A Fan after All: Ghost in the Shell
Greetings, fellow beings of the
Internet! Today may kick off the Superbowl
for you American readers, but it also kicks off Flashback February of
2017! And right out of the gates, I’ve
got one of my finest reviews yet.
Why? Cause this week, I’ll be reviewing
one of the greatest anime classics of all time.
Granted, if you watched my announcement video, you probably already know
what this classic is. So enough talking
and let’s get to this week’s review on Ghost
in the Shell!
In the year 2029, humanity has come
of age, if you could call it humanity anymore.
Most people at this time are either cyborgs or contain some machinery inside
them. Major Mokoto Kusanagi, an officer
for Sector Nine, is a cyborg. As one of
the top officers of Sector Nine, Mokoto is tasked with taking down cyber
criminals and terrorists, but often questions her humanity. Things become more complicated when she
encounters the Puppet Master. Although
being familiar with the name of the most notorious cyber terrorist in history, Mokoto
and everyone Sector Nine becomes involved in this bizarre case; midway through the
film, a female “shell” (cybernetic body) is brought in after being hit by a car
and revealed to be the Puppet Master itself.
Another agency, Sector Six, explains that the body Sector Nine recovered
was part of a project called Project 2501, which was meant to trap the Puppet
Master. However, certain members of
Sector Nine are suspicious of this claim.
But before any further investigation into the matter can be done, the
Puppet Master escapes. Mokoto manages to
find it but must combat a giant robot.
Mokoto takes on massive damage during the fight. When her friend and Sector Nine agent Batou
arrives, Mokoto confronts the Puppet Master by hacking into its fake
shell. The Puppet Master confirms what
Sector Nine discovered in its own research: Project 2501, aka the Puppet
Master, was a program created by Sector Six to hack and manipulate ghosts, or the
human portion of a cybernetic human.
However, during its use, the program became self aware and started to
question its own humanity. The Puppet
Master escaped so it could experience human life, and concludes that it wants
to merge with Mokoto’s own ghost to do that.
However, during the merge, helicopters ordered by Sector Six to destroy
the Puppet Master annihilate it and Mokoto’s body. Batou manages to save Mokoto’s head and later
places it on another cybernetic body. In
the film’s final moments, Mokoto confirms that the merge was successful,
stating that she is not herself or the Puppet Master but both.
It’s common knowledge that this
film is regarded as one of the greatest anime films of all time. Believe it or not, I’ve actually seen this
movie way before Hanime on Anime was started.
After watching it a second time for the purpose of this review, I can
certainly believe that it truly is one of the greatest anime films of all
time. With one of the highest ratings I
have ever given a show or film on Hanime on Anime (with my 1-10 rating system),
I give Ghost in the Shell a 9.5 out of
ten. Where do I begin? Everything in this film is top notch. However, given the choice, the best highlight
of the film is the plot. Most of this really
has to deal with the depth of the story.
Questioning the foundations of humanity makes for an excellent
discussion outside of watching the film, and is actually the foundation for the
film itself. One thing I’ve always said
about a good show or movie is that you can discuss it after you watch it. Well man, could you discuss this one. If nothing else, it’s the one thing you could
take away from this movie. The animation
was also beautiful. Certainly well
passed the days of Akira, I wasn’t
surprised by how well it was animated. I don’t think I can say much more there.
Ok, so if you’ve read my blog up to
today, you know what’s coming. And I
know what you’re thinking, “What could possibly be wrong with this film?” Nothing if you don’t like getting creeped out
by those moments of still settings and characters just staring back at
you. I blame the director for this
one. For those of you who don’t know,
for last year’s Flashback February, I reviewed Ghost in the Shell’s director Mamoru Oshii’s lesser known film Angel’s Egg. In that film, the same exact thing happens;
tons of freaky moments of nothing moving and characters staring at you
indefinitely. And here I thought I’d
avoid it in Ghost in the Shell! I was wrong.
Still, I’m not surprised given the depth that was put into it. But at least Ghost in the Shell had a plot!
Now those of you who watched my announcement
video last week are probably not surprised that I reviewed this movie in light
of the live action remake coming out next month. So with that in mind, one might ask, “What
are my thoughts on the new Ghost in the
Shell movie?” Honestly, I’m actually
very excited about it! And that’s not just from watching the trailer. Having watched the original 1995 classic
film, I have high hopes for this reboot.
This is also in spite of the criticism the film has gotten for casting
Scarlett Johanson as Mokoto-or “the Major” as she will be referred to. Many of you might also remember I did a
special post discussing the “white-washing” issue surrounding this and have
stated that this does not affect my overall opinion of the film.
So what more can I say about this
film? Only this: this is one of the best
anime films out there and you would be a fool not to see it! Need I say more? If you want to get your hands on a copy, you
can find one wherever anime is sold. And
so, that concludes part one of Flashback February. Stayed tuned next week when I take a look at
my second pick, The Irresponsible Captain
Tylor!
-Hanime
on Anime
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