Ranked #387

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

No one can ever know to understand.
They can only hope to understand.

What is life, what means reality? Why does man pursue the creation of artificial life? Where do we draw the line between human and machine? What classifies the perfect species?

Ghost in the Shell: Innocence might very well fare as a compendium of philosophy due to the manifold questions it not only brings up but most often also provides the viewer with unique - maybe obscure at times - in any way thought-provoking arguments.

The movie depicts a state of cold surreality in an eerie and sterile environment. The distinction between the organic and inorganic, between actual experience or artificial memory is of central significance.

”The imperfect nature of human perception causes the incompleteness of reality.” As we perceive the world, we create our personal reality which holds neither absoluteness nor can it be considered concrete. However, because it is a product of the mind and hence incomplete, we consider it real, our own – instead of an externally imposed artificial scenario. Yet, there’s no way to distinguish one from another. ”You’ll only ever realize later on. It’s impossible to know you’re in a dream when you’re dreaming.”
Would we want to wake up from a dream if it was so much more beautiful than that which we consider genuine, just to seek truth?
“The mirror is not a tool for realizing the truth, but for obscuring it.” And so is our consciousness. There’s no verification of the truthfulness of the impressions that affect us, the memories we have, the interpretations and conclusions we come to. We are obscuring reality to make it fit our individual creations.
They definitely dwell on this subject matter. Not least due to the creepy dolls that lurk everywhere. ”The doubt over whether that which looks alive is actually alive – on the contrary, the doubt that things without life might be alive” is something that’s continuously played with – and the transition to another intriguing theme. The definition of life - or rather human.

“When people think ‘Humans are different from robots’, it is no more profound than thinking ‘white is not black’.” Why does man try to create machines in the image of the ideal human body? None other than a cyborg makes the quite unorthodox and controversial approach to answer this by creating an analogy between children and dolls. A child playing with a doll is essentially the same as parenting. The child substitutes the doll.
The macabre intellectual argument is taken even further. The ‘content’ of a child is different than that of a human, yet it is human-shaped. Therefore parenting is closest to the creation of androids which is the intent to conquer nature that created us.
A very factual and coherent argumentation - but devoid of emotion. That is obviously where the machine is lacking. And Togusa, closest to being a human in the whole movie, reacts emotionally.

Interestingly enough, about the only time the atmosphere transcends the abstract sterility of the plot is when Batou returns home to his dog. In an absolute contrast to the usually dialogue-driven story we’re reduced to our visual perception and enjoy their reunion. While at first it may not seem special enough to be mentioned, the dog clearly stands out.
It is perhaps the most lively and intimate creature we’re presented with. Hugging Batou from behind, scratching him with his paw in eager anticipation of the food, Batou carefully putting its ears around the feeding dish and in the end sleeping in his lap – unconditional love in a setting that otherwise shows an utter absence of this emotion.

The science that explains and defines life ultimately produces fear - “…the fear that humans might merely be the sum of simple clockwork tricks and components, in other words the fear of the phenomena called ‘human’ is essentially vanity.”
Is the imitation of a human complete by putting a soul into a doll? Or is the existence of such a doll superior? The hacker Kim who has turned himself into a complete machine argues that either no consciousness or infinite consciousness makes a species complete and that can only be realized in dolls. ”If there were such a thing as a truly beautiful doll it would be flesh and blood without a soul.”

While the cyborgs might be the most complete form of existence, they are treated as inferior to man which is allegorized by the girl sacrificing the ‘life’ of dolls in order to be found. They are ignorantly treated as things despite the absence of a clear definition for life (which could disqualify them).

"You cry for bird’s blood,
but not for fish blood.
Fortunate for ones with voice.
If the dolls had voices,
They would have screamed,
‘I didn’t want to become human!’”


This is by no means shallow entertainment or easily digestible. The story moves solely by its highbrow dialogues which are in a way mentally exhausting, yet quite rewarding.

Whereas the first movie impressed with detailed hand-drawn sceneries, this time around they made heavy usage of 3D CG. Although it was flawlessly executed and did not necessarily feel out of place, I could have lived with less of it. The love for detail remains nevertheless and it certainly adds to the somewhat sterile - almost clinical - atmosphere of the futuristic setting. Highly recommended.
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Although a slighty confusing and very philosophical story, it flows very well and comes together seamlessly in the end. The animation was beautiful, fluid and lifelike. The CG blended well and made each frame stand out. An awesome soundtrack that set the mood very well. There was gradual character development but it just seemed to fill in where the first movie left off. Overall a very good anime but not a very accessible one. The story was very cryptic at times with a very serious undertone that require concentration. Not as much action but what it lacks makes up in atmosphere and detail. Watch if you feel up for a strongly scripted movie which may leave you pondering the many issues it brings up. read more