How To Watch ‘Ghost In The Shell’ In Order
If you’re a fan of cyberpunk media, you owe a lot of thanks to the anime industry. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, cyberpunk-themed movies and OVAs began to wriggle their way into video stores and late-night TV movie marathons, and from there, the seed was planted. They began to explode in popularity, peaking with the release of Akira (1988), and most importantly, Ghost in the Shell (1995). Of the two, Ghost in the Shell has flourished in the years since, with multiple different series, movies, and adaptations telling the story of Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9, the covert government agency tasked with stopping cybercrime.
That’s all well and good, but for a franchise that got its start in 1989, it can be a bit difficult to keep track of everything in it. What’s a sequel to what, and which continuity is a project in? It can all be very overwhelming, made even more so by the newest Amazon Prime Video adaptation addition, going off and doing its own thing. So if you want to experience anything and everything Ghost in the Shell now that the new series is out, here’s the best way to do so.
If you’re familiar with Ghost in the Shell, it's most likely through the adaptation created by Mamoru Oshii and Production I.G. This 84-minute film is by far the most prolific take of the original manga, so much so that it served as direct inspiration for The Matrix (1999) several years later.
The film is an introspective dive into the nature of humanity and the fragility of our perception of reality. Motoko and Section 9 have to contend with the Puppetmaster, a hacker who appears to be altering people’s memories and can effortlessly travel between cyborgs undetected. Many of the scenes in the film have a somber atmosphere meant to make you stop and think about the world and how human Motoko really is. It’s still a product of its time, so the violence and sexual imagery may be surprising, but it isn’t gratuitous. An enhanced version was later released, titled Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008), but the only difference between it and the 1995 version is that it features heavily aged CGI that replaces Production I.G.’s atmospheric animation. Stick with the original. It’s a mature exploration of philosophy that sci-fi films aspire to reach.
For all of the critical acclaim the original manga received, it’s fairly limiting as far as source material goes. After all, it’s only a single volume! Because of the popularity of the series, Production I.G. greenlit a new version of Ghost in the Shell, but in its own separate anime original continuity.
This series, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, still retains many of the key ideas from the manga but introduces new foes for Section 9 to tackle, such as a hacker called the Laughing Man and Hideo Kuze, a member of the hacker group Individual Eleven who’s connected to Motoko. It’s a surprisingly long-running continuity as well, with four seasons under its belt and an original film released over the span of two decades. It fleshes out Section 9 considerably, giving characters who barely had any screentime, like Ishikawa and Saito, more to do. It sanded off the cyberpunk edges that defined the films, but replaced them with a sci-fi vibe and aesthetic more in line with sci-fi police procedurals like Psycho-Pass (2012). It’s still a solid series and worth watching, especially if you loved the world of Ghost in the Shell.
If you consider yourself a diehard fan of Ghost in the Shell, you may be taken aback to learn that a sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, was actually made a decade later. It featured many returning staff members from the original film, including director Mamoru Oshii, so why have most people never heard of it? It’s because of Dreamworks.
To make a long story short, DreamWorks distributed the film through their Go Fish Pictures label, but did not produce a dub of it. Given how anime theatrical distribution was in its nascency in the mid 2000s, barely anyone went to see it until it got an English dub. Which is a shame, because if you liked the contemplative treatises that the original film had, you’ll adore Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. The metaphysical discussions involved can be convoluted at times and do mask what is ultimately a simple plot about a string of murdered sex-bots, but if you found yourself enamored by anime of the era like Ergo Proxy (2006), you’ll pick up what Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is putting down.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex wasn’t the only attempt to develop a television series based on the franchise. Throughout the 2010s, a series of OVAs was released that eventually led to a new series, Ghost in the Shell: Arise, which was meant to serve as a prequel to the original film.
The series follows a younger Motoko in the earlier days of her time with Section 9 and her first interactions with members like Batou and Togusa. Stylistically, it serves as a tonal fusion between the original film and Stand Alone Complex. It doesn’t say anything that hasn’t already been explored in earlier installments, but the action and stories are satisfying. It’s probably the least Ghost in the Shell has ever felt, feeling more like your standard sci-fi shows of the era, like Aldnoah.Zero (2014). That’s not a bad thing, mind you, but longtime fans argue that it doesn’t capture the essence of Ghost in the Shell in the same way that other installments do. They do have a point, but it’s still a worthwhile series that action fans will probably find enjoyable.
Given Hollywood’s growing interest in the world of anime, it was only a matter of time until Ghost in the Shell received a live-action adaptation. That may raise some alarm bells, though, given previous Hollywood anime adaptations like Dragonball Evolution (2009) and Death Note (2017). Is Ghost in the Shell (2017) as bad as those? Not really, but that isn’t saying much.
What’s immediately apparent about the live-action version is that it’s incredibly stylish. The visuals are slick and consistently pop, and the fight scenes feel like they’re ripped straight out of a superhero movie. That’s all well and good, but it only dips its toes into the heavy psychological themes that underpinned the manga, presenting what should be complex material in a very accessible and simplistic way. Motoko, now played by Scarlett Johansson, is fine, but she’s playing the character like Black Widow and not a cyborg questioning her own humanity, and that’s not even getting into the controversy surrounding Johansson playing a canonically Japanese character. If you wanted Ghost in the Shell to prioritize action over all else, then there’s merit to watching the live-action version, but that could be considered missing the forest for the trees.
The funny thing about Ghost in the Shell as a franchise is how much the 1995 film established the tone of every installment since. Most audiences perceive the series as an introspective sci-fi thriller above all else, and while that’s true for the latest entry, The Ghost in the Shell, it doesn’t forget to have fun with its world and setting.
The Ghost in the Shell evokes a candy-pop, sci-fi aesthetic complete with a flurry of colors that only the ‘80s could produce. Motoko’s confident and is a badass in the same way that Alita from Alita: Battle Angel (2019) is, although not quite as naive. She cracks jokes, gets upset, but feels like a substantially more defined character. That lighter tone may take some fans aback, but when they see Science Saru’s stunning traditional animation, those criticisms are instantly put to bed. As a reboot, the series attempts to be a more faithful adaptation of the original film, but dramatically fleshes out the details from that movie into a full 12-episode season. It’s already earned critical acclaim, making this reboot not only a great introduction to the franchise but also a beautiful animation showcase in general.
