Review of Ghost in the Shell (1995) by Ryan H — 30 Jul 2014

In the early 2000's, Ghost In the Shell, along with Akira, were the films that introduced me to the world of anime. My friends and I must have watched this a half-dozen times in high school- it's simply one of the best anime films available.

The most striking thing about this film is the art style and animation. Production I.G. (the animation studio) created incredibly lush environments, background paintings and action scenes. Not to mention- the film has one of the most iconic title sequences in anime- if not science fiction- history; the creation of the main character's cybernetic body (or "shell") is breathtakingly crafted, especially accompanied by the sparse and haunting score.

There are long sequences just showing life in a futuristic Hong Kong that are worthy of display in an art gallery.

The film only suffers in two areas- firstly, the voice acting is not amazing. The American voice actor for Major Kusanagi is pretty monotonous- I get that she's cybernetic, but she has human brain cells and a human "ghost." She shouldn't sound like robocop. Secondly, as with many anime films, the plot will escape you on the first viewing. I recommend having a somewhat thorough synopsis on hand if you get totally lost. It's very philosophically minded, dealing with the human soul, artificial intelligence, and the technological singularity.

I have one last bone to pick- the blu ray version of this film, Ghost in the Shell 2.0, is technically a re-release and revision of the original 1995 film, including jarring and completely unnecessary CG-animated sequences that destroy the integrity of the original animation- not unlike the Star Wars Special Edition films. They are so distracting. Luckily, the original version of the movie is also included on the blu ray in the "special features" section.