I want to make one think clear at the start of this review, I have seen all other Ghost in the Shell anime’s series at some point before the release of ‘Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045’ and I have watched them quite a few times as they are among my favourite anime’s of all time (especially Stand Alone Complex). With that said I going to try to be natural on this. Just a heads up.

Animation – By far the biggest change in the series and a topic no-one can avoid. In brief it’s good. The animation of the 3D models is on level with the use within video games with it’s smooth appearance and natural motion, it stands out more than other as it is one of the best and highest quality I’ve seen in recent anime (AAA video game level work we’re talking about here). All character motion and animation are great, immediate setting (in other words ‘rooms’) is well put together. That said there are drawbacks such as more work could be done on backgrounds, in other ‘Ghost in the Shell’ series the background often showed off the scale of the locations (the use of citywide shots everything from the 1995 film to Arise) creating the appearance of a much larger world. But in SAC_2045 all that is completely gone (probably as it’s quite difficult to make a whole city using 3D models) and the world itself feels bland and lacking any character. When an action section happens (i.e. a fight) this is where most of the problems of animation are. Fights in SAC_2045 can range from fairly okay to stupid to rather stupid (mostly the last) and the tone is completely gone out the window (there’s comedic nudity more than once). This is a series that in the past used combat in a mature way it was always used as a last resort (used realistically) and it was meaningful and impactful. SAC_2045 missies that. So animation then is good, but scale is gone and combat isn’t as mature anymore. Also to note the Opening Sequence is in 3D is nice while the Ending Sequence is in 2D and is also nicely

Review for first half story - For me the story in the first half is all over the place as unlike ‘Stand Alone Complex’ season one and season two where episodes where divided into stand alone story episodes and overarching episodes SAC_2045 doesn’t have that (doesn’t feel like than anyway although some episodes are standalone). But the problem is the episodes are wildly different in-terms of focus and tone. We start off with what feels like a mix of ‘The Expendables’ and ‘Scooby-Doo’, with tone more in-line with ‘Scooby-Doo’. The first few episodes are a bit strange was it has to set up a lot of changes that have happened between ‘Solid State Society’ and ‘SAC_2045’ while setting up a main plot. The main plot itself is set up is very odd and makes the whole story feel very wired with also make the episode and characters feel odd. Episodes 7-12 change a bit was it becomes more focused and the pace slows down quite a bit, but tone is still a problem. This is probably the last anime you expect to find comedic nudity (including in fights), but the comedic nudity is followed by a slow gentle episode that is nicely though out. This really is Ghost in the Shell writing mixed with Netflix and a lot of fizzy drinks however I think it works (I explain later). Personally, I feel is written to make a show and sell maybe that why some of potential is lost.

Characters – It’s hasn’t changed to much from ‘Solid State Society’ although a few changes happen off-screen to characters that aren’t really explained. There still solid while ‘Purin Ezaki’ (new) makes the show feel fresher. The main cast have felt that they aged a bit, that said that would be expected as the first series took place in 2030 and this series in 2045.

As a Ghost in the Shell fan - I said I was going to be natural on this but if I digress of a bit. One of major changes is the (animation duh) tone of the story which is something all other ‘Ghost in the Shell’ anime’s do differently. The stories are much more scuttle by giving very little away to make you look deeper at it and pick it apart which also make people think about it often leading people having different views on the same sense let alone the whole show.
While it sounds like I’m ripping it apart it’s (again) because I’m a fan of the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and my main issue is that it isn’t the same anymore from ‘Stand Alone Complex’ season one and two. All the pacing, mature tone, the thoughtful story, the depth. It’s (mostly) gone from ‘SAC_2045’.

It’s hard to say if I would recommend it or not because while it look like I’m ripping it apart I still enjoyed it. The strange thing is that this is a sequel to a show that came out in 2006 (Solid State Society) so change was going to happen. But even more strangely as a continuation to ‘Stand Alone Complex’ it works. ‘Ghost in the Shell’ fans may or may not like it but there’s another way of think about it.

Ghost in the Shell as an anime has always (to me) talked about the challenges of modern technology, for example in 1995 the World Wide Web was starting to be used within peoples homes and as more people starting using this the technology it started to develop faster (using the multiplication theory). That the time it was a new thing that could have in gone in any direction. The 1995 film creates a situation using the technology at the time and creates a film around it and a talking point. SAC_2045 does much the same even the fact that Netflix publish it also shows technology (albeit in a not subtle way). As a ‘Ghost in the Shell’ series that is key and it manages it (differently).

Again last thoughts animation good (sort of), story is wired (too wired), world is bland, philosophy element still there (sort of). So I would say watch it but it’s wildly different from other parts in the ‘Ghost in the Shell’ series. Also remember the term ‘Ghost in the Shell’ series is a bit loose (example there is massive different between the original manga (1989-91) by Masamune Shirow, the 1995 film, Stand Alone Complex and Arise (2013-15). Give it a go and see.