Ghost in the Shell is undoubtedly one of the most influential anime films, no, one of the most influential animated films ever made. It did wonders in reducing the stigma towards anime and other animated content held by the West and was a pioneer in many regards. I don't think I'm going to be able to do this film justice, and I'm not going to dive too deep into it. I'm not exactly very good at analyzing stuff so bear with me, this is just going to be my interpretation. Now let's talk about this behemoth of a movie.
Ghost in the Shell mainly deals with Section 9, a unit of the police force which specializes in cyberterrorism. More specifically, it deals with the group's efforts to capture the elusive "Puppet Master", a hacker who specializes in "ghost-hacking" or "brain-hacking", i.e. hacking into a person's computerized consciousness to manipulate them. To talk more about the plot, I'll have to give a brief explanation of the world.
The story takes place in a futuristic world in which technology has developed to the extent that people have cybernetic brains now. The people can freely dip their feet into the vast sea of the Internet, as it has now taken the form of a collective consciousness that can easily be accessed by the cybernetic brains. Government officials have been made into cyborgs in order to increase efficiency, which includes the aforementioned Section 9, of which all the members (excluding one) are cyborgs.
This computerization of the human mind is the main aspect which leads to all of the occurrences and ideas shown in this film. When a person becomes cybernetically augmented, their consciousness is referred to as their "Ghost", and it is an enigmatic concept very much connected to the idea of a person's "Soul". It can be viewed as the essence of a cybernetically enhanced being, what makes them unique. One of the main focuses of the film is the dilemma of the main character, Motoko Kusanagi, also known as the "Major", the Squad Leader of Section 9. She repeatedly questions her humanity, and these frequent introspective moments are what lead to the climax of the film.
The antagonist of the movie, the "Puppet Master", is one of the most interesting concepts I have seen in a cyberpunk setting, and it is utilized to it's fullest potential here. Corruption is a major aspect to the Puppet Master's character, more specifically, the circumstances surrounding the character. This aspect of corruption is actually quite common in a lot of media, but it is the presentation of it that makes all the difference, as it is merely another stepping stone to the climax of this film. The major idea explored by the Puppet Master's character is the line between man & machine, how blurred it can get, and whether it can be removed entirely. Definitely one of the more fascinating antagonists I have come across, and the only reason I do not have him in my favorites is that he is more of a concept than he is a character (which is the entire point of the character, but just a personal bias here).
Batou & Togusa are the important side characters, and both of them serve their purpose well. Batou is hinted at having a history with the Major, and is the person closest to her, and helps her out on many occassions. Togusa is the only non-cyber human in Section 9, and is vastly different from the other members in the fact that he has a family to care for. Both of them serve their purpose well & are ultimately not very significant in the grand scheme of things, but their presence does not harm the film in any way.
The climax of this movie is one of the best sequences I have seen in any film, ever. The ideas it deals with are very fascinating, and the conclusion is very, very, VERY GOOD. I'm not going to go into it because of spoilers, but it very much deals with the dilemma of how a machine can become more than just a machine.
The presentation of this film is 10/10, brilliant in every way. The animation is top-notch, and I can definitely see why it is considered revolutionary. Every aspect of this film, whether it be the movements of the characters, or the backgrounds, has been polished to the maximum, and it is definitely one of the best examples of animation I have ever seen. The artstyle just fits with the movie, and looks incredible on it's own, and I do wish more TV series are movies were made nowadays with this aesthetic. Although there is gore, it is used very sparingly and they don't make a massive spectacle of it. It fits tonally with the film as well.
I can keep going on and on about the animation, and I will. You easily get immersed into the world that the movie is presenting you with, and the background characters all feel like real people, along with their movements. Every single frame oozes with style and there is an attention to detail that can be found in few other movies. It looks like they just filmed everything and drew over it without missing any detail, and I say this as a massive compliment. Contrary to what you may think of from reading this, the movie is VERY stylized, AND THAT JUST ADDS ON TO HOW GOOD IT LOOKS. I just can't stop gushing over the animation of this movie. Normally I don't care about animation as long as it's not horrendous, but this movie just looks immaculate.
The world this movie showcases is also incredibly interesting, and how it is fleshed out is also great. You are not spoon-fed anything, and everything you learn about the world is purely from the dialogue and the shots that you see. You infer the meaning of many terms yourself, but it's not "Oh here is a bunch of random stuff, piece it together yourself, we're too lazy to do it for you", you are given everything needed to understand the world, and you'll get the meaning of everything quite easily. Personally, I needed a rewatch to understand everything, mainly because I wasn't paying attention the first time and was just texting people during the movie, and I am glad I rewatched it, because if not, I would have missed out on this incredible film. This movie should very much be heralded as an example of how to do exposition right.
The negatives of an increasingly cyber world are presented well in this movie. For example, there is a minor plot point regarding a cybernetically augmented truck driver whose brain got hacked by the Puppet Master. The motivations behind the criminal acts this truck driver committed was that he had a wife and daughter to take care of. However, it is soon revealed that he never had a wife & daughter, and they were just illusions implanted into his brain by the Puppet Master. This is a very powerful moment, and is not dwelled on very long so that you don't recover from the shock. It really brings you to think about how common such an occurrence would be in this type of world, and how these illusions are practically indistinguishable from reality. And this is just one example.
Ghost in the Shell is one of the most thought-provoking films I have watched recently. With a gripping plot, characters that serve the story well, a great protagonist-antagonist dynamic, and superb direction by Mamoru Oshii, I can very much see why this movie is so beloved, and I cannot fathom how big the impact would have been when it was released. A very fine cyberpunk story I would recommend to anyone.
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