Post by Marccio on Nov 27, 2004 17:41:59 GMT -5
Major Motoko Kusanagi is an agent on the trail of a notorious and extremely dangerous hacker known as the Puppet Master. Major Kusanagi's body, like that of the vast majority of the people in this futuristic setting, has built in cybernetic enhancements to augment her physical and mental abilities. This enhanced outer body is called one's "shell", while their inner spirit and personality is their "ghost". Many people, such as Major Kusanagi, have had their bodies so enhanced and changed by these cybernetic components that their ghost is the only thing that separates the machine from the human.
The rise of these new electronics paved the way for a new breed of hacker. Since most people had been surgically enhanced with cybernetic body and brain augmentations, this enabled especially skilled hackers to actually hack in to other people's bodies. Even ghosts are no longer safe from hackers, and ghost-hacked victims are reduced to nothing more that a soulless shell used for the hacker's bidding.
One individual hacker has risen above the rest as the most mysterious and dangerous. This incredible supercriminal is the Puppet Master. Major Kusanagi is assigned to track down the Puppet Master, and in the process winds up uncovering a governmental conspiracy while at the same time dealing with her own inner demons involving conflicting feelings about her true self.
Easily the foremost aspect of Ghost in the Shell is something that will certainly be noticed immediately upon watching the opening sequence: the positively supreme animation. Overall, Ghost in the Shell is easily one of, if not THE most visually superior anime of all time. The visual effects are sure to knock you out of your seat, and the backgrounds are just as stunning and fabulously detailed. The characters themselves, while not particularly inspiring, are beautifully animated and move a fluidly as water.
The sound effects are amazing, paralleling the spectacular animation. The music for the movie is overall very enjoyable, and very fitting to the anime as well. The dubbing for each character is excellent; everyone retains their own personality while also having the hollow sound to emphasize their cyborg characteristics.
While the technical aspects of Ghost in the Shell are beyond compare, the storyline and character development, two very crucial areas, are aspects of the movie that fall short. To begin with, the plot, while fairly innovative, could have been much more enjoyable if told in a different, less confusing fashion. If I had a more clear vision of what happened I would have had a better appreciation for the story.
Also, various aspects of the abilities of ghosts are not fully explained, such as a ghosts ability to "dive" into another's shell, basically entering the mind of a different person. This is a fairly important facet of the story and it is never fully explained what or how this occurs. On top of this, the ending is so unclear that I feel the only people who have a definite idea of what happens at the end of Ghost in the Shell are the creators, and to say I am not a fan of open-ended finishes is a drastic understatement. Not to spoil anything, but I felt a more direct final showdown between Major Kusanagi and the Puppet Master would have been much more appropriate that what actually took place. The fight scenes were so incredible and the battle sequences were so suspenseful that I thought a calamitous last battle would have been the best way to end the movie.
Ghost in the Shell is widely regarded as one of the premier anime classics, so upon viewing it for the first time I was very excited but also rather expectant. After finishing the movie I felt that I had enjoyed it but that it had some fairly major short comings. While I was exhilarated during the fight sequences and in awe at the incredible animation, I was unsatisfied with the story (an element I value very highly in anime) and the ending in particular. It is a good anime, but doesn't quite live up to it's out-of-this-world reputation.
The rise of these new electronics paved the way for a new breed of hacker. Since most people had been surgically enhanced with cybernetic body and brain augmentations, this enabled especially skilled hackers to actually hack in to other people's bodies. Even ghosts are no longer safe from hackers, and ghost-hacked victims are reduced to nothing more that a soulless shell used for the hacker's bidding.
One individual hacker has risen above the rest as the most mysterious and dangerous. This incredible supercriminal is the Puppet Master. Major Kusanagi is assigned to track down the Puppet Master, and in the process winds up uncovering a governmental conspiracy while at the same time dealing with her own inner demons involving conflicting feelings about her true self.
Easily the foremost aspect of Ghost in the Shell is something that will certainly be noticed immediately upon watching the opening sequence: the positively supreme animation. Overall, Ghost in the Shell is easily one of, if not THE most visually superior anime of all time. The visual effects are sure to knock you out of your seat, and the backgrounds are just as stunning and fabulously detailed. The characters themselves, while not particularly inspiring, are beautifully animated and move a fluidly as water.
The sound effects are amazing, paralleling the spectacular animation. The music for the movie is overall very enjoyable, and very fitting to the anime as well. The dubbing for each character is excellent; everyone retains their own personality while also having the hollow sound to emphasize their cyborg characteristics.
While the technical aspects of Ghost in the Shell are beyond compare, the storyline and character development, two very crucial areas, are aspects of the movie that fall short. To begin with, the plot, while fairly innovative, could have been much more enjoyable if told in a different, less confusing fashion. If I had a more clear vision of what happened I would have had a better appreciation for the story.
Also, various aspects of the abilities of ghosts are not fully explained, such as a ghosts ability to "dive" into another's shell, basically entering the mind of a different person. This is a fairly important facet of the story and it is never fully explained what or how this occurs. On top of this, the ending is so unclear that I feel the only people who have a definite idea of what happens at the end of Ghost in the Shell are the creators, and to say I am not a fan of open-ended finishes is a drastic understatement. Not to spoil anything, but I felt a more direct final showdown between Major Kusanagi and the Puppet Master would have been much more appropriate that what actually took place. The fight scenes were so incredible and the battle sequences were so suspenseful that I thought a calamitous last battle would have been the best way to end the movie.
Ghost in the Shell is widely regarded as one of the premier anime classics, so upon viewing it for the first time I was very excited but also rather expectant. After finishing the movie I felt that I had enjoyed it but that it had some fairly major short comings. While I was exhilarated during the fight sequences and in awe at the incredible animation, I was unsatisfied with the story (an element I value very highly in anime) and the ending in particular. It is a good anime, but doesn't quite live up to it's out-of-this-world reputation.