Everything about Ghost In The Shell totally explained
is a
Japanese cyberpunk manga created by
Masamune Shirow, and first published in
1989 in
Young Magazine. A
sequel,, was released in
2002.
Over the years, the manga series has been adapted into the following: three
anime films—
Ghost in the Shell,, and ; and two anime television series— and ; all produced by
Production I.G, along with one
PlayStation game, one
PlayStation 2 game, and one
PlayStation Portable game.
Setting
Ghost in the Shell is a futuristic
police thriller dealing with the exploits of
Motoko Kusanagi, a member of the
covert operations section of the
Japanese National Public Safety Commission,
Section 9, which specializes in fighting technology-related crime. She may be named after one of the three
Imperial Regalia of Japan and Shirow makes reference to them at the end of the second manga. Although supposedly equal to all other members, Kusanagi fills the leadership role in the team, and is usually referred to as "the
Major" due to her past rank in the armed forces. She is capable of superhuman feats, and bionically specialized for her job — her body is almost completely mechanized; only her brain and a segment of her spinal cord are organic.
The setting of
Ghost in the Shell is
cyberpunk or
postcyberpunk, similar to that of
William Gibson's
Sprawl trilogy. More than other cyberpunk authors, however, Shirow focuses more on the ethical and philosophical ramifications of the widespread merging of humanity and technology, the development of
artificial intelligence and an omnipresent computer network set the stage for a reevaluation of human identity and uniqueness. Kusanagi and her colleagues face external threats and also suffer internal conflict over their own natures.
Works in the series
Ghost in the Shell has different mediums, all of them having a separate and alternate plot. For example, the theatrical movies don't occur on the same timeline as the Stand Alone Complex movie, which is based on the TV series.
Manga
A continuation of the first manga can be found in the second manga series entitled . includes a series of stories originally intended to be serialized in the initial print of
.
Films
Ghost in the Shell has been adapted into numerous anime adaptations, all of which were produced by
Production I.G.
The series was first adapted into a theatrical anime film adaptation in 1995, entitled
Ghost in the Shell, directed by
Mamoru Oshii. The film was followed by another theatrical movie sequel,, produced in 2004, which was also directed by Oshii and places the character of Batou in the lead role.
A third film,, was created after the TV series and directed by
Kenji Kamiyama. This film, however, is based on the TV storyline and doesn't connect with either of Oshii's works.
As of 2008,
DreamWorks acquired the rights to produce a
live-action film adaptation of the original manga with
Steven Spielberg tipping the scales in DreamWorks favor. So far,
Avi Arad and Steven Paul are confirmed producers and Jamie Moss will be adapting the manga into a screenplay.
Television series
The series has also been adapted into an
anime television series,, which was carried on into a second season,, and was followed by a film,, which premiered on the
SKY Perfect satellite television network on
September 1,
2006. The
Stand Alone Complex series is directed by
Kenji Kamiyama, and follows an alternate and separate storyline from that of Oshii's theatrical film adaptations and Masamune's original manga. The TV series expands further on the careers of Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9, and also retains more elements from Masamune Shirow's original manga than Oshii's feature films.
Novels
Video games
A
PlayStation game was released in
1997, developed by
Exact and published by
THQ. A second game bearing the anime TV series title was released in November 2004 on
PlayStation 2, developed by
SCEJ and
Cavia and published by
Bandai. A game of the same name developed by
G-Artists and published by Bandai was released in 2005 for
PlayStation Portable, but this is a sequel to the PlayStation 2 game, with a completely different storyline, setting and gameplay.
Anime Timeline
The movies and TV series are set in alternate universes.
Ghost in the Shell is set in 2029 AD and takes place 3 years after in 2032 AD. The television series starts off in the year 2030 AD. This also explains why the two movies are located in Hong Kong and the TV series in Japan. However, the third film Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society follows up on many of the events that ended the second season Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG.
Impact and influence
)]]
The
Wachowski brothers, makers of the
Matrix trilogy, acknowledged the influence of
Ghost in the Shell in an interview. Producer
Joel Silver also admitted in an interview on the
Animatrix DVD that he was shown the
Ghost in the Shell movie during a pitch from the Wachowski brothers to indicate the style and look of the film they wanted for
The Matrix.
Academic influence
Ghost in the Shell was analyzed together with
William Gibson's book
Neuromancer in chapter 4 "Orienting the Future" of Wendy Hui Kyong Chun's book "Control and Freedom - Power and Paranoia in the Age of Fiber Optics" (2006, The MIT Press). She looks at the aspect of high-tech
Orientalism put forth in both works.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ghost In The Shell'.
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