This evening I am having the last couple of hours of the weekend to myself watching the second Ghost in the Shell movie - “Innocence”. For those who have not heard of “Ghost in the Shell”, Wikipedia probably explains it better than I ever could;
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.
Ghost in the Shell is by far the most interesting, thought provoking series - either “real” or animated - that I have ever seen.
Since becoming interested in the Studio Ghibli movies over the last few years (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Howls Moving Castle, etc), I have grown to love anime and manga. There is a psychological depth that just doesn’t exist in western animation or comics. It’s no accident that I have the Appleseed movies on order from Play.com too. Movies such as these have become my relaxation away from commuting, computers and the internet.