Ghost in the Shell - An Introduction

 

New Port City, the main setting of the Ghost in the Shell franchise

There’s a whisper floating in cyberspace. In 2008, Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks acquired the rights to make a live-action film of the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell. Things have progressed slowly since then, but now the project is finally underway with Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) directing and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow in The Avengers) in the lead role. The film’s still a long way off, though, so for anyone unfamiliar with Ghost in the Shell, this post will cover the premise, themes and characters of the whole franchise. There’s a lot to take in, so I’ll try to make it as short, simple and exciting as possible. Ready to dive in?

 

 

Chief Aramaki and his team of operators in the 1995 film adaptation by Mamoru Oshii

Ghost in the Shell is a long-running franchise created by Masamune Shirow. It started as a manga  (a Japanese comic) in 1989, but has since expanded into other forms of media including films, animation and video games. Each entry has its own storyline, but they are all set in a future where the line between man and machine is blurred and the term “cybercrime” has taken on a whole new meaning. The public has access to cybernetic implants – from enhancements of the brain to full prosthetic bodies – allowing access to the Internet from anywhere in the world. These make them vulnerable to a new breed of terrorist: “ghost hackers” capable of using men and machines to spread fear throughout the living and digital worlds. Enter Public Security Section 9.

 

 

The main cast of GitS as seen in Stand Alone Complex

Section 9 are an elite team of operatives tasked with protecting Japan from cybercriminals and political threats from home and abroad. The team is led by Major Motoko Kusanagi; a female cyborg as strong and intelligent as she is beautiful. She’s joined on her missions by chief director Aramaki, cheerful bruiser Batou, former detective (and family man) Togusa, data specialist Ishikawa and the AI equipped Fuchikomas (spider tanks) among others. Each film and series has its own take on the characters, but they usually fill the same roles: the Fuchikomas bring support and comic relief, the men start the action and the Major leads the charge. But unlike most manga heroines today, the Major’s character doesn’t lean on her sex appeal. When she’s off duty, Motoko spends her time pondering philosophical issues resulting from man’s ever-changing relationship with technology. It’s a deep concept written on a mind-bloggling scale, but with such thought and attention to detail that it’s hard to resist whether you grasp it or not. The world and themes of Ghost in the Shell are huge, but with a realistic approach, believable characters and stunning animation, it’s a wonderful world to step into. And twenty-five years after its creation, it continues to draw in fans the world over. It’s certainly turned heads and wheels at Hollywood… and that was before Spielberg stepped in.

 

 

Motoko and Batou oversee an interview in the 1995 film by Mamoru Oshii

When most foreign works are translated to English, their titles are tweaked or changed to appeal to new audiences - but Masamune Shirow wrote the title of Ghost in the Shell in English first as a nod to Arthur Koestler’s book The Ghost in the Machine. However, Shirow’s editor asked for a “more flashy” title and he settled on Kokaku Kidotai or “Mobile Armoured Riot Police”. Despite this, when the franchise came into prominence in 1995 with Mamoru Oshii’s anime film, the original title was chosen and became its definitive name. It’s just as well because, although “Riot Police” fits where Section 9 is concerned, there’s so much more to GitS than just police action. The heart of the story is in man’s relationship with technology, which has come to the point where we depend on robotics for our very lives and robots begin to develop sentience. To borrow a quote from J. R. R. Tolkien: “The sheep get like shepherds, and the shepherds get like sheep.” In this case, machines become like us and we become like machines. It’s a prospect Section 9 have to deal with every day, and none more so than the Major herself.

 

 

Motoko Kusanagi as seen in Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd GIG

In most series, Motoko Kusanagi’s past and how she became a cyborg are a mystery. Some give us hints, others ignore it completely to focus on the story at hand. The 2002 series Stand Alone Complex was an exception. In the second season, we learn the Major was a human girl who was badly hurt in a plane crash. She fell into a coma and her doctors placed her brain in a prosthetic body to save her life. Each series has its own take on her character, but in all cases the Major has little to no memory of her past life. This is where the title comes in. In all her incarnations, Motoko questions whether a person’s soul - or “ghost” - can exist within a prosthetic “shell”. Sometimes, this extends to the issue of whether cyborgs should be treated as human beings. These questions are faced by everyone in the world of Ghost in the Shell, and just as there are differing opinions in the real world, there are different opinions shown in the Major’s interactions with other people. Her friends and colleagues treat her the same way as a human, but strangers think of her as just a machine or a sex object. It’s an easy mistake to make when you see Ghost in the Shell for the first time. In most series, Motoko has violet hair, red eyes and… interesting taste in civilian clothes. Most anime series include colourful characters for the hell of it, but in Ghost in the Shell, it’s justified by cyborgs being less self-conscious than we are. Even so, you would be wise to treat Motoko Kusanagi with respect. She can wield an anti-tank rifle one-handed like it’s nothing.

 

 

A Fuchikoma tank as seen in Ghost in the Shell: Arise

On the other end of the spectrum, Ghost in the Shell explore the issue of robots becoming more human. It’s a well-known concept thanks to films like Blade Runner and Terminator 2, but few have explored it as deeply as Shirow does in his franchise. Each series does it differently on both sides of the battlefield and one of the best examples, of all things, is the Fuchikoma. A series trademark, Fuchikomas are the armoured tanks assigned to Section 9. Their roles range from simple attack vehicles to fully-fledged teammates, but they all have AI (artificial intelligence) designed to make them independent. This makes them unpredictable and fast learners in combat, but causes trouble in the garage for Section 9 and themselves. While they never turn on their comrades, the Fuchikomas’ AI does lead them to gain sentience and develop personalities of their own - they talk, they feel, they bicker amongst themselves and they even philosophise. Imagine a tank with the intelligence of Steven Hawking and the emotional maturity of a child and you’re halfway there. It may be hard to believe such characters can exist in a realistic setting, but the Fuchikomas do it surprisingly well. They also serve a double purpose (depending on the series): they bring comic relief to firefights and make their comrades - and us - question what it means to be “human”. A big job for what can be best described as a cute mechanical spider. Over the years, their design has changed to adapt to new mediums - but it’s unlikely they’ll appear in the live-action film. Sadly, what works for Japan doesn’t always work for Hollywood. We may, however, see their roles filled in another way. If Ridley Scott could do it, Sanders can too.

 

 

Scarlett Johansson will play Motoko Kusanagi in the live-action adaptation due next year

For now, news of the live-action Ghost in the Shell is scarce. We can, however, confirm it has started filming and is due to release on 31st March 2017 through Paramount Pictures. Scarlett Johansson is playing the Major, while Danish actor Pilou Asbaek (Euron Greyjoy in the upcoming season of Game of Thrones) is playing Batou. Michael Pitt has been cast as the “Laughing Man” - a cyber-terrorist originally from Stand Alone Complex - and Takeshi Kitano has just been cast as Section 9’s Chief Aramaki. The rest of the cast are unknown, but considering Ghost in the Shell’s global popularity, the pressure is on for Sanders to do it justice. If he does, we’ll have an adaptation Masamune Shirow can be proud of. And if he doesn’t… well, we’ll always have the anime.

 

 

A quiet moment in SAC

If you’d like to check out Ghost in the Shell before the film is released, the full collection of anime films and series is out now on DVD. There are three continuities - Mamoru Oshii’s films, Stand Alone Complex and Arise - so there’s no need to watch them all in order. You can start wherever you like and go anywhere from there. Three choices may not seem much, but as the Major says, the world of Ghost in the Shell is vast and infinite. And we’ll never need a cyberbrain to see it.