APPLESEED is a Japanese manga series by Masamune Shirow originally published in Japanese in 1985 (untraditionally directly in paperback without previous serialization) and in English by Eclipse in 1988 (serialized in standard American comic book format). The main characters in this cyberpunk/mecha series are Deunan Knute and Briareos Hecatonchires, members of the prestigious ESWAT (Extra Special Weapons And Tactics) organization in the utopian city of Olympus. Olympus is the new world's most powerful state where approximately half of the population are bionically augmented. Shirow's themes on politics, philosophy, and sociology have given the franchise a lasting appeal evidenced through an original video animation, three feature films, a 13-episode TV series, and two video games.
