Writer: Kazunori Ito (Screenplay) Masamune Shirow (Comic)
Starring: (Voice Talents) Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Koichi Yamadera, Tamio Oki, Tessho Genda
Plot: A female cyborg cop and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: What Happened?
Story: Ghost in the Shell starts when Motoko Kusanagi a cyborg cop who along with her partner Togusa who are trying to track down a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master. The Puppet Master is trying to hack into the government computers by using the Ghosts in the cyborgs.
We follow Motoko and fellow cyborg Batou as they deal with the idea that they too could be hacked into by the Puppet Master as we see how Motoko wants to figure out if there is more than why she has been programed into doing. When we learn of the Puppet Master’s true identity we are left to watch Motoko uncover a bigger conspiracy going in within the Government.
Ghost in the Shell is a film that really left me confused, I felt it ended suddenly and might have missed the point of where it was going. If someone would like to explain I could give this more thought. From what I did understand it seems like a government program trying to improve its own existence in the world through Motoko who already started to show signs of thinking on her own.
Character Review
Motoko Kusanagi: Motoko is the cyborg cop who is questioning her own mortality while protecting humans from a hacker known as the Puppet Master. Motoko comes off as a strong character that is being built for future films too.
Batou: Batou is the fellow cyborg trying to hack down the Puppet Master, he is more computerised than Motoko but still just as god of a cop. Batou seems to be a standard supporting character.
Togusa: Togusa is the only human in the cop unit, handpicked by Motoko due to his honest side when it comes to police work. He works with Motoko who ends up being the one who can think of the non-logical solution to problems. Togusa is important because having a human factor helps with the different in decisions being made.
Project 2501: Project 2051 is the Puppet Master who is trying to get undercover the government of the separate sector within the new government. Project 2501 makes for a good villainous character even though not everything is bad in the action.
Support Characters: Ghost in the Shell has your typical anime supporting characters.
Director Review: Mamoru Oshii – Mamoru gives us a film you would expect from the anime world, colourful, over the top and confusing.
Action: Ghost in the Shell is filled with anime action scenes which don’t leave too much to the imagination.
Animation: Ghost in the Shell uses good anime animation throughout.
Mystery: Ghost in the Shell does make you wonder what is going on.
Sci-Fi: Ghost in the Shell enters us into the world with cyborgs in a future world we might not be ready for.
Thriller: Ghost in the Shell does keep you guessing to just what will happen next.
Settings: Ghost in the Shell creates the settings to make the future look very different to the current world.
Suggestion: Ghost in the Shell is one for the anime fans to watch only. (Anime Fans Watch)
Best Part: The kills look great.
Worst Part: Random anime nudity doesn’t seem to make sense.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: Yes
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 23 Minutes
Tagline: It Found A Voice… Now It Needs A Body
Overall: An Anime I really didn’t understand
Rating