeelFaceBrainwashing reprogrammed]] to serve as a lab assistant to Dr. Asakura.]]

* {{Cyberspace}}

** "Thirds" are full-blown {{Artificial Human}}s designed for a specific purpose; to act as [[spoiler:{{Uterine Replicator}}s and thereby bolster Mars' population high enough for the planet to declare independence]].

** Humans and Third-type androids are drawn {{Mukokuseki}}-style: visibly European facial features and average proportions; arms, legs and torsos all roughly the same length, broad shoulders, slender hips. There's a deliberate effort to make humans forgettably un-attractive.

%%* ReplacementGoldfish

* {{Stripperiffic}}: Armitage. Ross even [[{{Lampshading}} lampshades]] this in the first OVA.

* SuperPrototype: [[spoiler:Naomi.]]

* {{Technopath}}: Armitage.

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: [[spoiler:Naomi Armitage is a Third-series robot]].

* SuperSpeed: Armitage pulls off some positively SonicTheHedgehog-esque moves in the first episode.

The investigation into her killing is assigned to police officer Ross Sylibus, himself newly transferred from Earth in the wake of a tragedy that left him the possessor of a bionic leg. He is partnered with petite, provocative plainclothes cop Naomi Armitage. What looks like a comprehensible (if tragic) killing, though, takes a confusing turn when it's discovered that the dead singer was not a human woman, but an android of hitherto unseen sophistication. And that she was not the only one of her kind living undercover among humanity -- nor was she the only one of her kind recently murdered. The assailant, meanwhile, identifies himself as [[BigBad René D'anclaude]], and proclaims his intent to rid Mars of these robots, to which Ross and Naomi are called to stop him.

* BigBad: ''Poly Matrix'' has René D'anclaude, the enigmatic leader of a group of murderous anti-robot terrorists who want to rid Mars of robots, particularly [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Thirds]]. D'anclaude himself is [[spoiler:actually a group of [[KillerRobot assassinroids]] created by the original D'anclaude, a researcher and partner of Dr. Asakura who turned against his project [[GreaterScopeVillain at the behest of]] [[TheWarOfEarthyAggression Earth]]'s StrawFeminist government]].
** ''Dual Matrix'' has Demetrio Martini, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Vice President]] of Earth Robotics Corporation, who seeks to block a recent Robot Rights bill and discover the secret behind Thirds so he can mass-produce Thirds as a slave race; to that end, he is willing to kidnap Yoko, daughter of [[spoiler:Ross and Naomi]], to [[IHaveYourDaughter force]] [[spoiler:Ross]] to vote against the bill, and kill Ross and Armitage for interfering.

* LayeredMetropolis: St. Lowell is one, with many of its buildings seemingly floating in the air above the lower levels of the city.

The investigation into her killing is assigned to police officer Ross Sylibus, himself newly transferred from Earth in the wake of a tragedy that left him the possessor of a bionic leg. He is partnered with petite, provocative plainclothes cop Naomi Armitage. What looks like a comprehensible (if tragic) killing, though, takes a confusing turn when it's discovered that the dead singer was not a human woman, but an android of hitherto unseen sophistication. And that she was not the only one of her kind living undercover among humanity -- nor was she the only one of her kind recently murdered.

''Armitage III'', as brief as it is, spawned a sequel movie called ''Dual Matrix''. It is somewhat less compelling, plotwise, than the original series, and a switch from traditional animation to computer-assisted methods resulted in some unappealing changes in character designs -- Armitage, for example, went from looking cute-sexy in a leather-Loli way to looking like a psychotic housewife. (Though in all fairness, she sort of was a psychotic housewife, and with good reason!)

* ActionGirl: Armitage

* AndroidsAndDetectives: Played completely straight.

* ArtificialLimbs: Ross, after the incident

* BabyFactory [[spoiler:The true purpose of Third type androids was to birth babies to increase the Martian population, though they were also given sapience and their own personalities.]] This, combined with the fact that the main villains of the film are Earth's feminist government who aren't happy about this, can make the story rather uncomfortable for western audiences.
* BattleCouple: Ross and Armitage.
* BetaTestBaddie: D'anclaude
* BolivianArmyEnding: [[spoiler:Naomi and Ross versus the Martian military. Subverted in the epilogues of the OVA and TheMovie, which reveals that they survived]].
%%* BrainUploading

* BunnyEarsLawyer[=/=]CowboyCop: Armitage gets away with her punk-rock outfit and tendency towards emotional blow-ups because, hey, she gets the job done.
%%* ChekhovsGunman: Julian in ''Dual Matrix''
* ColorCodedCharacters: Naomi and Ross usually wear red and blue, respectively, symbolizing their homeworlds among other things. The last episode of the original series has them switching colors, indicating both their closeness and their growing separation from both worlds' societies.

* CoolShades: When Naomi puts them on, she's mad at ''something''.

%%* DaChief

* {{Determinator}}: Armitage can be stabbed, shot, electrocuted, and blown up, but in both shows, never shows any signs of yielding or backing down on her missions.
%%* DoAndroidsDream
* DuelingHackers: Julian and D'anclaude.

* EvilKnockoff[=/=]{{Evil Twin}}s[=/=]RobotMe: The twin Armitage "clones" from ''Dual Matrix''.

* HumanMomNonhumanDad: [[spoiler:Inverted in Dual Matrix.]]

%%* [[IHaveYourWife I Have Your Daughter]]
* ImplacableMan: Apparently D'anclaude.
* InformedAbility: When Ross is first introduced to Armitage, the chief goes on about how she's such a good detective. Yet, her idea of "detective work" clearly amounts to getting in witnesses and suspects faces and threatening them with bodily harm if they don't cooperate with her. If anything, [[ByTheBookCop Ross is the one who conducts the actual investigation.]]

* LayeredMetropolis: St. Lowell is one, with many of its buildings seemingly floating in the air above the lower levels of the city.
%%* LightningBruiser
* MamaBear and PapaWolf: ''Dual Matrix'' spoiler -- [[spoiler:Naomi and Ross.]]
* MarsNeedsWomen: [[spoiler: The motivation behind the creation of the Thirds.]]

* PlayfulHacker: Mouse from ''Dual Matrix''

* RedOniBlueOni: Ross and Armitage, even down to the color of their clothes.

* RoboFamily: Armitage considers Julian her brother and the other female Thirds her sisters.

* RobotMe: [[spoiler: The D'anclaude Naomi and Ross encounter in the first few episodes turns out to be an [[KillBot assassinroid]] built in the image of their creator, one Doctor Rene D'anclaude. (Another D'anclaude-bot was [[HeelFaceBrainwashing reprogrammed]] to serve as a lab assistant to Dr. Asakura.)]]
%%* RoboticReveal
* RoboticSpouse: Which is even able to [[spoiler:[[UterineReplicator get pregnant]] and bear children, the purpose the Third Types were built for.]]

* SequelHook: Mouse manages to fish one of the Armitage III knock-offs out of the garbage and get it to work, although it's never clarified, how well.

* {{Straw Feminist}}s: Earth's government. The {{backstory}} is only implied, but a key plot element is that feminists have become political powerhouses equivalent to Greens. It is implied by the presence of an Earth "observer" that on Earth, women have gained status equivalent to South African whites under apartheid - and few are willing to give that up just because MarsNeedsWomen. Space has been colonized, and Mars has been partially {{Terraform}}ed, but has thus been unable to draw enough women to the planet to breed new Martians. Androids first created as a source of labor were upgraded to {{Ridiculously Human Robot}}s known as "[[AMechByAnyOtherName Seconds]]" as a immigration draw; come to Mars and leave the [[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland shrews]] behind for a [[ExtremeDoormat sweet, willing]] [[MegaCorp conCeption]] {{Sexbot}}! The long term solution was to [[spoiler:''build'' fertile women - the titular "Thirds"; robots so human that they can be '''[[UterineReplicator impregnated]]''' -- and actually raise the children they give birth to. When the Straw Feminists find out about the plan, [[TallPoppySyndrome the threat to their power base pisses them off to no end]], resulting in an ultimatum; scrap the baby makers or Mommy will come do it personally, [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression along with as much of the landscape as necessary]].]]
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Ross even [[{{Lampshading}} lampshades]] this in the first OVA.

* SuperPrototype: [[spoiler:Naomi]]

* VirtualGhost: ''Dual Matrix'' spoiler -- [[spoiler:Julian]]

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: "If humans don't want me, then why did they create me?" --[[spoiler: Armitage.]]

%%* ArtificialLimbs

* BolivianArmyEnding: Naomi and Ross versus the Martian military. Subverted in the epilogues of the OVA and TheMovie.

%%* CyberPunk

%%* RobotGirl

%%* SmallGirlBigGun

* ShoujoDemographic: The setting is a {{Cyberpunk}} PoliceProcedural about criminal robots on Mars, but at its core it's a story about [[spoiler:a girl realizing she's capable of being a mother, and dealing with the expectations her society places upon women]].

* UterineReplicator: [[spoiler:The ''key'' plot element, and the true purpose of the Thirds;

* AppliedPhlebotinum

* ArtificialLimbs
* [[spoiler:BabiesEverAfter: Ross and Armitage make one in the OVA.]]
* [[spoiler:BabyFactory: The true purpose of Third type androids was to birth babies to increase the Martian population, though they were also given sapience and their own personalities.]] This, combined with the fact that the main villains of the film are Earth's feminist government who aren't happy about this, can make the story rather uncomfortable for western audiences.

* BrainUploading
* BrokenBird: Armitage.

* ChekhovsGunman: Julian in ''Dual Matrix''

* CyberPunk

* CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain
* DaChief

* DoAndroidsDream

* ElectronicTelepathy

* HeroicRROD

* IAmAMonster
* [[IHaveYourWife I Have Your Daughter]]

* KilledOffForReal

* LightningBruiser

* ReplacementGoldfish

* RobotGirl

* RoboticReveal

* SmallGirlBigGun

* ThereCanBeOnlyOne

* [[spoiler:UterineReplicator]]: The ''key'' plot element, and the true purpose of the Thirds;

* LadyLand: On earth, the average human female is super-privileged - every political figure on Earth is a woman. As a result, few women want to immigrate to Mars, which keeps the colony from establishing the population it needs to declare independence. Deconstructed with a reversal of the DoubleStandard; a great many men are ''extremely'' dissatisfied with this, resulting in a Mars-based corporation called conCeption creating the Second-type androids - [[{{Sexbot}} fully-functional]] {{Ridiculously Human Robot}}s with [[GenericCuteness the faces of young girls and the bodies of adult women]] - resulting in a massive wave of [[SpaceCossacks Earth immigrants]] eager for non-feminist sexual partners, even if [[{{Robosexual}} they're robots]]. Eventually, [[spoiler:these are upgraded to full-blown {{Artificial Human}}s capable of conceiving children. When Earth discovers this, the resulting [[TallPoppySyndrome jealousy]] and [[PredatoryBusiness fear of being replaced]] results in TheWarOfEarthlyAggression - Earth demands that Mars eliminate the Thirds or be completely annihilated]].

* [[spoiler:BabyFactory: The true purpose of Third type androids was to birth babies to increase the Martian population, though they were also given sapience and their own personalities.]] This, combined with the fact that the main villains of the film are feminists who have taken over Earth's government who aren't happy about this, can make the story rather uncomfortable for western audiences.

* {{Straw Feminist}}s: Earth's government. The {{backstory}} is only implied, but a key plot element is that feminists have become political powerhouses equivalent to Greens. It is implied by the presence of an Earth "observer" that on Earth, women have gained status equivalent to South African whites under apartheid - and few are willing to give that up just because MarsNeedsWomen. Space has been colonized, and Mars has been partially {{Terraform}}ed, but has thus been unable to draw enough women to the planet to breed new Martians. Androids first created as a source of labor were upgraded to {{Ridiculously Human Robot}}s known as "[[AMechByAnyOtherName Seconds]]" as a immigration draw; come to Mars and leave the [[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland shrews]] behind for a [[ExtremeDoormat sweet, willing]] [[MegaCorp conCeption]] {{Sexbot}}! The long term solution was to [[spoiler:''build'' fertile women - the titular "Thirds"; robots so human that they can be '''[[UterineReplicator impregnated]]''' -- and actually raise the children they give birth to. When the Straw Feminists find out about the plan, the threat to their power base pisses them off to no end, resulting in an ultimatum; scrap the baby makers or Mommy will come do it personally, [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression along with as much of the landscape as necessary]].]]

* NonstandardCharacterDesign: There is a very clear delineation between humans and robots on Mars, and a sharp eye will pick it out even before the big reveal at the end of the first episode;

** Every Second-type android is drawn in a traditional, big-eyed Anime style, with GenericCuteness: the faces of young girls and the figures of mature women; short arms and abdomens, long legs, rounded hips, emphasized bust. This is a deliberate design decision InUniverse: Seconds are {{Sexbot}}s marketed to Earth immigrants; specifically Earth ''men'' so unsatisfied with its StrawFeminist government they've turned {{Robosexual}}. [[spoiler:This is a ''big'' giveaway that Armitage isn't human, as she stands out in a crowd even before one takes into account her {{Stripperiffic}} wardrobe]].