Koukaku Kidoutai (Ghost in the Shell)

In the year 2029, Niihama City has become a technologically advanced metropolis. Due to great improvements in cybernetics, its citizens are able to replace their limbs with robotic parts. The world is now more interconnected than ever before, and the city's Public Security Section 9 is responsible for combating corruption, terrorism, and other dangerous threats following this shift toward globalization.

The strong-willed Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 spearheads a case involving a mysterious hacker known only as the "Puppet Master," who leaves a trail of victims stripped of their memories. Like many in this futuristic world, the Puppet Master's body is almost entirely robotic, giving them incredible power.

As Motoko and her subordinates follow the enigmatic criminal's trail, other parties—including Section 6—start to get involved, forcing her to confront the extremely complicated nature of the case. Pondering about various philosophical questions, such as her own life's meaning, Motoko soon realizes that the one who will provide these answers is none other than the Puppet Master themself.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell was the first film to adapt Masamune Shirow's manga of the same name. It heavily condenses the original storyline, reducing the original material's comic relief and sexual content in favor of a more serious tone and changing the setting from Japan to a city modelled after Hong Kong. The artwork within the animated film was produced using an innovative mix of cel animation and digital effects.

Ghost in the Shell is one of the world's most famous Japanese animated films, being the first to reach #1 on Billboard magazine's video best-seller list, and also served as a major inspiration for the Wachowskis in their creation of the Matrix movies. A special edition titled Ghost in the Shell: 2.0 was released in 2008, which features scenes reanimated with additional CGI to match the style of the 2004's sequel, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence.

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Adaptation:	Koukaku Kidoutai: The Ghost in the Shell
Alternative setting:	Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex, Koukaku Kidoutai: Shin Movie, Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045
Sequel:	Innocence
Alternative version:	Koukaku Kidoutai 2.0

Genda, Tesshou
Japanese

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Staff

Ishikawa, Mitsuhisa

Producer

Watanabe, Shigeru

Producer

Oshii, Mamoru

Director, Storyboard

Wakabayashi, Kazuhiro

Sound Director

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Opening Theme

"Making of a Cyborg" Kenji Kawai

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Ending Theme

Reincarnation by Kenji Kawai

Reviews

Jul 6, 2008

Firestorm2117

Recommended

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.

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Apr 13, 2014

iSuckAtWriting

Mixed Feelings

“If you don’t know where you’re from, then you don’t know where you are, and you don’t know where you’re going.” It’s a clichéd if truthful saying, especially for this film. Well, sort of. This film knows where it’s going, but it doesn’t know how to get there, it doesn’t know where it is, and it doesn’t know where it’s from. This film is a voice pining to speak, but it studders at every word.

So where does this leave Ghost in the Shell? Read on to find out.

In the year 2029, cybernetic technology has strengthened the human body and connected the human mind. Barriers have ... been broken as people can access the Internet with just their body alone. But with this new tech, comes cyber criminals looking to exploit it, and Section 9, a group tasked with stopping cyber criminals. One criminal, the Puppet Master, is skilled enough to hack the human mind. As Section 9 works to track him down, his very existence will challenge the idea of what it means to be human.

This is because almost every member of Section 9 is cybernetically enhanced. They’re basically super soldiers, with abilities far beyond even what most civilians can do. But at the same time, they’re just as vulnerable as anyone else. If a cybernetically enhanced person is hacked, their memories can be deleted or they can be fooled into believing a false life. Even then, their bodies need maintenance, and a system failure on that end would mean going back to their old shells or returning to dust. The story is basically used to explore what it means to be human.

But Ghost in the Shell explores these themes with as much discipline as an undisciplined soldier. Sometimes the themes are used believably, like with Motoko or Togusa’s dialog with the captured criminals after the garbage truck chase scene. Or Section 9’s dialog in Daisuke’s office about something they discovered. These scenes are believable because it raises the questions the film wants to ask, without letting them become heavy, so the plot still moves forward.

At other times, the theme use is cringeworthy. The last dialog from the Puppet Master shows an evolutionary tree several times, with the most roundabout way of saying “I want to evolve.” Or the boatside dialog between Motoko and Batou, where the former switches from soldier to philosopher at the drop of a hat, with deep water metaphors abound. There is actually a point where the second scene takes Batou’s point of view, giving the effect of Motoko talking to the viewer. Seriously.

Seriously. The film wants to be thought provoking, but doesn’t know how to express itself. At some points it expresses itself quietly, letting scarce dialog and a lot of plot progress imply questions for its viewers. At other times, the questions are loudly overplayed, hitting viewers over the head and grinding the plot to a halt. The story itself, for all the international conspiracy it involves, is underplayed. But that’s not a problem, since it’s just a vehicle for the themes the film tries to convey.

Too bad then, that said vehicle breaks down several times throughout the film. For minutes on end, the plot is road blocked by scenes of Motoko being cybernetically enhanced, random scenes of the city, and scenes of the military getting ready. But only the military scenes resemble story progress. The city scenes don’t progress the story, and Motoko’s scene would have worked as part of her background, but becomes pointless when later scenes explain it anyway. Time spent on these montages should have been used smoothing out character progress.

Most of the characters themselves have the same personality (military badass), making them hard to tell apart. Some background can help to tell them apart, but most of them are undeveloped on that end too, or share the same background anyway (“we’re all cybernetically enhanced”). This only leaves character progress to save its cast, but the result is like a failed military mission. And the one who takes the most casualties from this is Motoko.

Motoko has the most progress in the film, but it comes in chunks and lacks sincerity. Spending most of the film being a military badass, peppered with scenes FILLED with philosophical rambling, or worry over Section 9’s discovery, simply doesn’t compute. It lacks a middle ground to bridge the opposite sides of her personality, so it’s hard to believe her as the same person. Character progress should be steady, not sudden. The only one with steady progress is Batou.

Batou starts as a military badass, whose humanity slowly shows itself as the film goes on. During the boatside dialog, the viewer can get a sense of why Batou tagged along with Motoko when she’s changing out of her swimwear. During the dialog in Daisuke’s office, Batou casually tells Togusa why a recent discovery is a sore spot for Section 9. And during the last scenes, Batou’s emotions finally boil over in the end confrontation with the Puppet Master.

And speaking of confrontation, there’s the actions scenes in the film, and by extension, the film’s aesthetics. The animation is fluid, but the art design itself is grimy and imperfect. There’s a sense that every street in the city has been lived in, that characters have worn out their outfits, that colors lack any life to them. It’s not pretty, but then again, a crime that can invade the mind itself wouldn’t be pretty. The visuals have an organic look despite the high-tech setting and being computer generated, making them more impressive.

The action scenes themselves are quiet, forgoing actual music in favor of bone-crunching sound effects. The ground crunches when Motoko drops from a large height, and gun shots are the only melody during action-packed symphonies. Some of the scenes, like a criminal’s leg being twisted, or the snapping of Motoko’s arms when she’s trying to open an army tank, can be hard to watch. But that just goes with the gritty feel the film tries—and succeeds—to give.

There IS actual music, a haunting, choir-like piece. But it’s used in the montages that do almost nothing for the story, making for a nice but pointless soundtrack. Time spent on those montages should have been used to smooth out character progress. Even then, the story’s themes are believably used one moment, then without subtlety the next moment. Some viewers may wish the Puppet Master would delete their memories of wasting 82 minutes gawking at aesthetic wonders.

Now, to say Ghost in the Shell is enjoyable with the viewer’s brain turned off, watching it for the underplayed story, and being wowed by the aesthetics is a reasonable stance. But that would be ignoring everything else the film tries to do, and for something trying to be thought provoking, it’s inexcusable. This film may be a smart Ghost, but the voice it leaves behind is only a Shell of what it could be.

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Aug 14, 2012

FoxOp

Not Recommended

This movie is great, if you want to watch fucking nothing happen for over an hour. I kept thinking, "when does the action start?", but it never did. The plot is a trainwreck; trying to connect a series of non sequiturs does not make for something interesting. The art was -OK- for a film from the 90s but I personally did not like the style. Music plays an important role in setting the mood for any presentation but you do not get that with this movie. Instead, you get a bunch of wailing that you're expected to enjoy. Other than that, sound effects were nothing ...

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