Review of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) by Karly A — 02 Jun 2010

Picking up where the original Ghost in the Shell film left off, Innocence is a worthy successor in terms of style and sleekness, once again portraying Mamoru Oshii's take on the bleak, cyberpunk world of the future. The animation here is top of the line, with incredibly, almost terrifyingly, realistic character designs and a unique blend of computer generated and traditional cell animated backgrounds to bring the surreal cities of Oshii's Japan to life.

While it is stylish, Oshii also packs a lot into the story. The plot itself is nothing more than a cyberpunk cop drama, with the protagonist Batou and his partner Togusa investigating a series of murders caused by seemingly soulless robots. Where the film simultaneously falls flat and sets itself apart is in terms of themes. While bearing the trappings of Shirow Masamune's original manga with regard to style and setting, this film, even more so than its predecessor is something of a vehicle for Oshii's own inner musings. It waxes philosophical, with the characters eloquently exploring questions of what it means to be human and the purpose of the soul. The upshot of which elevates this film and the entire genre it represents beyond mindless explosions and fight scenes (though to be sure, this film does contain both, and beautiful ones to behold); the downside of which reduces the characters from distinct entities and the story from a central focus to accommodate numerous monologues and lengthy literary allusions reflecting these themes. Still, at its heart, Innocence is a very sad sort of love story, and the themes, plot, and attitudes simply build upon that, and it is executed beautifully with the aforementioned gorgeous animation, an excellent, haunting soundtrack and a superbly dubbed English voice cast, featuring all of the vocal talent used in the English dub of the loosely related Stand Alone Complex series.

It is not without faults, to be sure, but it is a treat, and does manage, despite its lack of central focus, to elicit a very real emotional response. In fact it is easy to tell upon viewing, despite qualms and obvious holes in development, how this became one of the 6 animated films to ever be featured at the Cannes Film Festival.