Japanese cyberpunk media franchise
Ghost in the Shell
[a]
is a
Japanese cyberpunk
media franchise based on the
seinen manga
series
of the same name
written and illustrated by
Masamune Shirow
. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of
The Ghost in the Shell
, and later published as its own
tank?bon
volumes by
Kodansha
, told the story of the fictional counter-cyberterrorist organization
Public Security Section 9
, led by protagonist Major
Motoko Kusanagi
, and is set in mid-21st century Japan.
Animation studio
Production I.G
has produced several anime adaptations of the series. These include the
1995 film of the same name
and its 2004 sequel,
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
; the 2002 television series,
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
, and its 2020 follow-up,
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045
; and the
Ghost in the Shell: Arise
original video animation (OVA)
series. In addition, an American-produced
live-action film
was released on March 31, 2017.
Overview
[
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]
Title
[
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]
The original editor Koichi Yuri says: At first,
Ghost in the Shell
came from Shirow, but when Yuri asked "something more flashy", Shirow came up with "攻?機動隊
Koukaku Kidou Tai (Shell Squad)
" for Yuri. But Shirow was attached to including "Ghost in the Shell" as well even if in smaller type.
[1]
Setting
[
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]
Primarily set in the mid-twenty-first century in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, Niihama Prefecture
(
新浜?新浜市
,
Niihama-ken Niihama-shi
)
,
[b]
otherwise known as New Port City
(
ニュ?ポ?トシティ
,
Ny? P?to Shiti
)
, the manga and the many anime adaptations follow the members of
Public Security Section 9
, a task-force consisting of various professionals skilled at solving and preventing crime, mostly with some sort of police background. Political intrigue and counter-terrorism operations are standard fare for Section 9, but the various actions of corrupt officials, companies, and cyber-criminals in each scenario are unique and require the diverse skills of Section 9's staff to prevent a series of incidents from escalating.
In this
post-cyberpunk
iteration of a possible future, computer technology has advanced to the point that many members of the public possess cyberbrains, technology that allows them to interface their biological brain with various networks. The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma. This can also be combined with various levels of
prostheses
, with a fully prosthetic body enabling a person to become a
cyborg
. The main character of
Ghost in the Shell
, Major
Motoko Kusanagi
, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible accident befall her as a child that ultimately required her to use a full-body prosthesis to house her cyberbrain. This high level of cyberization, however, opens the brain up to attacks from highly skilled hackers, with the most dangerous being those who will hack a person to bend to their whims.
Media
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]
Literature
[
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]
Original manga
[
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]
The original
Ghost in the Shell
manga ran in Japan from April 1989 to November 1990 in
Kodansha
's manga anthology
Young Magazine
, and was released in a
tank?bon
volume on October 5, 1991.
[2]
Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface
followed in 1997 for 9 issues in
Young Magazine
, and was collected in the
Ghost in the Shell: Solid Box
on December 1, 2000.
[3]
Four stories from
Man-Machine Interface
that were not released in tankobon format from previous releases were later collected in
Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor
, and published by Kodansha on July 23, 2003.
[4]
Several art books have also been published for the manga.
Films
[
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]
Animated films
[
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]
Two animated films based on the original manga have been released, both directed by
Mamoru Oshii
and animated by Production I.G.
Ghost in the Shell
was released in 1995 and follows the "Puppet Master" storyline from the manga. It was re-released in 2008 as
Ghost in the Shell 2.0
with new audio and updated 3D computer graphics in certain scenes.
[5]
Innocence
, otherwise known as
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
, was released in 2004, with its story based on a chapter from the first manga.
Live-action film
[
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]
In 2008,
DreamWorks
and producer
Steven Spielberg
acquired the rights to a
live-action
film adaptation of the original
Ghost in the Shell
manga.
[6]
On January 24, 2014,
Rupert Sanders
was announced as director, with a screenplay by William Wheeler.
[7]
In April 2016, the full cast was announced, which included
Juliette Binoche
,
Chin Han
,
Lasarus Ratuere
and
Kaori Momoi
, and
Scarlett Johansson
in the lead role;
[8]
the casting of Johansson drew accusations of
whitewashing
.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
Principal photography
on the film began on location in
Wellington
,
New Zealand
, on February 1, 2016. Filming wrapped in June 2016.
[13]
Ghost in the Shell
premiered in Tokyo on March 16, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 31, 2017, in 2D,
3D
and
IMAX 3D
.
[14]
It received mixed reviews, with praise for its visuals and Johansson's performance but criticism for its script.
[15]
[16]
Television
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]
Stand Alone Complex
TV series, film and ONA
[
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]
In 2002,
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
premiered on
Animax
, presenting a new telling of
Ghost in the Shell
independent from the original manga, focusing on Section 9's investigation of the
Laughing Man
hacker.
[17]
It was followed in 2004 by a second season titled
Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
, which focused on the
Individual Eleven
terrorist group.
[18]
The primary storylines of both seasons were compressed into OVAs broadcast as
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex The Laughing Man
in 2005 and
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Individual Eleven
in 2006.
[19]
[20]
Also in 2006,
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society
, featuring Section 9's confrontation with a hacker known as the Puppeteer, was broadcast, serving as a finale to the anime series.
[21]
The extensive score
for the series and its films was composed by
Yoko Kanno
.
[22]
On April 7, 2017, Kodansha and Production I.G announced that
Kenji Kamiyama
and
Shinji Aramaki
would be co-directing a new
K?kaku Kid?tai
anime production.
[23]
On December 7, 2018, it was reported by
Netflix
that they had acquired the worldwide streaming rights to the
original net animation
(ONA) anime series, titled
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045
, and that it would premiere on April 23, 2020. The series will be in 3DCG and Sola Digital Arts will be collaborating with Production I.G on the project. It was later revealed that
Ilya Kuvshinov
will handle character designs.
[24]
The series had two seasons of 12 episodes each.
[25]
In addition to the anime, a series of published books, two separate manga adaptations, and several video games for consoles and mobile phones have been released for
Stand Alone Complex
.
Arise
OVA, TV series and film
[
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]
In 2013, a new iteration of the series titled
Ghost in the Shell: Arise
premiered, taking an original look at the
Ghost in the Shell
world, set before the original manga. It was released as a series of four
original video animation
(OVA) episodes (with limited theatrical releases) from 2013 to 2014, then recompiled as a 10-episode television series under the title of
K?kaku Kid?tai: Arise - Alternative Architecture
. An additional fifth OVA titled
Pyrophoric Cult
, originally premiering in the
Alternative Architecture
broadcast as two original episodes, was released on August 26, 2015.
[26]
Kazuchika Kise served as the chief director of the series, with
Tow Ubukata
as head writer.
[27]
Cornelius
was brought onto the project to compose the score for the series, with the Major's new voice actress
Maaya Sakamoto
also providing vocals for certain tracks.
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie
, also known as
Ghost in the Shell: Arise ? The Movie
or
New Ghost in the Shell
, is a 2015 film directed by Kazuya Nomura that serves as a finale to the
Ghost in the Shell: Arise
story arc. The film is a continuation to the plot of the
Pyrophoric Cult
episode of
Arise
, and ties up loose ends from that arc.
A manga adaptation was serialized in Kodansha's
Young Magazine
, which started on March 13 and ended on August 26, 2013.
[28]
[29]
2026 anime
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]
On May 25, 2024, it was announced that a new anime television series adaptation will be produced by
Science Saru
for a 2026 premiere.
[30]
Saru will be a production committee with Bandai Namco Filmworks, Kodansha and Production I.G.
[31]
Video games
[
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]
Ghost in the Shell
was developed by Exact and released for the
PlayStation
on July 17, 1997, in Japan by
Sony Computer Entertainment
.
[32]
It is a
third-person shooter
featuring an original storyline where the character plays a rookie member of Section 9. The video game's soundtrack
Megatech Body
features various techno artists, such as Takkyu Ishino, Scan X and Mijk Van Dijk.
[33]
Several video games were also developed to tie into the
Stand Alone Complex
television series, in addition to a
first-person shooter
by
Nexon
and Neople titled
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online
, released in 2016.
[34]
Legacy
[
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]
Ghost in the Shell
influenced some prominent filmmakers.
The Wachowskis
, creators of
The Matrix
and its sequels, showed it to producer
Joel Silver
, saying, "We wanna do that for real."
[35]
The Matrix
series took several concepts from the film, including the
Matrix digital rain
, which was inspired by the opening credits of
Ghost in the Shell
, and the way characters access the Matrix through holes in the back of their necks. Other parallels have been drawn to
James Cameron
's
Avatar
,
Steven Spielberg
's
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
and
Jonathan Mostow
's
Surrogates
. James Cameron cited
Ghost in the Shell
as a source of inspiration,
[36]
citing it as an influence on
Avatar
.
[37]
Bungie
's 2001
third-person
action game
Oni
draws substantial inspiration from
Ghost in the Shell
's
setting and characters.
[38]
[39]
Ghost in the Shell
also influenced video games such as the
Metal Gear Solid
series,
[40]
Deus Ex
,
[41]
and
Cyberpunk 2077
.
[42]
[43]
Explanatory notes
[
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]
- ^
Known in Japan as
K?kaku Kid?tai
(
Japanese
:
攻?機動隊
,
lit.
"Mobile Armored Riot Police")
- ^
There is a real-world
Niihama
, located in
Ehime Prefecture
, but its name is written differently in
kanji
:
新居浜市
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Official Log 1".
Young Magazine
Pirate Edition
. 2003. p. 9.
- ^
攻?機動隊(1)
[Ghost in the Shell (1)] (in Japanese).
Kodansha
.
Archived
from the original on 2013-11-12
. Retrieved
2012-10-13
.
- ^
攻?機動隊SOLID BOX
[Ghost in the Shell SOLID BOX].
Seven Net Shopping Co., Ltd.
(in Japanese).
Archived
from the original on 2013-03-01
. Retrieved
2012-10-13
.
- ^
攻?機動隊 1.5
[Ghost in the Shell 1.5] (in Japanese).
Kodansha
.
Archived
from the original on 2013-11-12
. Retrieved
2012-10-13
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell to Return to Japanese Theaters"
.
Anime News Network
.
Archived
from the original on 2012-10-23
. Retrieved
November 9,
2011
.
- ^
Siegel, Tatiana; Fleming, Michael (April 14, 2008).
"DreamWorks to make 'Ghost' in 3-D"
.
Variety
.
Archived
from the original on August 18, 2011
. Retrieved
November 9,
2011
.
- ^
Bishop, Bryan (January 25, 2014).
"Live-action 'Ghost in the Shell' movie signs the director of 'Snow White and the Huntsman'
"
.
The Verge
.
Archived
from the original on March 3, 2014
. Retrieved
March 3,
2014
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell Photo Released as Production Begins"
.
ComingSoon.net
. April 14, 2016.
Archived
from the original on May 26, 2020
. Retrieved
April 20,
2020
.
- ^
Brown, Tracey (January 10, 2015).
"
'Ghost in the Shell': Scarlett Johansson casting called 'whitewashing'
"
.
HERO COMPLEX
. Archived from
the original
on April 18, 2016
. Retrieved
April 14,
2016
.
- ^
Child, Ben (January 16, 2015).
"DreamWorks accused of 'whitewashing' Ghost in the Shell by casting Scarlett Johansson"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
April 14,
2016
.
- ^
"Is Scarlett Johansson casting Hollywood 'whitewashing'?"
.
BBC News
. April 19, 2016.
Archived
from the original on July 19, 2018
. Retrieved
June 22,
2018
.
- ^
Fuster, Jeremy (April 14, 2016).
"
'Ghost In The Shell' Fans Not Happy About 'Whitewashed' American Remake"
.
TheWrap
.
Archived
from the original on April 17, 2016
. Retrieved
April 14,
2016
.
- ^
Tsui, Stephanie (June 2, 2016).
"
"Ghost in the Shell" Will Film in Hong Kong?and There's Still No Asian Lead"
.
HK Magazine
.
South China Morning Post
.
Archived
from the original on November 14, 2016
. Retrieved
June 4,
2016
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell Official Trailer 1 (2017) - Scarlett Johansson Movie"
.
YouTube
. 2016-11-13.
Archived
from the original on 2020-09-09
. Retrieved
2017-03-31
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell (2017)"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
.
Fandango
.
Archived
from the original on December 30, 2017
. Retrieved
April 1,
2017
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell reviews"
.
Metacritic
.
CBS Interactive Inc.
Archived
from the original on March 31, 2017
. Retrieved
March 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Animax's official GitS:SAC webpage"
(in Japanese).
Animax
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-10-19
. Retrieved
2011-09-02
.
- ^
"Into the Network: The Ghost in the Shell Universe"
.
Production I.G
. Archived from
the original
on 2011-05-17
. Retrieved
2011-01-29
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex The Laughing Man"
. Production I.G.
Archived
from the original on 15 January 2018
. Retrieved
14 January
2014
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Individual Eleven"
. Production I.G.
Archived
from the original on 25 November 2011
. Retrieved
14 January
2014
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society"
. Production I.G.
Archived
from the original on 19 January 2011
. Retrieved
14 January
2014
.
- ^
Bull, John (2018-03-08).
"Yoko Kanno: The Greatest Composer You've Never Heard Of"
.
Medium
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-02-22
. Retrieved
2019-02-22
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell Gets New Anime From Kenji Kamiyama, Shinji Aramaki"
.
Anime News Network
.
Archived
from the original on 2017-04-08
. Retrieved
8 April
2017
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 3DCG Anime's Characters Designed by Birthday Wonderland's Ilya Kuvshinov"
.
Anime News Network
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-06-13
. Retrieved
12 June
2019
.
- ^
"New Ghost in the Shell 3DCG Anime Project to Premiere on Netflix in 2020"
.
Anime News Network
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-11-08
. Retrieved
7 December
2018
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell Arise Pyrophoric Cult Episode Slated for August on Home Video in Japan"
.
Anime News Network
.
Archived
from the original on 2015-05-09
. Retrieved
10 May
2015
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell Arise Anime to Launch in 2013"
.
Anime News Network
. January 15, 2013.
Archived
from the original on 2013-01-16
. Retrieved
2013-01-15
.
- ^
6月22日から映?「攻?機動隊ARISE GHOST IN THE SHELL」全4部作公開
[From June 22, the movie "Ghost in the Shell ARISE GHOST IN THE SHELL" will be released in four parts] (in Japanese). Gigazine. February 12, 2013.
Archived
from the original on 2013-02-13
. Retrieved
2013-03-13
.
- ^
「攻?機動隊ARISE」コミカライズ 月刊ヤングマガジンで連載開始 公安9課以前を描く - アニメ!アニメ!
["Ghost in the Shell ARISE" comicalization Starts serialization in monthly Young Magazine Drawing before Public Security Section 9 - Anime! animation] (in Japanese). AnimeAnime.jp. March 13, 2013.
Archived
from the original on 2013-03-16
. Retrieved
2013-03-13
.
- ^
https://comicbook.com/anime/news/ghost-in-the-shell-new-anime/
- ^
https://screenrant.com/ghost-in-the-shell-anime-announced-science-saru/
- ^
攻?機動隊 GHOST IN THE SHELL
.
PlayStation
(in Japanese).
Sony Interactive Entertainment
.
Archived
from the original on 2013-06-16
. Retrieved
2012-12-19
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell - Soundtrack-"
世界中で絶?されている近未?SFコミックス「攻?機動隊」のプレイステ?ション?ゲ?ムのSound [Techno] Trax。
[Sound [Techno] Trax of the PlayStation game of the near future SF comic "Ghost in the Shell" acclaimed all over the world.] (in Japanese).
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
.
Archived
from the original on November 12, 2013
. Retrieved
January 4,
2013
.
- ^
Prescott, Shaun (September 17, 2015).
"First Assault is a free-to-play Ghost in the Shell FPS coming soon"
.
PC Gamer
.
Archived
from the original on 2017-06-10
. Retrieved
2015-09-17
.
- ^
Joel Silver
, interviewed in "Making
The Matrix
" featurette on
The Matrix
DVD.
- ^
Rose, Steve (19 October 2009).
"Hollywood is haunted by Ghost in the Shell"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
26 July
2013
.
- ^
Schrodt, Paul (1 April 2017).
"How the original 'Ghost in the Shell' changed sci-fi and the way we think about the future"
.
Business Insider
.
Archived
from the original on 26 August 2019
. Retrieved
14 June
2019
.
- ^
Kushner, David (June 2000).
"Ghost in the Machine"
.
SPIN
. Vol. 16, no. 6. p. 86.
ISSN
0886-3032
. Retrieved
2017-08-31
.
- ^
Al-Shakarchi, Harry.
"Interview with lead engineer Brent Pease"
.
Bungie
West.
Archived
from the original on 2017-10-24
. Retrieved
2013-12-22
.
- ^
Kojima, Hideo (8 April 2017).
"Hideo Kojima on the Philosophy Behind 'Ghost in the Shell'
"
.
Glixel
. Archived from
the original
on April 10, 2017
. Retrieved
April 10,
2017
.
- ^
"Ghost in the Shell (2017) ? Blu-ray review"
.
What Hi-Fi?
.
Haymarket Media Group
. August 7, 2017.
Archived
from the original on April 3, 2019
. Retrieved
June 15,
2019
.
- ^
"Cyberpunk 2077 Devs Looked at Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell for Inspiration"
.
GamingBolt.com
. 13 January 2019.
Archived
from the original on 27 February 2019
. Retrieved
15 June
2019
.
- ^
Conditt, Jessica (1 August 2012).
"CD Projekt Red's 'Cyberpunk' inspired by System Shock, Blade Runner [Update]"
.
Engadget
.
Archived
from the original on 14 October 2018.
External links
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