The cyberpunk genre owes a huge debt to Masamune Shirow’s “Ghost in the Shell,” the essential manga from 1989 that inspired Rupert Sanders’ controversial Scarlett Johansson-starrer. Sanders’ 2017 film is just one adaptation in a longstanding sci-fi franchise, as a brand-new anime tackling Shirow’s source material recently dropped its first episode on Prime Video. This highly anticipated entry, Science Saru’s “The Ghost in the Shell,” strives to stay more faithful to the manga while establishing a distinct identity of its own.
“When I re-read the original manga, I was surprised by how accurately it understood technologies like AI,” series director Mokochan told Polygon, praising Shirow’s eerily prescient vision formulated more than 30 years ago.
Episode 1 introduces us to Major Motoko Kusanagi, who becomes the cyborg squad leader of a top-secret special-forces unit undertaking dangerous missions. Unlike the more somber portrayals of The Major in both Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 classic “Ghost in the Shell” and the 2002 series “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex,” this version of her hews closer to the playful and irreverent characterization in Shirow’s manga.
The setting is New Port City, a bustling metropolis whose inhabitants have embraced cybernetic technology and its various augmentations. In this world, human brains can be put in mechanical casings for seamless access to online networks, with a person’s “ghost,” or human consciousness, remaining intact.
Ghost in the Shell has shaped sci-fi over the ages
The Wachowskis drew inspiration for “The Matrix” movies from several sources, but anime served as a key visual yardstick. Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Akira” informed Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) stylized superhuman abilities, while Mamoru Oshii’s “Ghost in the Shell” shaped everything from the iconic green code to the neural ports that allow characters to “plug in.”
In the realm of television, Masamune Shirow’s story overtly influenced countless shows that dabble in artificial or borrowed consciousness, with plots that heavily feature cyber-terrorism within the framework of a detective procedural. Shows like “Altered Carbon,” HBO’s “Westworld,” and even “Mr. Robot” operate in the cyberpunk genre “Ghost in the Shell” helped define.
Science Saru’s adaptation is refreshing in its approach to Shirow’s story about the blurred lines between humans and machines. It retains the goofy humor of the source material while refusing to water down the sociopolitical complexity of New Port City, which is overrun with faction-based corruption. The first episode itself showcases the government covertly exploiting vulnerable children, raising questions about state surveillance and political identity in a futuristic dystopia.
Episode 1 also liberally uses saturated colors and unconventional perspectives to drive its playful tone home. Combined with an art style that mimics the beauty of traditional cel animation, “The Ghost in the Shell” emerges as an enthused celebration of a legendary manga that’s slowly turning into a horrifyingly accurate prediction of the future.
