Name: Ghost in the Shell
Director: Mamoru Oshii
I thought I should start off the review section with a review of one of my favorite animes Ghost in the Shell. Most of the new people to anime haven't seen this anime and in my opinion there missing out. Ghost in the Shell is set in a furturistic Japan where crime is not only commited in real life but also through out the net. People have become intergrated with the internet becoming cyborg like and always connected to the internet. In the city of New Port a elite group of anti-terrorist agents are working hard to find a hacker known as the puppet master who is taking control of individuals to carry out an assasination.
Batou chases a Perp
Plot: 9/10
The plot of Ghost in the Shell is mostly centered around Motoko Kusanagi the leader of section nine. She along with the other members of section nine (Togusa, Batou, Aramaki and Ishikawa) have been givin the assignment to track down a mysterious hacker who has taken control of a government interupter. The task starts out easy for section nine but when they dig deeper the story becomes much more complex. Ghost in the Shell also has some deep philosophical elements to it especially during the end which helps seperate it from other action anime.
Art 10/10
Even thought Ghost in the Shell was made in 1995 it still has some of the greatest visuals you will ever see. Subtle things like the eyes of cyborgs never blinking gives you the feeling that the cyborg characters are entirely different then humans. The action of the movie is also very crisp giving it that quality feeling you get with most anime movies that you don't get with a tv series.
Chief Aramaki goes over Section 9s Plans
Sound 8/10
The sounds in Ghost in the Shell are nothing amazing but the musical score is very nice. Most of the music gives you a weird feeling that there is something wrong with the city and that there is something troubling the characters.
Togusa on route to the traced hacker
Overall: 9/10
Ghost in the Shell was the first serious anime I saw and is still one of my favorites. The action is great but the movie is not dumbed down by it, it also holds a interesting plot. The setting of the story is also one of the most interesting in anime also. In the end I recommend this anime to anyone whos old enough to handle it because it does contain nudity and excessive violence.