I’ve recently been reviewing the Ghost in the Shell manga on my YouTube channel and it has truly surprised me how different the Ghost in the Shell manga can be compared to the anime films and TV series that I’ve watched. Whereas I tended to think of Ghost in the Shell predominantly as an anime franchise, which in many ways it is, this experience has made me think about the Ghost in the Shell series as a whole and I recently decided that it was time that I provide an overview of the Ghost in the Shell franchise.
Of course, the most logical place to start with an overview of the Ghost in the Shell franchise is the original manga that started it all. Originally serialised from 1989-1991, Ghost in the Shell was written by Shirow Masamune, who previously got his start by drawing an original doujinshi story. The manga is set in the near future and follows Section 9, a special division of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs that deals with cyberterrorism and cybercrime. While Section 9 is made up of many members, we predominantly follow Motoko Kusanagi, often simply referred to as “The Major”, as she investigates a series of seemingly unrelated events that are not what they first appear to be.
Shirow Masamune decided to follow this release with Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor which focused more on the other members of Section 9 such as Batou, Togusa, Aramaki etc. as they dealt with several cases. Eventually, in 1997, Shirow Masamune released Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface which follows the Major after the events of the first book. A very interesting aspect of this particular entry was the decision by Shirow Masamune to draw much of Ghost in the Shell 2 digitally with even some characters being rendered in CGI.
Of course, many people are more familiar with anime incarnations of the franchise so I believe it’s time to talk about the 1995 film. Directed by Mamoru Oshii and co-funded by Manga Entertainment, the 1995 Ghost in the Shell film adapts the central story of the original Ghost in the Shell manga but notably delivers a far more somber, contemplative atmosphere than the manga which had many comedic and goofy scenes. Mamoru Oshii would later return to the franchise with Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, no connection to Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface, which was released in 2004 and doubled down on the somber, contemplative atmosphere of the first film.
Around 2 years before the release of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex debuted on TV. Running for a total of 52 episodes across 2 seasons, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was the first TV incarnation of the franchise and ignores the continuity of both the manga and films, instead telling its own stories and developing the characters of Section 9 to a much greater extent than ever before. This was later followed by a TV movie in 2006 called Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society which served as a sequel to Stand Alone Complex.
In 2013, the first part of Ghost in the Shell: Arise was released. An OVA series, Ghost in the Shell: Arise again scraps previous continuities and focuses on the Major prior to the formation of Section 9. This was later followed by the release of Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie in 2015, the first new theatrical Ghost in the Shell film since Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence and serves as a sequel to the Ghost in the Shell: Arise OVA series.
In 2017, a live-action Ghost in the Shell film was produced by Hollywood and released. The film starred Scarlett Johansson as the Major, received a mixed reception from critics and underperformed at the worldwide box office.
In 2020, a new Ghost in the Shell series called Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 was released worldwide on Netflix. Set in the same continuity as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, the series is set after the events of the previous Stand Alone Complex entries and is rendered in 3D CGI animation. The series has received mixed reviews but it has been confirmed that there will be a second season sometime in the future.
Let me know your thoughts on an overview of the Ghost in the Shell franchise, your thoughts on Ghost in the Shell as a whole, which entries you’ve seen or have not seen, what do you think of the manga compared to the anime incarnations and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!