Mamoru Oshii
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Not only is Ghost in the Shell a close runner up to 1988’s Akira as one of the best Manga-based anime films (the Manga for both sagas began in the same publication: Young Magazine), but serves as an animated prototype for 1999’s The Matrix.
The philosophical concepts pondered here — the intersection of mankind and machinery, the troubling, anesthetizing spread of mass technology — are no longer as startling as they were in an era before “The Matrix,” to name the most significant beneficiary of “Ghost in the Shell’s” influence.
Ghost in the Shell doesn’t have that mainstream pedigree, but Mamoru Oshii’s once-groundbreaking cyberpunk visual aesthetic — which inspired The Matrix — gives Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders and his production team a blueprint to achieve some seriously eye-popping work.
While many aspects of Ghost in the Shell will be familiar to Americans from the likes of Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence: A.I. and Minority Report , James Cameron’s Avatar and above all The Matrix , that’s a tribute to the massive cultural influence of Ghost in the Shell .
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Directed by Rupert Sanders
influenced by Ghost in the Shell (1995), Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
Plot Themes Characters
This week’s repackaged old idea is a live-action version of the classic Japanese comic book Ghost in the Shell , which itself inspired the 1995 anime film with the same name.
It isn’t a remake of Mamoru Oshii’s sci-fi animated feature , which is a classic of the genre, but a very studious homage; the plot is original (provided one has never played a video game influenced by Ghost In The Shell), though it draws ideas from later animated adaptations of Masamune Shirow’s manga series.
"Ghost in the Shell": From the potential blockbuster vein comes this Scarlett Johansson starrer, based on Mamoru Oshii's 1995 animated take on the same story and, apparently, some other quite nifty Japanese stuff that fans of this punky genre readily acknowledge and take very seriously.
In Ghost in the Shell, based on a Japanese manga comic of the early 1990s (which inspired a fascinating 1995 animated film), Johansson plays, inevitably, a full-on robot named Major.
If the "ghost" of anime classic Ghost in the Shell refers to the soul looming inside of its killer female cyborg, then this live-action reboot from director Rupert Sanders really only leaves us the shell: a heavily computer-generated enterprise with more body than brains, more visuals than ideas, as if the original movie’s hard drive had been wiped clean of all that was dark, poetic and mystifying.
A chain-smoking scientist character from “Innocence,” explicitly modeled on “A Cyborg Manifesto” author Donna Haraway, gets repurposed as a simple plot functionary.
Minority Report (2002)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
influenced by Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Themes Visuals
While many aspects of Ghost in the Shell will be familiar to Americans from the likes of Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence: A.I. and Minority Report , James Cameron’s Avatar and above all The Matrix , that’s a tribute to the massive cultural influence of Ghost in the Shell .
Ghost in the Shell is a stunning film to look at, taking that cyberpunk aesthetic to new heights with nods to the likes of Blade Runner , Minority Report and (or course) the anime original.
Blackhat is not a sci-fi film, but this comes close to being what a Michael Mann live-action take on Ghost in the Shell might look like – and until a final act reveal, it shares with that cyberpunk cornerstone the concept of a cat-and-mouse chase with an unknowable malevolent force.
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
influenced by Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Visuals Themes
It’s a little Æon Flux, a little Ghost In the Shell, and even some Akira and Speed Racer.
Based upon the three-decades old Japanese comic series “Gunnm” created by Yukito Kishiro, there are a lot of expectations for this adaptation, especially in light of the whitewashing controversy surrounding the lukewarm Scarlett Johansson live-action feature Ghost in the Shell.
It has long been fact that western adaptations of eastern material (more specifically Japanese manga) have never quite hit the mark; from the casting debacle of 2017’s Ghost in the Shell to the letdown of Netflix’s Death Note that same year, so you won’t be surprised by people's trepidation going into Battle Angel, but it must be said that this is easily the most faithful manga adaptation to date - and that may be down to the fact that it’s been twenty years in the making.
Live-action adaptations of anime and manga haven’t had the best of luck in Hollywood, at least if we’re looking at big theatrical attempts like Ghost in the Shell or Dragon Ball Evolution .
Two years ago, at around this same time, Scarlett Johansson's Ghost in the Shell crashed and burned due to an irresponsibly conceived story that put into stark relief the whitewashing of its main character.
Directed by idiosyncratic madman Tim Burton and written by Ehren Kruger ( The Ring , Ghost in the Shell ), this update wears its larger-than-life heart on its sleeve and is singularly composed to enthrall children with its sense of magical wonderment.
The new version, directed by Tim Burton and written by Ehren Kruger (credits include three Transformers movies, The Ring and Ghost in the Shell), clocks in at almost two hours and puts the human characters upfront.
The script for 2019’s Dumbo from Ehren Kruger ( Ghost In the Shell ) not only shifts the focus away from the wonderful Dumbo and onto the humans who are caring for the elephant, but also expands the tale into a larger one of self-love and the importance of family.
El guion, firmado por Ehren Kruger (quien escribió las películas de Transformers y, más recientemente, el inerte remake de Ghost in the Shell ), no agrega una pizca de profundidad a sus personajes, que tienen una presencia casi anecdótica, con la excepción de Eva Green que deslumbra cuando entra en cada escena, aunque la nueva musa del director está siendo gastada al igual que Depp en su momento.
In their place, Burton and scripter Ehren Kruger (whose credits range from the underrated pair Arlington Road and Ghost in the Shell to the awfulness of The Brothers Grimm and three — count ‘em, three — Transformers flicks) decided that they should instead focus on the human characters, because Lord knows that’s what people really want to see when they attend a movie ostensibly about a flying elephant.
Director Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd) uses his gothic style to darken the mood and screenwriter Ehren Kruger (Ghost in the Shell) takes the narrative into unfamiliar places in comparison to the cartoon, but when the titular pachyderm is not front and center, Dumbo feels like it’s gliding, not soaring.
Though his previous work as a director was 1999's very different "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade," Okiura and the key members of his creative team have connections to many classic anime, including "Ghost in the Shell," "Spirited Away" and "Paprika."
Chalk the quality up to experience – Okiura has been in the animation game since the late 80s, and has varying credits on films ranging from Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (which he directed), to Paprika (on which he was a key animator), to both Ghost in the Shell films (where he served as animation supervisor).
He also worked as an animator or in other capacities on Akira , Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie , Metropolis , Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence , Paprika , and others.
But it’s produced by renowned studio Production I.G., known for the influential sci-fi anime Ghost in the Shell.
A girl mourning the death of her father is visited by three mischievous spirits only she can see in “A Letter to Momo.” Marking a dramatic departure from his bloody 1999 debut, “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade,” director Hiroyuki Okiura brings a dash of magic to this modern-day story, crafting precisely the sort of imaginative family-friendly toon auds expect from Studio Ghibli — only this one hails from Production I.G , the outfit responsible for the more adult-skewing “Ghost in the Shell” series.
One of the leading anime production companies currently operating in Japan, Production I.G., is best known for its work across various highbrow sci-fi and violent horror series such as Ghost in the Shell and Blood the Last Vampire.
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Directed by Lana Wachowski
influenced by Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Themes
Although the first film plays as a For Dummies guide to Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation and Cartesian philosophy whose most compelling images are cribbed from Oshii's Ghost in the Shell , its sense of our collective, mechanized dehumanization and its hope that we might be, for all our despair, special, lingers on.
It is here that Stone draws his picture of the nascent Snowden: shy but blunt, curious but trusting, intellectual but jingoistic… and, apparently, a big fan of Ghost in the Shell .
It’s supposed to be hip and funny that he and his girlfriend, Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley), strike digital sparks when they learn, in a geek chat room, that each loves the 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell .
Regional relocation is usually a kiss of death for cross-culture products (see: Ghost In The Shell), but Tsugumi Ohba (writer) and Takeshi Obata (illustrator), who created the cult-beloved Death Note manga, were quick to offer praise.
Like, it's the very definition of “whitewashed”, on par with Scarlett Johansson’s recent turn in the American Ghost in the Shell adaptation.
In the complicated and evolving conversation about Asian representation onscreen, adaptation, and erasure, it's not accurate to describe Death Note as replicating the exact outrages of Ghost in the Shell, which kept the cultural trappings of its source material while discarding the actual people.
This year’s Ghost in the Shell reboot, for example, attempted to address its own whitewashing controversy via the poor decision of introducing a whitewashing based twist into the narrative itself, leading to the sound of faces hitting palms in multiplexes across the globe.
Hillary-esque senatorial candidate Jess (Scarlett Johansson, Ghost in the Shell) is taken away to Miami for a hen’s weekend with her old friends: clingy and jealous Alice (Jillian Bell, Fist Fight), corporate queen Blair (Zoë Kravitz, TV’s Big Little Lies), trust-fund anarchist Frankie (Ilana Glazer, Broad City), and Jess’ Australian friend Pippa (Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Life).
Johansson, who got swallowed up in the “Blade-Runner”-meets-broken-glass cyber doldrums of “Ghost in the Shell,” has long avoided this sort of unabashed megaplex comedy, but it’s a pleasure to see her take on a role in which she can coast along on the no-nonsense vibrance of her personality.
Scarlett Johansson (2017's " Ghost in the Shell ") is the straight heroine at its center, and she plays the situation real while occasionally aiming for humor that simply isn't inspired enough on the page to take flight.
After Ghost in the Shell and Captain America: Civil War, it’s great to see Johansson in a role that lets her show her comedy chops.
The Blade Runner theme of identity as a function of memory is raised but not explored.
Kenji Kawai's soundtrack is just as striking, combining "Blade Runner" -like ambient blips with Oriental drumming and chants.
An anime classic, something like Blade Runner for the exploding IT industry of the ’90s, director Mamoru Oshii and screenwriter Kazunori It?’s adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s manga is a merger of the lullingly reflective and the action-propelled.
…the film opens on a tight close-up of Pugh before a skyscraper infiltration in the style of Ghost in the Shell…
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
influenced by Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004), Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Themes
The best sequel to Blade Runner is Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, with a long sidelong glance at Under the Skin, perhaps--and Her, too.
Blade Runner 2049's racial text is oft-plumbed by the horror and sci-fi genres, recently and with far more success by Jordan Peele's Get Out and Rupert Sanders's Ghost in the Shell .
Heck, even this past spring’s justly maligned live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell went over this territory more efficiently.
For one thing, his Death Note doesn’t, like this year’s ghastly Ghost In The Shell, conclude with Nat Wolff’s Light revealing that, actually, he is really Asian after all.
Death Note adapted a story where Ghost in the Shell adapted a culture.
Regional relocation is usually a kiss of death for cross-culture products (see: Ghost In The Shell), but Tsugumi Ohba (writer) and Takeshi Obata (illustrator), who created the cult-beloved Death Note manga, were quick to offer praise.
Like, it's the very definition of “whitewashed”, on par with Scarlett Johansson’s recent turn in the American Ghost in the Shell adaptation.
In the complicated and evolving conversation about Asian representation onscreen, adaptation, and erasure, it's not accurate to describe Death Note as replicating the exact outrages of Ghost in the Shell, which kept the cultural trappings of its source material while discarding the actual people.
Like 2017’s other feature film whitewash of Japanese manga, “ Ghost In The Shell ,” the pitfalls of “Death Note” only begin with its cursory adoption of an explicitly Eastern work for American audiences.
Yet anime's most visible cultural diffusion into the United States (at least until Princess Mononoke and Kawajiri's Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust ) has been "hard" science fiction films like Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell and Katsuhiro Ôtomo's seminal Akira (easily the most-quoted "first" for most North American anime junkies).
Lacking the sheer visceral thump and mind-bending power of cyberpunk classics such as Akira or Ghost in the Shell, Metropolis is nevertheless a gorgeous and accomplished work.
Pulling together imagery and themes explored in movies such as Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix, it envisions a retro-futuristic world (set in 2008, if you’re counting) where dubious and nefarious companies do backroom deals by jacking into the bodies of the unfortunates.
A queasy and intriguing horror-inflected techno-thriller that gets lost somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle between “Mandy,” “Inception,” and “Ghost in the Shell,” Brandon Cronenberg’s “Possessor” is so drunk on its own sick potential that it doesn’t have the time (or the balance) required to realize most of it.
But that author’s dystopian premonitions are just one aspect of its genre alchemy, a stylish mash-up of Ghost In The Shell , Inception , Under The Skin , and Olivier Assayas’ corporate-espionage thriller demonlover .
It winds up with direct visual echoes of Westworld and Ghost in the Shell , and its tone and setting specifics heavily recall Duncan Jones’ gloriously gritty science-fiction feature Moon .
J3’s full body creation, with legs, hair, and skin, is an obvious homage to the shelling sequence from the opening of Ghost in the Shell .
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
Directed by Hiroyuki Okiura
influenced by Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Written by Mamoru Oshii, director of the cult favorite "Ghost in the Shell," and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, who worked as a key animator on "Akira," "Jin-Roh" offers a violent but compelling vision of what an animated feature can be.
Written by Mamoru Oshii and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, both of Ghost in the Shell fame, Jin-Roh begins in an alternate-reality Tokyo in which the Nazis won World War II.
In a year rife with whitewashing controversies on both the big (Ghost in the Shell) and small (Iron Fist) screens, the continued underrepresentation of Asian talent stains the film a bit.