Armitage III -Poly Matrix- VHS

"If The Humans Don't Want Me..."
It is the year 2179. Humans have colonised Mars and live together with robots called “Seconds”. They look human-like, but are easily distinguishable from real humans. The high unemployment on Mars ensures that the robots, who take jobs away from humans, are not very popular. But on the other hand, the manufacturers want to sell as many as possible. This leads to riots and uprisings.

Furthermore, there are the “Thirds”, highly developed third-generation robots that are outwardly indistinguishable from a human. One such Third is the policewoman Armitage. Only she and a few obscure people know about them. The knowledge that she, as a robot, is outcast from humans and yet helps them as a policewoman is a heavy burden for her. It gets even worse for her when she gets the assignment to solve a series of murders. It turns out that all the victims were Thirds. Of course, that is not enough, she is also supposed to solve this case together with a human.

This feature-length remake of the OVA adds new scenes, expanded animation, and an all-new English dub featuring major Hollywood voice talent.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Hiroyuki Ochi (Sol Bianca 2, Burn Up!)
Writer: Chiaki Konaka (Serial Experiments Lain, The Big O)
Studio: AIC (Bubblegum Crisis, Megazone 23)
Character / Mechanical Designs: Hiroyuki Ochi (Burn Up!, Gall Force)

Cast (English Version):
• Elizabeth Berkley as Armitage (Showgirls, CSI)
• Kiefer Sutherland as Ross (24, The Lost Boys)

Cast (Japanese Version):
• Hiroko Kasahara as Armitage (Magic Knight Rayearth, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040)
• Yuki Hiro as Ross (Gundam Wing, Crest of the Stars)

Japanese Title: アミテージ・ザ・サード POLY-MATRIX (Armitage the Third: Poly-Matrix)
Runtime: 90 Minutes
Director: Hiroyuki Ochi
VHS Release Year: 1997 (U.S. – Pioneer)
Anime Release Year: 1996
Publisher: Pioneer Entertainment (U.S.) · AIC / Pioneer LDC (Japan)
Rating: R (violence, adult themes)
Region: NTSC (U.S. VHS)
Genre: Cyberpunk, sci-fi detective noir, action
Themes: Identity, artificial life, autonomy, systemic discrimination, gender-coded questions of selfhood (light LGBTQ+ thematic coding tied to body/identity themes)

Media assumed VG+ or better unless otherwise noted.