Koukaku Kidoutai 2: Manmachine Interface
The Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface

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It took me 22 years and multiple reads before I felt as if I "got" the original Ghost in the Shell, and maybe that'll be the case with it's sequel. But right now, after reading it for the very first time, my initial impression is simply utter confusion.

The dialogue is dense with technical, political, economic and philosophical jargon. Frankly, I found it impossible to tell what's going on in the story at any given moment. If figuring out Motoko's motivation for going someplace or doing something is that difficult, I can forget about wrapping my head around the overarching plot. The author's notes that frequently ... pop up in the margins help a little bit, but they're an inelegant solution at best.

For a series known for its badass weapons, shootouts and fight scenes, there's disappointingly little action to be found here. Most "action" scenes simply feature Motoko's naked, ephemeral body floating through cyberspace while she barks out orders about viruses, mazes and attack barriers. And this goes on for page after page. If the artist wanted to create a visual depiction of hacker battles in the year 2035, he succeeded, but the end result isn't very exciting or compelling.

Masamune's art still holds up wonderfully today, but with the gift of hindsight, I will admit that his anatomy is a tad wonky; Rob Liefeld-esque waistlines abound and so many panels are perfectly framed to capture a butt or crotch. Take that however you will. Masamune was clearly one of the earlier adopters of computers in the manga-making process, so you'll see a lot of CG models and coloring. Some of it works, but the rare black-and-white pages are more of a treat.

I'm not a huge Ghost in the Shell fan, but I've always been curious enough to dabble in the series here and there. And in my limited experience, this is one of the weaker entries. It has its strong points, but it'll probably be a few years before I attempt to decipher it again.

Before I get into this let me preface by saying I'm still analyzing the first Ghost in the Shell and don't feel I 100% get it. However, even when I couldn't quite follow it I was able to feel it and see the vision. This time, I really had no idea what the fuck I was reading. The characters, the world and the plot, beyond the general scenario, were very much lost on me. So why did I give this a 7? To be honest I'm likely to lower it to 6. What I really like though is the art. It's not as refined as ... the original, but it's so cool to look that. Especially the scenes in the AI world. This is a hard work to review as I have only read it once and this installment adds to the popular notion that this franchise needs several revisits to take in everything. As it stands this is what my idea of a stoner manga looks like. Overly complicated plot with a bunch of sci-fi mumbo jumbo dialogue but highly stylistic with unique art to trip out to and doesn't take too long to read.