Customer Reviews

Ghost in the Shell - Special Edition [Import]

5 star:		(242)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Based on Masamune Shirow's original Manga, renowned Japanese director and screenwriter Mamoru Oshii adapts Ghost in the Shell into a full length Anime film!

Taking place in 2029, cybernetic partners Motoko Kusanagi and Batou working with Public Security Section 9 led by chief Aramaki are after an infamous hacker called The Puppet Master. This hacker has hacked into the minds of many unsuspecting victims and gets them to commit various cyber crimes. Once further into the movie, you'll find out more about this being and what his true goal and nature are. What I found satisfying was the ending where Motoko Kusanagi is looking out to the city with a smile, saying ''The net is vast and infinite'' like The Major did in the Manga. I couldn't help but smile, as well!

What I regret is not purchasing the second edition Ghost in the Shell 2.0 that had some of the scenes digitally redone in CGI. I felt the computer animation was just incredible and a big improvement.

I give this worthy Anime film five stars!

I'm hooked on anime. The movie is fantastic. Drawn in by the similarity between Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix and Matrix Reloaded, this stylistic exploration of an issue that constatnly defies resolution -- the mind/body duality -- is certainly getting a strong revisit here.

Ghost in the Shell is Kazunori Ito's futuristic vision where the confluence of the body (the shell) and the ghost (the mind) meets cyborg technology and all we are left with is angst. The film is certainly aimed at adults. I am new to the phenomenon of anime so I am still wondering about all the nudity and violence playing to a particular theme. My sense is that the intimate nature of man and machine and the particular threat that cyborg technology poses is considered real and immediate. Reference is made to the high maintenance nature of the cyborg and the technology in this movie. However, despite lines like "Aside from a slight brain augmentation, your body's almost entirely human" and "You're treated like other humans, so stop with the angst!" we are still confronted with the mind/body duality.

Framed in a stylistic space where characters like Maj. Kusanagi run after such unlikely characters as "The Puppet Master" and similarities of movies like Bladerunner and the X-Files I can't help but grin at the irony of so "western" (and I use this word cautiously here) a consideration played out in such an "eastern" space. Despite all that, Ghost in the Shell is a cinematic event and should be treated as such. With the fertile cross polination between the east and the west, who knows, we might see a new entity which is a simulacra of the androginous characters that inhabit this genre. Am I hooked? Absolutely! Can't wait for the sequel. If you have not seen this movie -- watch it! It will change your perspective on animation entirely.

Miguel Llora

This movies ideas do not come from the Matrix. It came out before the Matrix. They do not come from Blade Runner, but from the author Phillip K Dick. William Gibson invented the term cyberspace in his 1984-acclaimed science fiction novel Neuromancer. If you are unfamiliar with Gibson "Johnny Mnemonic" with Keanu Reaves is based on one of his short stories. All of these films can fall into the genera of cyberpunk.

Anyway this film is does what should be done with animation. It does things that otherwise would not work with a live action film. This film is very heavy on the philosophical side so for some people they may find it extremely boring. To give this film anything less then 4 stars would be a crime just because of the sheer artistry, and the amount of time spent by these people making this project.

This anime was revolutionary, well drawn, well animated, and highly philisophocal. I love how GITS intrigues the mind with how technology has created highly sophisticated robots with human brains to make them the best replication of humans. Also, it teaches how science will never be able to define life. Lots of action, some violence, bare female robot flesh, and sophisticated thought have created a masterpiece. This not only challenged minds, but was the first animation to combine celluloid and computer animation. By the way, Paul Duet outta be beaten to death with a mace for saying Akira and GITS suck and saying that Trigun and Tenchi Muyo rule!! I also think genner outta be shot in the face with a 20-gage shotgun loaded with phosphor shells. Watch this, it's alot better than Princess Mononoke and Trigun combined!!

Ghost in the Shell is by far the most intellectual anime I have seen so far. The story deals with a group of cyborgs running after a new sort of being, the Puppetmaster.

The animations are of course superb and even realistic. Try the Japanse voices, I heard the American and they are sometimes lacking in emotional depth and range. A little flat sometimes and that did not do good to this otherwise great movie.

If you like the Matrix, it looks a little like it. People who can hook up to the net etc.

Ghost in the Shell is simply my favorite science fiction film second only to Blade Runner- Director's Cut. Which, not surprisingly, influenced this movie a great deal. I remember back in 1996.....already a full blown anime aficionado, I had followed the production of this film since the first Japanese press release and was eagerly awaiting its indefinate arrival on American shores. Having read Masamune Shirow's graphic novel that inspired the film, this became the first anime title that I ever pre-ordered and counted the days upon its release.

But the movie wasn't what I had expected. The entense action was toned down a bit. The humor in the graphic novel was entirely non-existent in the film. What was left were the deep philosophical ovetones. And I commend Mamoru Oshii for making the risky decision to focus mainly on this aspect of the story. The movie, in fact, was BETTER than I could have ever hoped.

The story seems simple even typical when described, but it's the underlining philosophical themes that make this film such a treasure.

Our protagonist is Motoko Kusanagi, an officer of a military division known as Section 9. On the trail of a Notorious hacker dubbed The Puppet Master, Kusunagi begins to question her own consciousness or "ghost" as she unravels the case.

Deep in 'noir' territory, Ghost in the Shell is definately not for the viewer who likes to check their brain at the door. You will be challenged to discover the existential nature of the characters as they discover it themselves. This is not bad filmaking rather than a forced empathy with Kusunagi that will hopefully get you contemplating some of the philosophical issues presented here.

intellectually and visually stimulating. great shots, action, and dialogue.

Well, how can i start. Awsome out the Ying-Yang!! Well, I've been an anime fan for about a year now, and I actually have just watched this movie recently. The sci-fi genre of anime is broad and expansive, and sometimes its hard to pick out those titles that, well, stand out. This is one of those few and far between titles that does stand out. I reccomend that any fan of anime, or anyone in general, watch this title. It will leave you thinking for hours on end about how this story could really happen and what if it DID happen. Not to draw this review out into deep dark waters of the future, so I've said it once and I'll say it again, watch this title.

Ghost in the Shell is the perfect movie if you love animes, it has a great story line, stunning animation, and its based off of Shirow Masamune's Ghost in the Shell manga. One of the best things about this movie is the way Mamoru Oshii tells the story, (he is one of my favorite directors)he is such a deep story teller, if you've seen some of his other movies like Jin-Roh the wolf brigade or Patlabor 1&2 you will understand what i'm talking about, and for the people that don't understand just think of it this way when you watch this movie make sure to pay atention to what is going on it may not make to much sence the first time you watch it so make sure to watch it a secound time to get the full effect of the movie, and hopefully you will come to love the movie as much as i do.

Ghost in the Shell is a very profound anime, its definitely not for everyone. The action comes in bits and pieces, so action fans will be disappointed, the technology in the anime is mind-boggling, and will no doubt wow techies. But the ending would probably register a "HUH?!" to most entry-level viewers, since the main theme of the story is not really what you'd think it is watching the whole show(don't wanna spoil it for u :P). I'd personally reccommend it to someone who can sit through the whole movie, and at the end of it still ponder about the issues the movie brought up.