[DerMensch24]

Ghost in the Shell

Synopsis (Courtesy of MAL):
Spoiler (Click to View)In the year 2029, advances in Cybernetics allow people to replace nearly all of their body parts and organs with robotics. Through these prosthetics, the weak are made strong, and the dying are given new life. Public Security Section 9 of Niihama City (a fictional setting inspired by Hong Kong), a diverse team of AI, cyborgs and unmodified humans, must investigate cases of corruption and terrorism. Major Motoko Kusanagi has full-body prosthetics, owing to a childhood accident. She, her second in command Batou and information specialist Ishikawa have been assigned an important task: to investigate a hacker known only as "The Puppetmaster." But as Motoko and her team discover, things are never so simple.

Ghost in the Shell is a futuristic thriller with intense action scenes mixed with slower artistic sequences and many philosophical questions about one's soul, gender and human identity in such an advanced age of technology.

Studio: Production I.G., Production Reed
Genre(s): Mecha, Police, Psychological, Sci-Fi
Aired: Nov 18, 1995
Source: http://myanimelist.net/anime/43/Ghost_in_the_Shell
Sub/Dub: Watched in dub, was decent. Both should exist

Movie Trailer:
Spoiler (Click to View)

What does it mean to be human? This sci-fi, cyberpunk thriller attempts to answer the existential question throughout the course of the film, and to a great degree of success. The story turns the tables on the traditional cop-criminal plot in an intelligent manner and executes it well. Visually, this is another great film for its time, as despite the onset of CGI integration this film stays true to original animation with hints of the new technology within it. While character-wise the main character is the only one that truly develops over the course of the film, the other characters prove crucial to many segments within the film. As a forewarning to anyone watching this film however it is heavy with contextual understanding and some philosophical insights so it might be hard to watch the first time. However, overall this was an enjoyable film and I do recommend this to anyone interested in a psychological film.

[Professor Pantsu]

Love the film but personally I liked the Stand Alone Complex anime better.