Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie

Ghost in the Shell is one of the most enduring and beloved anime franchises, also widely known for inspiration for the Matrix. It's also one of the most reworked franchises, with many iterations and alternate versions, which aren't entirely accessible for some viewers. If one can pass this hindrance, the literal New Movie possesses high quality sci-fi with excellent artworks and voice acting.

Plot is a continuation from the most recent Arise: Alternative Architecture TV animation, which is television version of Arise four movies. If all of these etymologies confuse you, it's all right, this series is known for its complexity. Arise itself is a new rework, thus the artwork might not look like old version, especially the slimmer protagonist Motoko Kusanagi.

While this is not so out-of-the-world like many previous iterations, it's not easily available for newcomers, even for fans who didn't watch the Arise version. It's skimped on many narratives and character introductions. It certainly doesn't have "previously on" segments, so this can feel alienating, especially when the movie has many specific jargon and terms associated with the plot.

Fortunately, the sheer production is brilliant enough to compensate for the inaccessibility. The world Motoko lives on is very splendidly done, it's also the world with prejudice, not for skin color but for the prosthetic parts one wears inside. Motoko is born fully augmented, making her a special operative. The same technologies are also used on different aspects like stealth, warfare, and even communication with virtual private chat, so the characters might seem speaking telepathically.

The visual is very aesthetically and thematically pleasing. It's a futuristic setting, but not so far off that it becomes unidentifiable. There are tons of cultural and urban scenery, some of which look utterly gorgeous, even those in brief scenes. Bits of graphical details scatter on the vista, as nifty foundations for intriguingly futuristic world.

Aside for the immense amount of details, action is also fluid and inclusion of 3D effect looks admirably fitting. Voice actors do wonderful jobs here, especially the veteran Maaya Sakamoto who delivers wide range of emotions, there are subtle variations even with the stoic character.

For fans, this is a nice continuation of new series with polished execution. For newcomers, it's almost akin to watching The Matrix straight on its second movie, rather overwhelming but can be still pleasing due to its sheer production.

So yeah the story does fit perfectly & neatly as a prequel etc, but the storytelling is mostly very dull, the pacing of it feels like sleepwalking, it lacks strong emotions, no character development. If you watched the other films then you get the point - timewise it's an early phase for the characters so you could say it makes sense to have them intentionally underdeveloped. But still, I expected more depth from this series and this was very flat. The 2nd movie was way better.

"Ghost in the Shell" is well-known for its philosophical pondering, and elegantly brutal combat scenes. Ghost in the Shell: Arise takes things a step down, but none the less executes a beautiful story of the origins of Section 9.

A lot has changed in terms of style and character, but that does not bother me one bit considering Ghost in the Shell is a world where bodies can be easily constructed or swapped for one's personal satisfaction. I really like the Major's younger appearance!

Although the short series does not dive into philosophy as much as Stand Alone Complex, it's still there. The series did make me think, just not as much. However, Mamoru Oshii seemed not to have been involved in this project (he's the director who gifted the vision of the two movies, and was an adviser for SAC).

FUNimation did spectacular with the voice acting. The four episodes of "Arise" was worth watching on my part!

If you're interested in watching the new movie, best to watch "Arise" first.

Though this sequel prequel is better than the first sequel, Ghost In The Shell - Innocence, it still doesn't match up to the original, Ghost In The Shell.

What the screenwriters John Burgmeier, Clint Bickham, and Tow Ubukata, give the audience is the story of Major Motoko Kusanagi and her perfect machine of paid mercenaries. I like the idea that she sees her team as a well-oiled machine, each person represents a working part of the machine and every part (man) is required to make her perfect machine. Since she is a cyborg, I could quite easily see her making this simile. It's the story of how they were recruited into Section 9.

The story is stronger than the last as the Disney influence is no longer there and the philosophical issues are once again interwoven throughout the story, which helps to give it strength and carry the viewer along. However, there are not as many twists in the tale.

Also, the CGI is used to much better ability, as it's mixed in with the traditional animation style to help build better effects and ambiance. I particularly liked the scene near the beginning where a child is running through a flowery archway... The flowers are so bright and vivid it's very dreamlike.

There is so much right with this animation that I cannot pick any faults, except it's just not as hard-hitting as the original... or as stylised.

If you've watched the original then I'd say forget watching Innocence and opt to watch this one instead. It's soo much better and has a similar taste, tone, and mood to the first. These two together what a treat, not just for the eyes but for the mind also.

If you don't know the Story and have never watched an animated film like this one: Stay away, don't watch it. It may spoil your wish to watch any other Anime film.

If you have seen the Original Ghost in the Shell (Part 1 or 2 or both) you may be disappointed for the lack of story and a whole bunch of scenes that are just the same only with different characters (same drawing style, same camera, same lines).

If you know the Arise Border Quadrilogie, watching it is even worse. It looks like they just copied the animation and added some new lines and a crude story to it. For me it looks like some people just wanted to make some quick money, without putting any effort on it.

The drawings are simple and the character animation is very poor.

So don't put an effort in watching it.