Koukaku Kidoutai Arise: Ghost in the Shell - Border:2 Ghost Whispers

Not a huge fan of the first episode, but border 2 picks up the pace. We get to see the coming the together of the SAC unit. For Better or Worse border 2 feels like a classic GITS. "Ghost" and spiritual themes are brought up again but with no elaboration on those themes to add. We get a solid story vague, and a little characterization on each member of the SAC unit. But no complex characters, they are only stactic cut outs meant to serve to the overly dense plot. The plot is nothing the gits series hasn't done before along with its spiritual undertones. ... But this episode has some pulse pounding action scenes and fantastic Art Work. Camerawork and excellent production values make this a must see. I The story is easier to follow than border 1 and sets the series up nicely for Border 3 & 4. Special mention the excellent visualization of the cyberhacking scenes involving the major and the corporal. It involves optical illusions you will find yourself captivated during the final climax of the film. Border 2 does an outstanding job providing a back story to the SAC unit and its creation. It will leave you wanting to dive back in the SAC tv series or a SAC 3 if they ever make another

It's time to write a review. Ghost in the Shell Arise II: Ghost whispers. This "episode" was extremely stylized to say the least. Everything from extreme camera angles to (tasteful) use of slow motion, this episode was really some great eye candy. More and more I'm liking the new art style, and the animation is more fluid than the water in my cup.

The story, as all GitS stories, is pretty complex. A good understanding of how this universe works is a prerequisite to being able to enjoy this particular story. The story had some strong elements of the puppet master woven in, with issues ... such as self awareness and false memory being important and reoccurring the course of the story. But rather than rehash the first GitS story (the 1995 movie), Arise 2 focused more on the political plot and characters rather than the philosophical questions raised.

This is not a bad thing, however, as the main point of this story (at least as I saw it) was to assemble Kusanagi's team. The team has to be introduced somehow and this episode was where it happened. We already have back stories from 2nd GiG, but Arise 2 makes it clear that these are not the backstories that will be used in the Arise series. This is another reboot, one where Saito actually has a personality (lol). To make it clear: the 1995 movie and 2001 movie are in the same timeline, the GitS TV series is another timeline, and the Arise series is a whole other time line, and most significantly different of the 3.

This is a fresh reboot of the GitS franchise. The feel is grittyer than the series. It feels almost like comparing the new Daniel Craig Bond movies to the old Pierce Brosnan ones.

finally I must comment on the soundtrack. Cornelius is no Yoko Kanno or Kenji Kawai, but I must say...WOW really keeping up in his own way. The sound track is minimalist (no epic tracks like "Torukia" or "Kugutsuukatageroiha yomini matamuto") but fits well. Cornelius is not trying to compete with Kenji Kawai nor Yoko Kanno; and to be honest, I doubt he'd be able to win. He instead turned around and did something else, and boy is he good at it. The music really felt like part of the movie rather than an addition to the movie and helped create a holistic feel. Will I buy the OST for Arise? As of now, no. Would I rather Yoko Kanno or Kenji Kawai did the music for Arise? Surprisingly no as well! I'm happy with the sound track. More than happy actually.

Overall this episode was beautiful to look at, but stands alone in style, even compared to the first Arise episode. I personally like it less, but if you're a fan of fluid fights withs extremely stylized action sequences, this one is for you. I gave the first Arise movie a 10/10. I'll give 8.5/10 for this one. I have great expectations for the next movie.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border:2 Ghost Whispers is very similar to the first Arise episode in presentation. That is to say, it is basically a stand alone GiTS story revolving around the redesigned cast as the quirk. I don't think this Arise episode is as good as the first one, but it was good enough in my opinion.

Ghost Whispers is even more bombastic, colorful, and stylish than the first Arise episode, and much more so than the somewhat similar Stand Alone Complex. This episode is about 90% action scenes, and they are all well choreographed and look excellent with this well budgeted animation ... and cgi. It is unfortunate however, that most of the attention went to making the focus of this episode bombastic action. The GiTS franchise is not new to action obviously, but there is always an appropriate depth to the narrative that takes precedence over it. This is not so in Ghost Whispers, which features a rather simplistic tragic war hero plot with a single twist that doesn't redeem it past being made out of recycled 2nd Gig concepts. I may sound a little harsh, but that is because I have high standards not just for the GiTS series but also the Arise branch, because the first Arise was pretty cool.

We saw much more of the other members of the soon to be Section 9 in this episode of Arise, contrasting with the first episode. Batou, Paz, Borma, Ishikawa, and Saito all make appearances, basically the whole gang. Batou is still Batou basically, despite him being featured as a secondary antagonist in this episode we didn't see much about his character. Paz is kicking ass in his leather jacket, not unlike his previous iteration. Borma is still blank faced and no personality. Good old Borma. I actually like Borma alot he is a straight man just by existing it is kind of funny. Saito was crap in this film, for some reason he is a moneygrabbing Mr. Krabs. I do not like this change in direction from a previously collected, mysterious sniper into a much sillier persona. Ishikawa didn't wise crack even once, nor did he blow up a pachinko parlor, but I guess we can't get everything. This film's length didn't do justice to this redesigned cast, but we will probably see more of them in the next film. I do think however, if they didn't have so much action there would have been more time for some character dynamic. The Section 9 team is an iconic, serious, and interesting team in Stand Alone Complex, and the premise of the Arise series would imply it puts a focus on these guys.

Music is once again underwhelming. Although the intro once again is styled like a sitcom opening like last time which was funny.

The verdict I have on this episode is basically, it was a cool action packed ride but it felt like the new Appleseed movie, its all style, very little substance. It's not that Arise itself suffers from this, its just that this particular Arise episode suffers from it, which is disappointing. Great action and animation awaits you, and not much else.

This doesn't make the whole episode way better but, there is a particular scene towards the end of the movie that is a very obvious reference to the first GiTS film. I got goosebumps when I heard it, but we have no idea of its significance just yet. If you are curious about this scene be sure to check out this, above average but not as good as the first Arise episode.