Ranked #175

Ghost in the Shell

I just want to start off by saying that "Ghost In The Shell" loves to asks it's audience questions. What is it that makes us human? Is it the soul (refered to as 'ghosts' in this film)? Or is it flesh and bone? What happens when your memories can be erased and replaced like music on your iPod? If your body is entirely mechanical, can you still call yourself human? If your consciousness is active, yet your body is nowhere to be found, do you still exist?

Okay, I'm giving myself a headache. Let's get to the review.

Story
Cyborg cops battle an anonymous super-hacker who takes control of people's computerized brains and forces them to do his bidding. It's a wicked sci-fi thriller, yet it's also so much more. Not only is it a refreshingly original take on the standard Cops vs Criminals plot, but it manages to do it in such an intelligent manner. At it's core, the movie asks the audience "What is it that makes us Human?" Although it never truly finds an answer (can anyone?), it gets closer to it than any other film has yet dared to go. The best part is, with all the philosphical, existentialist and technical chatter, it never really tries to beat the audience over the head with it. Many of the "big questions" are handled in subtle ways that keep the pace of the film going, while still making the audience think. "Ghost In The Shell" is cyberpunk at it's best.

Art
GitS came out in 1995 and still the visuals can compete with current animation standards. This film has aged extremely well. The action is wicked, every scene is full of atmosphere thanks to well detailed backgrounds, and the limited CGI is well integrated, even in such an early stage of CG animation. Yet the most astonishing part of the art is not the quality of the animation, or the artwork. It's the level of thought and polish that went into creating the look and feel of this film. As an exemple: There is a scene where the heroine, Motoko, is fighting a criminal while wearing a suit that makes her invisible. Even though she is invisble, we can still see her shadow. This is because her invisbility is only an optical illusion. There is still a solid mass blocking the light. It's little details like this one that make the visuals so incredible and, more importantly, believable.

Sound
The sounds of the film remain on the same high level as the art. Gunfire, ricochets, explosions, and even all the little computer noises are crisp and well implemented. The music is also quite fitting and original ('Making of a Cyborg', played during the opening credits, is one example). My only gripe is the voice actors are not at their best in this film (of course I mean the english cast). I greatly dislike Motoko's voice (Mimi Woods) and would much prefer Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who voiced her in pretty much every other GitS project. The rest of the cast is the same as it is in current GitS projects, but you can tell they weren't as skilled as they are today. Still, they are quite good and it by no means ruins the film.

Character
Though all the characters had aspects that made them interesting, Motoko is really the star of the show here and is the only character who developped over the course of the film. Of course, the direction in which her character went more than makes up for this fact. Throughout the whole film she is struggling with the thought of losing her humanity due to being a cyborg, and it all leads up to an incredible finale that just leaves you in awe.

Enjoyment
Now, I'm giving it a 10 for enjoyment, but with an asterix. I personally loved this movie to death due to just how intelligent it is. Unfortunately, it is not an easy film to get into. Very little time is taken to explain how the GitS universe works. For example: The opening scene has Motoko speaking telepathically with Batou, who's nowhere to be scene. The film never really takes the time to explain how this is done, but you do manage to draw your own conclusions once you get your first glimpse of a cyberbrain. Unfortunately, much of the film relies on just how quickly the audience can put together the little details of the world and storyline. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can make things needlessly complicated and actually alienate viewers who may not have the patience to put together the pieces of this techno-puzzle. Luckily, the principle story is simple enough, and the action is good enough so that viewers can still have fun with it. Basically, it can leave you feeling pretty stupid, but you still pat yourself on the back for seeing it through to the end. And don't be surprised if you want to watch it a second time.

Overall
With great action and an intelligent narative, "Ghost In The Shell" is a classic. It inspired "The Matrix", and anyone who has seen that film will know how great of a compliment that is. If you're into philosophical discussions about the soul and the consequences of technological evolution, see this film. If you just want to see a bunch of cyborg cops shooting stuff up, see this film. You will not be disapointed. read more

Ah...Ghost In The Shell. I'm writing this JUST after finishing it. If you watched the original Matrix and went "Holy Jesus this is the most amazing movie i've ever seen IN MY LIFE" then Ghost in the Shell will dropkick you in the face. Seriously.

Story: This is the kind of stuff that university essay could be written about. I'm going to have to watch this again just to completely understand everything about this movie. Now, just so you understand, the storyline isn't amazing. But the science and the mythology this anime is based on is so incredible. I believe, according to a few sources, that if you took all the footnotes in the manga they total to over 30 pages. Or was it 200? The point is that the science that's used in this movie is absolutely amazing.

Art: The art is old. The art is...Akira old. It's very old, but the details that are in it are incredibly amazing. The art is old but it doesn't seem stale. It's that good kind of old....classic. They used some really cool effects in here...especially when some people turned invisible. Oh..major plot hole if anyone notices...there's a guy who turns invisible...with all of his clothes on. Whereas the girl....needs to strip naked...which she does QUITE often. The nudity in this is tastefully done...it's not like Elfen Lied (no offense) where Nyu shows her boobs every couple of scenes.

Sound: Oldschool.....classic.

Character: There is major character development for two characters. Batou and the Major. No one else really gets developed too much. Sometimes they'd show you a character who did one thing and then you'd never see them again ever. I'm not complaining too much, it never bugged me at all. But you do get a real sense of humanity from these characters...that's a funny thing to say though, if you watch the anime you'll figure out why.

Enjoyment: I guarantee that almost anyone who enjoys anime will also enjoy this. Anyone who liked the Matrix will enjoy this. It's an incredibly amazing anime, it's deep, it's slightly frightening. The single thing that this anime does not have is comic relief...never once did I laugh. Never once did I actually want to laugh. This movie is so serious that if any attempt was made at making it slightly funny the attempt would surely fail.

Seriously, go...watch this anime right now, and I promise...that you will not be disappointed. read more

So I finally saw this movie. I've seen both seasons of Stand Alone Complex, Solid State Society, and Innocence, but I hadn't seen the original until now. And you know what? I'm kind of disappointed.

STORY - The central plot and concept is fine. As a cyberpunk fan, I think the human/machine divide is a fascinating topic that should be touched on more often and that Ghost in the Shell treats the subject well for the most part. Unfortunately, the storytelling and pacing in the movie is downright terrible. Sure, the movie's more than a decade old by now, but storytelling isn't really something that changes with time -- people have been telling stories for as long as they've existed, so I won't buy age as an excuse for all the awkward silences, scenes that were way too long, and scene transitions that didn't make sense. The political mishaps felt a little haphazard and garbled, but that wasn't really the important part so I didn't care all that much.

The important part was Kusanagi's story and inner conflict, which was allowed one dream-like underwater scene followed by an oddly tension-filled conversation that ended abruptly without explanation. It wasn't obvious enough to me that she was deeply disturbed by the prospect of her ghost having artificial origins, and it annoyed me a little that they never directly explained what a ghost was even though I guess most people would be able to deduce it from context clues. Instead of putting in more scenes that fleshed out the characters or even the political situation they were in, we got five minute montages of the futuristic cityscape that contributed little more than eyecandy. I like eyecandy as much as the next person, and I love city backgrounds in particular, but I don't want my story sacrificed for it.

CHARACTER - Motoko Kusanagi should be a multi-faceted and complex character. She should be a capable leader with strong relationships with her team members, and despite her strong and independent exterior, she should be questioning her place in society, her origins, and her future. Those are the things that the Major should be, but I only got vague impressions of all of those points in this movie. I really felt like there could have been so much more to it if they had only spent more time on developing her character instead of whatever else they were doing. Her intelligence didn't seem as important as her strength, and her relationship with Batou didn't feel particularly natural or realistic. It was very frustrating to watch.

And if Kusanagi wasn't fleshed out, then of course Batou (or as the credits seem to say, "Bateau"?) hardly was. We saw very little of him on his own, which I guess makes sense in that the movie isn't about him, but I feel like his relationship with the Major is important enough to warrant a bit more attention, y'know? I felt like we needed more of his opinions on technology, cybernetics, and I dunno... the theme of the movie? But he was just a flat support character. Why did he care so much about Kusanagi? Beats me! Aramaki and Togusa are even further down the chain -- very little elaboration beyond their positions in Section 9. What did either of them think about the human/machine divide? Who knows?

ARTSTYLE & ANIMATION - Cityscapes and waterscapes? Drop dead gorgeous. Interior building and laboratory designs? Nice. Gigantic machines and implementations of future technology? Wonderfully detailed. Weapons and vehicle design? Kickass. Oh, did I mention that all the action is excellent? The environment in Ghost in the Shell is really amazing looking, and it seems obvious to me that that's where they spent most of their time and energy in this movie. The character animation was pretty standard, but I did notice a lot of stillframes. It's a cheap trick to have digital thought communication and not animate lips moving, but I usually buy that. But here, in addition to that, there was also an over-abundance of panning shots, closeups, and other corner-cutting tactics.

It also really bothered me that Kusanagi's eyes seemed utterly lifeless and inexpressive the entire movie. Yes, she's a cyborg, but the point is to retain as many human qualities as possible -- even Batou seemed more expressive than she did and he doesn't even have (human-like) eyes.

MUSIC - I really love Kenji Kawai's work, so it's no surprise that I really like the music in Ghost in the Shell. Chanting and traditional Japanese instruments juxtaposed with a future teeming with technology just has an eerie quality to it. Since I did see Innocence before this original movie, I thought a lot of it seemed really similar, which I guess is a good thing? It's nice to see parallels between related things, even if it's just as simple as the music.

VOICE ACTING - Oh, god. I saw this dubbed. No one but Mary Elizabeth McGlynn should ever voice Motoko Kusanagi. In comparison, Mimi Woods's portral is bland, stereotypical, and just too... girlish? It was utterly bizarre for me to hear certain inflections in her speech, and after a while, I just tried to imagine everything Kusanagi said in McGlynn's voice instead (with only minimal success). Naturally, having seen all the other incarnations of Ghost in the Shell dubbed before I saw this movie makes me biased against Woods because I like McGlynn's portral so much -- would I have liked it better if I had actually seen this first? I really can't know.

Thankfully, both Batou and Aramaki had their SAC/Innocence voice actors already for the original movie. I haven't written a review for SAC, but it's worth mentioning that I think it's one of the best English dubs ever. All of those voices just fit so nicely. Their emotions and most of all, their personalities, are portrayed perfectly, and it's really great listening to them. Like Kusanagi, Togusa also had a different voice actor here, but while it still isn't up to par with his SAC/Innocence voice actor, it's not that bad.

OVERALL - Despite all the disappointments, I still think Ghost in the Shell has merit as a classic. Even though the storytelling was poor and the characters underdeveloped, the core theme of the movie wasn't lost. It took a while to get there, but the Puppetmaster's dialogue did clearly present the topic of a human mind with mechanical origins, and Kusanagi's actions did eventually reveal her inner turmoil over that idea. That idea is probably the only thing worth taking away from the movie though... and maybe some of those pretty backgrounds too. If you're like me and have seen everything related to Ghost in the Shell except for this movie, I'd go ahead and see it just for the sake of seeing. If you've not seen anything else Ghost in the Shell and are just curious, I'd recommend Stand Alone Complex first. You can dig up the history after you decide you like the series. :P read more

Set in the early 21st Century Ghost in the shell (also referred to it as GITS) is set in Tokyo in a period where human and machine integration has been reached on a physical and conscious level, and a time where the world is plagued by cyber-terrorism. The Japanese government creates a security section to deal with such matters. This section is known as public security section nine, a group of counter cyber-terrorists who deal with various issues from artificial body theft to ghost hacking. (A term when someone hacks into someone's ghost. Easiest way to describe it is it's kinda like possession and the hacker can also rearrange people's memories. (If their skilled enough.)

The plot of the film revolves around a case involving a international ghost hacker/terrorist codenamed "The Puppetmaster". Motoko Kusunagi and her fellow section nine agents are assigned onto the investigation after a diplomats interpreter is ghost hacked and the word is "The Puppetmaster" is involved.

GITS is a wonderfully made movie. The action scenes are awesome, the storyline is full of plot twists and is quite compelling. The artwork is incredible, and the performances of the vocal actors are to be commended. Some may find the music annoying but I loved it. In retrospect it's a great anime. One definitely worth a look and a must for anime collectors and otakus alike. I give it 10/10. read more

Intro
This anime was okay to the extent I will watch number 2 and the series sooner or later. Probabaly watch innosence tomrorow. I just finished number 1... This wasn't the best film and I will explain why...


Story
This wasn't the easiest of anime to get into, maybe the actual series has a better story line. I'm still kinda thinking what the point of it was..futuristic cyber robot hacker...and the cyborgs seem to be controlled by ghosts...hich i beleive ghost is refering to some sort of program that is realistic and human-like...sinc eit's a program it's hackable and their actions get contolled or information leaked or something...it's all done for political reasons anyway...If your the whole cop investigation person this would be a great story line for you...it was okay.

Animation
Animation was nice, well draw and designed, nice effects and touchs to make it look pretty :]

Sound
Sound was pretty cool, seemed quiet oriental-ish, if thats the right word, went well with the movie though.

Characters
Characters we're very unique with their own traits, quite dark and serious like...how you'd expect a strict cop to be...mature.

Enjoyment
I thought some parts of the movie was cool but I cant say I enjoyed every second of it, and I doubt I would watch it again, maybe. read more

I wasn't too bothered about this film until I actually got round to seeing the original japanese version, having previously only seen the sub-par english dub. It made all the difference. This is sci-fi done as it should be. Lots of ethical and philosophical musings on the advances mankind is making in the fields of science and technology tied up in a compelling, though admittedly very complex, plot concerning the hunt for a mystery cyber terorrist.

It looks great. The film is over a decade old now but it's visuals still hold up. The soundtrack is wonderfully atmospheric, there's terrific action, and generally there's a great deal of substance and intelligence behind it all.

As far as influence goes without Ghost in the Shell there probably wouldn't have been The Matrix either. read more

In the year 2029, the machines are integrated into society. This time, "some" humans, taking advantage of this technology have transformed their bodies into machines perfect. Crime is no longer so threatening. What really frightens the population are hackers. Cybercrime is the real chaos. And they have as many or more knowledgeable than the police, who can not stop them efficiently.

To combat them, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs created a project known as "2501" or "Puppet Master", which is a kind of "agent" (program) can invade, loot and leave, in milliseconds of seconds, any system without a trace. But a great mistake was made ... they gave this "agent" a human capacity: assimilate knowledge. In very simplistic terms: a program that could be smart. And over time, this "agent" itself called a living being, and for this reason want to be "outside", ie, exit the program and enter the real world. The Internal Bureau of Investigation ( "IBI" - an entity created after World War III, consisting of several countries in order to avoid new wars), vaguely suspicious of the involvement of the Japanese government with a highly skilled hacker, known only by the codename of "Puppet Master". The leakage of personal information could end up with the government of Japan The Ministry must retrieve the "agent", but this became too clever, and begins to blackmail them with the information they have even threatened to report their own existence. The plot of Ghost in the Shell is ready.

Here comes into play, to help capture the Puppet Master, Major Motoko Kusanagi, a member of a special unit of the Japanese police (Section 9), trained to fight in highly dangerous. And along with her partners: Boat, another cyborg, an ice cube when it comes to emotions, and extremely loyal companion, is also part of the official team Togusa, the only human to join this group. Indeed, even the Major says, "perfect machines are predictable, you need someone who is not so perfect, so the group has become perfect" (will that this was some kind of compliment to the officer bramzkey? Who knows ?!?!?! ). Talking more about the characters and their involvement with the Master of Puppets would with any expectation of those who have not watched this beautiful "movie".

This anime-movie "was taken to the Australian public with the name of" The Phantom of the Future "and came from a manga by Masamune Shirow created by and released between the years 1989 and 1990 (but there are some differences between anime and manga), and is one of the few works that can be found in rental stores in Brazil. The version of the movie was produced in 1995 by GI Studios and run independently by the genial Mamoru Oshii (the same as Jin-Roh and Patlabor - two gems of animation!), In collaboration with a team of weight: the musical director Kenji Kawai (Patlabor, Patlabor 2, Devilman, Vampire Princess Miyu, Ranma 1 / 2, Maison Ikkoku), the artistic director Hiromasa Ogura (Patlabor, Patlabor 2, Wings of Honneamise, Appleseed, Ninja Scroll, Giant Robo, Nadia) , mechanical design, headed by Shoji Kawamori (director of Macross, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Macross 7, Moldiver TV, Gundam, Dangaioh), in charge of animation Toshihiko Nishikubo (co-director of Patlabor 2 and supervisor in Shurato ), and the production of over Yoshimasa Mizuo / Ken Iyadomi (the same as "Akira" ... need more? ^__^), and many others.

And it has emerged Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, with 52 episodes, produced by the IG in 2002, and this story takes place in a parallel universe, where Major Kusanagi never meets the Puppet Master. As a final consideration: If you liked the "movie" or have been filled with questions, I suggest you read the manga. It is quite interesting and explains a lot about history. Even parts that were censored, to exhibit some "lesbianism" as a possibility explicit cartoons, and other things that, say, engage in religious conflict, and the constant comparisons with God (at the time of man's creation or perfection of God ). More information is, the "Kyo", used as the name of one of the characters has a mythological reference: Kusanagi is the name of the second set of Orochi sword (Kusanagi no Tsurugi), which was presented to the grandson of the goddess Amaterasu (the sun goddess ) ninija. This, in turn, became the grandfather of Emperor Jinmu, the First Emperor of Japan

Open your minds to watch Ghost in the Shell, and will understand it right away. Otherwise, they will watch it 10, 20 times and not find any sense.

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No ano de 2029, as máquinas estão integradas à sociedade. Nessa época, "alguns" seres humanos, aproveitando-se dessa tecnologia, transformaram seus corpos em máquinas perfeitas. A criminalidade já não existe de forma tão ameaçadora. O que realmente apavora a população são os "hackers". Crimes virtuais são o verdadeiro caos. E eles possuem tantos ou mais conhecimentos que a própria polícia, que não consegue impedi-los de forma eficiente.

Para combatê-los, o Ministério das Relações Exteriores criou um projeto conhecido como "2501" ou "Puppet Master" (Mestre das Marionetes), que é um tipo de "agente" (programa) capaz de invadir, saquear e abandonar, em milésimos de segundos, qualquer sistema sem deixar rastros. Mas um grande erro foi cometido... eles deram a esse "agente" uma capacidade humana: assimilar conhecimentos. Em termos bem simplórios: um programa que poderia ficar inteligente. E com o tempo, esse "agente" se auto-denominou um ser vivo, e por este motivo quer estar "fora", isto é, sair do programa e adentrar ao mundo real. O Internal Bureau of Investigation ("IBI" - uma entidade criada após a Terceira Guerra Mundial, composta por vários países, com o objetivo de evitar novas guerras), desconfia vagamente do envolvimento do governo japonês com um hacker extremamente habilidoso, conhecido apenas pelo codinome de "Puppet Master". O vazamento dessas informações poderiam acabar com o governo do Japão. O Ministério tem que recuperar o "agente", mas este tornou-se inteligente demais, e começa a chantageá-los com as informações que conseguiu, inclusive ameaçando denunciar a sua própria existência. A trama de Ghost in the Shell está pronta.

Aqui entra em cena, para ajudar a capturar o Puppet Master, a Major Motoko Kusanagi, membro de uma unidade especial da polícia japonesa (Seção 9), treinada para combate em situações altamente perigosas. E, juntamente com ela, seus parceiros: Bateau, outro ciborgue, uma pedra de gelo quando se trata de emoções, extremamente leal e companheiro; também faz parte da equipe o oficial Togusa, o único humano a fazer parte deste grupo. Como a própria Major diz: "máquinas perfeitas são previsíveis, é necessário alguém que não seja tão perfeito, para que o grupo se torne perfeito" (será que isso era algum tipo de elogio ao oficial Togusa? Vai saber?!?!?!). Falar mais sobre os personagens e seu envolvimento com o Mestre das Marionetes acabaria com qualquer expectativa daqueles que ainda não assistiram a este belíssimo "movie".

Este "anime-movie" foi levado ao público brasileiro com o nome de "O Fantasma do Futuro", e surgiu de um mangá homônimo criado por Masamune Shirow e lançado entre os anos de 1989 e 1990 (mas existem algumas diferenças entre o anime e o mangá), além de ser uma das poucas obras que podem ser encontradas em locadoras brasileiras. A versão do "movie" foi produzida em 1995 pelos Studios I.G e dirigida, de forma independente, pelo genial Oshii Mamoru (o mesmo de Jin-Roh e Patlabor - duas jóias da animação!), com colaboração de uma equipe de peso: o diretor musical Kenji Kawai (Patlabor, Patlabor 2, Devilman, Vampire Princess Miyu, Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku); o diretor artístico Hiromasa Ogura (Patlabor, Patlabor 2, Wings of Honneamise, Appleseed, Ninja Scroll, Giant Robo, Nadia); projeto mecânico, a cargo de Shoji Kawamori (diretor de Macross, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Macross 7, Moldiver Tv, Gundam, Dangaioh); animação a cargo de Toshihiko Nishikubo (co-diretor em Patlabor 2 e supervisor em Shurato); e a produção a cargo de Yoshimasa Mizuo / Ken Iyadomi (os mesmos de "Akira"... precisa mais?? ^__^), além de muitos outros.

E dele surgiu ainda Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, com 52 episódios, produzidos pela IG em 2002, e esta história transcorre num universo paralelo, onde a Major Kusanagi jamais se encontra com o Puppet Master. Como uma consideração final: se não gostaram do "movie" ou ficaram cheios de perguntas, sugiro que leiam o mangá. É bastante interessante e esclarece muito sobre a história. Inclusive partes que foram censuradas, por exibir um certo "lesbianismo" explícito como uma possibilidade cibernética; e outras coisas que, digamos, entrariam em confronto religioso, como as constantes comparações com Deus (na hora da criação do homem ou atingir a perfeição de Deus). Mais uma informação: o "Kusanagi", usado como nome de um dos personagens, tem uma referência mitológica: Kusanagi é o segundo nome da espada retirada de Orochi (Kusanagi no Tsurugi), que foi presenteada ao neto da deusa Amaterasu (Deusa do Sol), Niniji. Este, por sua vez, se tornou o avô do Imperador Jinmu, o Primeiro Imperador do Japão.

Abram suas mentes ao assistir a Ghost in the Shell, e irão entendê-lo logo de cara. Do contrário, irão assisti-lo 10, 20 vezes e não encontrarão sentido algum.

Catia Nunes - Animehaus read more

Probably the first or second anime I saw. As a little kid, me and my brother randomly walked into this at a Chicago Comicon, probably '95 or something. We were simply stunned. Hadn't seen anything like it before. It's still stunning today. The complex plot and characters take multiple viewings until they really start unraveling. I need to watch this again very soon, actually....