In terms of proper feature films, there are eight Ghost in the Shell movies. Related: Ghost In The Shell: How Pilou Asbæk's Batou Loses His Eyes That said, some Ghost in the Shell installments stand out from the others. The first two films, the Ghost in the Shell: Arise OVA, and the SAC universe all have stories that stand on their own and could each serve as starting pointing in the Ghost in the Shell franchise for new audiences. Instead, there are a few different continuities that, while they feel like belonging in the same story, are actually set in slightly different universes. In the same way that Neo's rebirth at the end of 'The Matrix' marks a definite shift in the status quo of that world, Motoko's rebirth at the end of 'Ghost in the Shell' represents the beginning of something new: a way of being that is complemented by technology, rather than restricted by it.What is interesting is that there is not just one long-running Ghost in the Shell story. The very existence of a machine with its own agency, a body that works against its owner, is threatening.

While Motoko is initially presented as the hero and the Puppet Master as the villain, it eventually becomes clear that the powers that be are threatened by both. But 'Ghost in the Shell' plays a trick on the audience. At first, 'Ghost in the Shell' appears to be the exact opposite of 'The Matrix' in being staged from the perspective of the Agents rather than a human resistance force. It wears its global influences on its sleeve as proudly as 'The Matrix' does.īeyond visual homage, the greatest similarity between 'Ghost in the Shell' and 'The Matrix' may be that wire connecting the cyberpunk of the United States with the genre's evolution in Japan: the link between humans and machines. Yet 'Ghost in the Shell' was an international co-production with Manga Entertainment. Oshii continues to insist (in Brian Ruh's book 'Stray Dog of Anime') that he has 'never directed any of my animations thinking about how they might be made in the West.' His films since 'Ghost in the Shell' reflect that strong-willed artistic sensibility. That isn't to say that films like 'Ghost in the Shell' were made for global consumption, in the same way that some anime today are produced. At its worst, this process leads to racist and thoughtless art that blindly copies the aesthetics of cyberpunk without considering its structure or themes. At its best, artists produce work like 'Ghost in the Shell,' which (just like 'The Matrix') are in dialogue with their inspirations rather than subsumed by them. Classics like the novel 'Neuromancer' and the film ' Blade Runner' were inevitably brought to Japan, leading to writers, animators and directors producing their own material, which in turn further inspired artists abroad. 'Ghost in the Shell' put them all under one roof.įurthermore, one of the defining aspects of the cyberpunk genre is cross-cultural exchange.

Each of these figures was either an icon in the Japanese anime film industry, or was on their way to becoming one. Future Oshii collaborator Kazunori Ito wrote the scripts, master animator Hiroyuki Okiura designed the characters, and Kenji Kawai composed a score nearly as influential as Shoji Yamashiro's for 'Akira.' Animator Mitsuo Iso, whose scenes in 1997's 'End of Evangelion' would make him a legend, infamously prepared for the famous 'spider tank' sequence in 'Ghost in the Shell' by trapping a spider in a jar to better understand its reactions. Of course, Oshii was just the head of a convergence of Japanese anime talent. He made his name adapting the romantic comedy comic 'Urusei Yatsura' into a hugely successful anime, but in the process, took such great liberties with the source material that fans sent him razor blades in the mail. The film's director, Mamoru Oshii, is likely the one responsible. The tone of 'Ghost in the Shell' is very different from its source material, despite sharing characters and certain plot beats.

Ghost in the shell anime