Armitage Dual-Matrix: Special Edition

Taking place six years after its prequel, Armitage III Poly-Matrix, “Dual” finds advanced android Naomi Armitage leaving her partner and daughter back home on Mars as she returns to Earth following a robot uprising. Once there, she learns about an attempt to halt research and development of other humanoids like herself, then has to go mano a mano--so to speak--with her own replicas. While the issue of robot rights constitutes the nominal theme in this muddled anime entry, most of the focus is on visually splashy action scenes dynamically rendered in digital surround sound. On a technical level the project delivers a punch, but it can't compensate for a confusing narrative (especially for those who haven't seen Armitage III Poly-Matrix). Presented in both Japanese and English Dolby Digital 5.1, the latter features Juliette Lewis voicing Armitage in a performance that sounds phoned in. DVD extras include a "making of" featurette, "Music Player" with three isolated songs from the soundtrack, and a character design gallery. Larger collections will want to consider this , which has an industry rating of "16 up," but it's definitely optional elsewhere. Aud: P. (T. Rich)