Meet "Major" Motoko Kusanagi, cyberspace
operative for Section 9, a government agency charged with identifying and
eliminating criminal activity. Kusanagi is almost completely cybernetic, as
are many others, and she is an excellent officer--strong, skilled,
superhuman. But this is just her shell.
Inside, in her spare time, she contemplates her "ghost," her
consciousness, her soul, her self. This contemplation runs headlong
into her latest assignment--apprehending a criminal called the
Puppetmaster, a--pawn?--who is hacking into human brains, hacking into
their very ghosts.
Ghost in the Shell is one of the most exquisitely rendered and
executed films I have ever seen, whether anime or live action. A lot
of work went into the making of this film, and it shows. The
animation is incredibly detailed, the sound incredibly deep, and the
"effects" (lighting, explosions, "computer" graphics) amazing.
Together with the story, these elements combine to make Ghost in
the Shell completely deserving of the awards and acclaim it has
gathered.
Released worldwide in 1995, the film still stands on that cutting
edge, both of animation and storytelling. It explores the very core
of our existence while showing us a very possible future. It is a
fitting successor to the classics Akira and Blade
Runner.
The GitS manga is an eight-issue series (as released by Dark Horse in
English, anyway) by Masamune Shirow, whose other credits include
Appleseed and Dominion Tank Police. The artwork is
incredible, and the story, though not one continuous story (as is the
film), is compelling. The story covers several of Kusanagi's (and
Section 9's) missions, some having to do with the Puppetmaster and
others not, with the same exploration of what it means to be human as
the film.
And there is something in the manga that doesn't show up in the film:
Fuchikoma, personal mecha that function both as battlesuits and as
independent robotic units, capable of their own (limited) thought and
actions. They figure prominently in both the action and in Masamune
Shirow's exploration of "life."
This is definitely the best manga I've seen, and it certainly rivals
the film for my affections. Luckily, in this rivalry one can have it
both ways!
(This review is reprinted by permission from elements of reviews
found on In the Shell, found at
neomythos.com/intheshell.)