Review of Ghost in the Shell (1995) by Brandon T — 07 Aug 2009

A masterpiece of modern anime, not quite as good as Akira, but you can't really compare them since there isn't much in the way of common ground on any level.

The animation is some of the best you're ever going to see. It really immerses you in to Shirow's world of high tech special forces and hackers, it also provides a great accompaniment to the story's often confusing and somewhat convoluted progression throughout the movie. I would highlight a particularly impressive scene, but the fact is that almost every scene in this film is incredible to watch.

The story is quite difficult to understand, even with multiple viewings, but the general question it seems to be asking is "what makes us human?" Now, if you think that's difficult to answer, you would be right, and GitS doesn't exactly give us a concrete answer, after all, it would be a little arrogant of Shirow and Oshii to claim that they know for certain. The narrative progression is a little slow and often allows inconclusive philosophical discussions between Kusanagi and Batou to get in the way, not that that's particularly a bad thing, you need to spend time learning about the characters to really care about them. Having said all that, the film does present you with a good portion of breath taking action sequences which break up the heavy dialogue nicely.

The film is backed up by a generally stellar soundtrack, it isn't overplayed at any point and has something of a chilling quality which complements the fundamentally alien nature of the philosophy and society presented in Ghost in the Shell.

I would recommend this, much like Akira, to people who like to think and have a fair amount of patience with storytelling. It isn't perfect, but it does come close at times, and it should definitely be in your collection.