gee, another one? Yep. This is the third Ghost in the Shell movie, but unlike the first two, it follows the storyline(s) from the two seasons of the anime TV series, Ghost in the Shell: SAC and Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd Gig. I am just about to watch the latter season, so there are still back-story gaps for me, but suffice it to say, this is a very good movie, and I would judge it better than Ghost in the Shell: Innocence for both plot and character detail (see earlier post for that review). Both are equally beautiful animation, no issues in that dept.

The same characters from Section 9 are here again, although most get short shrift per usual. Another unusual element in this one is the comparatively minor role of the Tachikoma AI ‘tanks’ seen in other parts of the various movies and series – while they help in one major assault in the movie, they are otherwise largely ignored or left out. As in the previous movies and series, The Major, Batou, Togusa and The Chief are the main four to watch – the Chief less so this time around, however.

As these series/movies are largely detective stories, I don’t want to talk about spoilers – just watch the darn thing and enjoy it! I did.

This is the second Ghost in the Shell movie, circa 2004. It focuses mainly on two of The Major’s investigator/partners from Section 9 – Batou and Togusa, and a wide-ranging crime investigation that spans yakuza battles and pleasure robots killing their masters.

While I liked this movie, it has some similar plot elements (albeit more complex given it’s a self-contained movie/story) to a later S.A.C. episode from the TV series. And the absence of The Major means they have to flesh out the two male characters much more – which is a good thing, but I’m not sure they are completely successful. I think they paint a more sympathetic portrait of both Batou and Togusa in the later S.A.C. tv anime than here, but I may be biased, having seen that first.

One other interesting thing – I felt a strong Blade Runner influence on this film – from the noir-esque atmosphere, some of the things that happen to Batou during the investigation, and some of the philosophical commentary both Batou and Togusa make at points throughout the story (odd coming from hard-bitten cyberpunk cops, but that’s the noir element, definitely).

Still definitely worth watching, but if you haven’t seen S.A.C. – watch this first, THEN watch the first series. 🙂

Having been a huge animation fan for most of my life, over the past few years I have become interested in anime. For those of you who don’t already watch it, it’s the highly stylized, often violent and over-the-top (depending on the genre) animated art form originally from Japan (although its influence has been spreading for years). I tend to avoid most of the kiddie stuff (where grade schoolers seem to obtain super powers, enlist the help of monsters to help them solve crimes, mysteries or join up with elves, etc. to save the world) and go for more of the sci-fi, cyberpunk or borderline occult themed series. They just seem more interesting and often have better character development IMHO. And then the occasional guilty pleasure such as Initial D or Wangan Midnight, of course.

So, I saw the first Ghost In The Shell movie some time ago, and despite the main character apparently able to defy gravity with her cybernetic body, this is essentially a cyperpunk detective story at heart, and a good one. I’m not really sure what the risque content adds to the show, unless it’s just there to ‘excite the 8 year-olds’ given that it otherwise has little to no relationship to the actual plot (kind of like how Dr. Manhattan walks around au naturel in The Watchmen, but that’s a whole different set of gripes :))

There are several later movies and at least two series that grew out of the first movie – this review is of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex (the first series). This is a GREAT show – they recently started showing it on Adult Swim (which is how I picked it up, then simply rented the DVD set and watched the rest on a recent business trip).

So the series tracks an elite group of mostly cyborg cops in future Japan called Section 9, and has at least one or two long-term multi-show stories beyond the episodic crimes being solved. The central character is ‘The Major’ – the same chick from the movie – and her fellow cyborgs/detectives and their section chief, who is both an old-school cop and master politician/administrator at the same time.

Some of the great things about this show are that it never insults the intelligence of the viewer, with the possible exception of the Tachikoma characterizations (a bit too ‘little kid’) – and treats the unfolding story around The Laughing Man (elusive criminal? hacker/vigilante? Watch and judge for yourself) with extra care to draw the viewer in and keep them guessing nearly until the end.

While it would be nice to see more of the history around other members of Section 9 in more detail (they are often only seen in limited scenarios or when the whole group is briefed on something by the chief) there’s still more than enough going on here to occupy the viewer. They also don’t ‘explain everything at the end of the episode’ a la Star Trek (I love ST since forever, but this IS a fundamental flaw, for pete’s sake!), which is nice. Many things about future Japan are never explained at all, or simply mentioned once or twice to suit moving the story forward but not much else.

The animation is generally very well done, and doesn’t seem to flip between drawings and CGI the way say, Initial D does. Or they are far better at hiding it. But generally, fluid and pretty animation (kind of has to be given the level of action, explosions, and running around in most of the episodes – this IS a cop show, after all).

Reading between the lines a bit, I’d have to say the future portrayed is a bit bleak, however – if people give up their human bodies when only a toddler or young child (like The Major and at least two other main characters) how can they be expected to really relate to society later on, not having gone through those same challenges we all do as we age? This perspective seems to flip all the recent military sci-fi I’ve read on its head – instead of a person nearing the end of their human life with a worn out body (only to be transposed into a super-soldier with a brand new, young, cybernetic body) – GITS: SAC has them doing it before they’ve really even lived much at all? Interesting….

At any rate, if you like cyberpunk mixed with detective stories, this is a very entertaining and thought-provoking series. It helps to watch some of the other movies first to set the scene and learn about some of the characters, however.

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