Altered Carbon: Resleeved is Netflix's new feature-length anime set in the world of Altered Carbon, but given Takeshi Kovacs' long life, its place in the show's timeline can be difficult to figure out. Altered Carbon season 2 recently released on the streaming service, introducing Anthony Mackie as Takeshi's newest sleeve. Altered Carbon: Resleeved is a prequel to season 1 of the show and reveals another never-before-seen sleeve for the Last Envoy.
Resleeved finds Takeshi on a planet called Latimer, where he has been hired by yakuza boss Tanaseda Hideki (who also appears in Altered Carbon season 2, played by James Saito) to protect Holly, a young tattoo artist. Holly is part of the Mizumoto clan on Latimer, who are preparing for a sacred succession ceremony. However, someone is sending tech ninjas to assassinate Holly, and Takeshi has to form an uneasy alliance with a CTAC soldier called Gena to protect the girl.
During a VR briefing Hideki reveals that it has been one year since Takeshi's sister, Reileen Kawahara, was (supposedly) killed alongside Quellcrist Falconer in the attack on Stronghold. This means that Altered Carbon: Resleeved is set in 2131, during Takeshi's time working as a mercenary. The anime takes place three years before CTAC finally caught up to Takeshi and put his stack on ice. That's 253 years before the main events of Altered Carbon season 1, and 283 years before the events of Altered Carbon season 2. However, its story has strong ties to both seasons - as an early twist reveals.
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Altered Carbon: Resleeved and Altered Carbon season 2
During one of Gena's calls to CTAC it's revealed that she is actually Reileen, wearing a new sleeve. In Altered Carbon season 1, a series of flashbacks showed how 12 year-old Takeshi offered to join CTAC in exchange for reassurance that his sister would be taken care of. Instead, young Reileen was sold to the yakuza. Upon meeting his sister again as an adult, Takeshi went AWOL from CTAC in order to protect her and the two of them ended up joining Quellcrist Falconer's crusade as Envoys. Reileen secretly betrayed the resistance after she grew jealous of Takeshi's relationship with Quell, and during the events of Altered Carbon: Resleeved Takeshi still thinks that both Quell and his sister are dead.
Altered Carbon: Resleeved also connects to season 2 of the show, in which it's revealed that Tanaseda Hideki - one of the original founders of Harlan's World - is hiding a terrible secret about the colony's origins. In that season of the show, Takeshi returns to Harlan's World and tracks down Hideki, and it's made clear that they two of them have a considerable history. Altered Carbon: Resleeved reveals that Takeshi carried out missions for Hideki in exchange for having his records on Harlan's World wiped.
Though it's a fairly self-contained story, Altered Carbon: Resleeved sheds light on a little-explored place in the show's timeline. It fleshes out Takeshi'd relationship with Hideki and shows a softer side to Reileen, who decides to spare Holly's life even after being ordered to kill her by CTAC. Overall, this spinoff is well worth watching for fans of Altered Carbon.