Ranked #293

Ghost in the Shell 2.0

They introduced a topnotch 3D CGI tech to the legendary anime, so there's no question about its quality. But viewers may feel uncomfortable with the discontinuity between the new full 3D CG and the original 2D scenes.

Story
It's basically the same as the original one, but the change of Puppet Master's sex brought about slight changes in the voice actings and the atmosphere. Batou didn't show so much jealousy over the relationship between Motoko and the Puppet Master, and the fusion of the two gave a pure impression rather than a sexual association.

Art
There are two full 3D CGI scenes, something similar to the OP animation of the S.A.C1. The quality of the two scenes were awesome in the descriptions of the optical camouflage, air bubbles, reflections in the water etc. etc. But nothing buffered between the neighboring 3D and 2D scenes. You see 3D CG Motoko in a scene and the next moment Motoko is now in 2D animation. I understanding these discontinuities that Director Oshii wanted to show us his partial idea about how ideal GiS looks like.

Sound
SkyWalker sound studio did a terrific job in the sound effects. They were particular about the differences in gun shot sounds. Each gun sounded distinctively different. The sound of Motoko's cyborg body torn up was so real that it gave me goosebumps.

Character
No need to mention the greatness of Motoko, Batou, and Togusa. I focus on Sakakibara Yoshiko as Puppet Master. I think this casting has a good and bad point. Compared to the original actor Kayumi Iemasa, Sakakibara's acting didn't give me much mysteriousness of the character. (Kayumi's low tone acting was perfect for giving an enigmatic impression.) Good thing was it got easier to grasp the idea of the Puppet Master's line "We are mirror images to each other." because Sakakibara's voice resembled Tanaka Atsuko's one in this movie.

Enjoyment
Before I watched this, I tried to memorize the contents of the original one as much as possible. It was so much fun to find changes in the lines and drawings. If you are fun of GiS 1.0, I strongly recommend to watch this remake. You will have a deeper understanding of this legendary title. read more

I'll only go into revisional details assuming you haven't ever watched GITS and checking out which version to watch.

The major difference in 2.0 is the un-matrix-isation of it. GITS was a green movie, in revision it is shifted to a red hue. This makes it way more colorful than intented and a bit disrespectful to Oshii. The introduction sequence is mostly redesigned with 3D additions, it's quite good and gives the impression this will be a complete revision of the original (which is not the case). The credits Matrix copied over is completely taken out.

Lack of transition between newly introduced 3D with the old 2D is extremely uneven and confusing to the audience. There are some panoramic sequences of the city very similar to GITS: Innocence, they manage to fit in, but character 3D ruins it.

I didn't notice any difference plotwise, so if any is present it should be minor. My dvd copy of the original has lots of artifacts, especially in the dark scenes. They did a good job digitally cleaning the film on 2.0.

Overall this renewal feels clumsy and makes GITS more generic than it is. Only a blu-ray renewal should have been more than enough. If this'll be your first time with GITS I strongly advise watching the original first. If you are checking it for a rewatch there is no harm with trying 2.0. read more