The latest anime adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s manga Ghost in the Shell is finally here, and it’s probably the most faithful version to date
For most people familiar with Ghost in the Shell, you’ll have either watched the anime movies or the series, Stand Alone Complex. If you’ve only watched the live-action movie, then you have my heartfelt condolences
In my case, I started with Ghost in the Shell back with the original Shirow manga, so for me, this new series feels like the first accurate adaptation to date, but for everyone else, it may be a tad confusing
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To explain, in the normie version, you have a very serious and somber Major Motoko Kusanagi heading up Section 9, a government task force that tackles cybercrime, where hackers can directly attack people’s brains and fry their souls, which in this world is called a “ghost”
The anime movies took a somewhat mysterious route with the nature of artificial intelligence, whereas Stand Alone Complex treated that as part of the background and kept all the politics and intrigue pretty dry and analytical
Most of that has no bearing on the original manga
While the Major is still here, as is Section 9, her original and goofier demeanor has been retained, not to mention the more ad hoc aspect of Section 9’s creation and who they answer to
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The Fuchikomas, yes, finally the actual Fuchikomas, are also artificially intelligent, and much of the prior navel gazing surrounding this subject is thankfully absent, in favor of whiplash-inducing high-speed combat
Shirow’s original manga took a more grounded approach to how futuristic cybercrime would play out and how the Major would dance around the bureaucracy in order to make a meaningful impact
This was all backed up with a wonderfully playful art style, which I can also say that this anime version wonderfully recreates
That’s sort of the point here: the real world has finally caught up with Shirow’s take on the future, and so we don’t need the manga to be messed around with and sanitized to “make sense”
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The result is one of the most enjoyable anime episodes I’ve seen in a long time, and it was suitably engaging with it
It is also worth mentioning here that with Atsuko Tanaka passing away in 2024, the Major has had to be recast. Thankfully, Maaya Sakamoto, of Hitomi from Escaflowne fame, has done a really good job of taking on the role. While the Major is more irreverent now, her Tanaka-infused sternness and cadence remain, with the final performance being an excellent fit
Obviously, Sakamoto already voiced the Major in Ghost in the Shell: Arise, but that was a very different version of the character, so at the very least, it’s clear that Sakamoto has some solid range
The animation is also great and handled really well by Science Saru, of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Dan Da Dan fame, and it’s sort of mad to think it took this long for the manga to get adapted properly like this
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In any case, I’m loving this new anime version of Ghost in the Shell, and I strongly recommend you read the original Shirow manga, at least so you can keep up with this anime’s blisteringly fast pace
The Ghost in the Shell is available to watch
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This article was originally published onForbes.com
