Cyberpunk extravaganza
You’ve probably heard about the movie already, but have you read the original Ghost In The Shell manga? Go read it now – it’s a true masterpiece.
IMAGINE a world where technology is so advanced that people can have a “cyberbrain” that allows them to interact directly with technology, and even contain their consciou sness within cyberneticbodies, like a cyborg. That is the world in which G host In The Shell (G ITS) is set.
W hile it may be better known in its anime formats (and soon as a Hollywood blockbu ster starring Scarlett Johansson, opening in cinemas here on Thu rsday), GITS actu ally began life as a manga.
Created by Japanese manga creator Masamu ne Shirow, the manga was first pu blished in Kondansha Pu blishing’s Youn g M agazin e anthology as “Kokaku Kidotai” (“Mobile Armou red Riot Police”), and ran from April 198 9 to November 1990. Shirow later wrote a sequ el – Ghost In The Shell 2: Man-Machine-Interface – which ran from September 1991 to Au gu st 1997.
The manga spawned three featu re-length anime movies, Ghost In The Shell (1995), Ghost In The Shell 2:In n oc en c e (2004), and Ghost In The Shell:The New M ovie (2015); two television series – Ghost In The Shell: Stan d Alon e Complex (2002), Ghost In The Shell:S.A.C. 2n d GIG (2004); and an original video animation titled Ghost In The Shell: Arise (2014). There were also several hu gely popu lar video games based on the franchise.
So what is it abou t Ghost In The Shell that made it su ch a hit?
For one, Shirow’s manga is a brilliant piece of world-bu ilding and intelligent storytelling.
GITS is set in a fu tu risticmid-21st centu ry Japan and revolves arou nd main character Major Motoko Ku sanagi and Pu blicSecu rity Section 9, a high-tech cou nter-cyberterrorist organisation.
The title “Ghost In The Shell” pays homage to Arthu r Koestler’s 196 7 book abou t philosophical psychology, The Ghost In The
M ac hin e. In GITS -speak, a “ghost” is an individu al’s consciou sness, or sou l; if someone still has a ghost, it means that that particu lar person still has that which defines him or her as a hu man being even if, in the case of the Major, it’s ju st her brain encased inside a cybernetic body – in other words, there’s a “ghost” in her “shell”.
W ith his manga, Shirow created a world where the differences between man and machine are u nclear – hu mans are enhancing themselves with cybernetics, while robots are fitted with hu man tissu e to make them look more, well, hu man. The world of GITS is a complicated one, and mu ch of the manga is spent explaining the intricacies of the technology and the jargon he u ses. He even inclu des little footnotes and explanations in between panels to make his thou ghts clearer.
The manga’s story revolves arou nd Section 9’s battle against cyber-terrorists and cyber-criminals that exploit the connections between hu mans and machines. Led by Chief Daisu ke Aramaki, the team reports directly to the prime minister of Japan, which gives them a whole lot of leeway to fight these crimes the way they see fit (which can end u p qu ite messy and violent at times).
The team’s main male member is Batou , the Major’s second in command, who will be played by Pilou Asbaek in the movie. The main mu scle of the team, Batou ’s body has au gmented cybernetic prosthetics, and his completely whitepromicolou red prostheticeyes give him a pretty intimidating appearance. Batou plays a nent role in the manga, thou gh he more often than not ends u p being bu llied by the Major. He was the lead character of the second anime movie, Ghost In The Shell:In n oc en c e.
Other members of the team inclu de information specialist Ishikawa, and Togu sa, a former police detective who is the rookie of the team and the only one who does not have a single cybernetic enhancement in him
(thou gh he does have a cyber-brain).
Oh, and let’s not forget the spider-like, mu lti-legged “think tanks” (Fu chikoma in the manga, Tachikoma in the anime) that the agents pilot. Equ ipped with a childlike artificial intelligence, these cu te little things (OK, they’re not exactly little, since they are able to fit a fu ll-size hu man inside them) are as mu ch a part of the team’s dynamicas the hu man members.
There have been two iconic villains in the GITS franchise so far: The Pu ppet Master from the manga and anime movie, and