Ghost in the Shell

Set in the near future, where information networks and direct neural interfaces are revolutionizing society. But the divisions of nations and races remain, and keeping the peace is a mobile strike force. "Major" Kusanagi Motoko is an officer of the Security Police Section 9; she has a full cyborg body, which houses her living brain. Together with team leader Aramaki and fellow part-cyborg Batou, the 9th division takes on the terrorists of the information age.
For the tankoubon, Shirow drew 36 additional color pages, many of which are "fade-ins" and "fade-outs" to the black and white pages.

Shirow on Ghost in the shell
Passages taken from Intron Depot 1 ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha

INTRO
GitS was serialized in Kodansha's Young magazine "Pirate Edition" every three months from 1989 to 1990. By now cyberpunk has become an everyday word, but its vision of the future remains bleak. I have no patience for meaningless platitudes like "The future is bright!", but I also don't think it's a foregone conclusion that it will be dark. How light or dark society becomes will be determined by people, not science. Speaking of which, I'm sure the Cyberbrain (direct computer/brain interface) would be an amazing drug, but it would have quite a few hurdles to jump - costs, risks, and software, to name three - before gaining widespread popularity. Besides, would that many people want to tamper with their brains just to enter a world of sham experience? Even in virtual reality, you'd still get hungry. You won't get rid of physical sensation unless you eliminate your body altogether. Sounds like a half-baked idea at best...

SUPER SPARTAN
[...] Actually, they don't have to rely on the wiring shown here to exchange information; they're also capable of optical communication (by aligning fingertip terminals, say, or eye-to-eye Lasers). I just thought the use of wires would be easier for the reader to grasp.
[...] Speaking of interfaces, I should've emphasized the concept of "connecting units" rather than "boarding" the Fuchikoma. They have levers and switches for manual operation, but normally they're supposed to be controlled as extensions of oneself via direct interface jacks. I don't know if cyborgs get drunk, but if they do, that would be one illegal cyborg. A drunk cyborg would be damn hard to handle....

JUNK JUNGLE
Interface-capable cyborgs, who can receive information directly in their brains, must be capable of experiences more amusing than reality, like the scene on the third page shown opposite. (I decided against the old cliché of grappling with a monster of unknown origin, which I'd hate drawing anyway.) However, simulated sex through data suit feedback would require one heck of a suit and look downright disgusting, so I decided not to even think about it. Anyway, I'm sure deep-sea adventures, space-walking , and trips around the world would be big-ticket items, too (would RPG play a leading role?). As wrote in the book, the more visual the stimulus, the less meaningful cyberbrain sex would be.... I drew an all-girl orgy because I didn't want to draw some guy's butt (gad, this is getting crass), and because I figured that connecting different-sex brains wouldn't necessarily amplify the pleasure principle. (It might be fun if you could control each others' bodies...) Well, there's a lot more to be said about this page, it suffice to say it's a tricky piece that still raises questions about "movement" in manga.... Note the synchronization between Batou and Kusanagi.

DUMB BARTER
The bullet for a Seburo(tm) is a line smaller than the conical tip of a pencil. It consists of a lightweight, extremely hard core surrounded by an explosive charge and film coating, and is quite expensive. By the time of the story, C4 is an old-fashioned PE obtainable in Japan. In this case it was probably taken from the seized property warehouse of the First Section. That's a gas explosion downstairs one of those notorious FAE bombs. For a cyborg that takes in outside air (as most do), nothing could be scarier. You could fill one with explosives via the lungs or body orifices, using gas as a medium. Would the air intake and eye valves be able to deal with this? [...]

BYE BYE CLAY
At this point work was proceeding at a good pace and I could see the light at the end of the book, so my work started to show a little muscle. The appearance of the Major's shoulder joints suggested to many readers that the rest of her arms were mechanical. I should explain that in the previous story, her arms were torn off, but replaced. When the skin was refabricated, the joints still protruded a bit. (She's an almost entirely mechanized cyborg.) I happen to like the first page. In the panels at top right, I was trying to get that cyberpunk look, old cars, etcetera - don't judge them too harshly! If the population looks sparse, let's just say there was a war, or an asteroid fell, or something. My theme this time was not the population explosion Thinking about that would only make the comic depressing. Even small businesses must transcend the confines own country, right?! And old products and technology can still come in handy!

BRAIN DRAIN
The character isn't wearing a mask (1) because this is a comic and (2) because I thought goggles would probably fog up when emerging from water into air early in the morning . If this were alive-action film, you'd be able to identify the character by his eyes, but in manga, where everything is symbolic, I thought a mask would confuse matters. This is actually supposed to be a night scene, so some of Kusanagi's actions may appear somewhat foolish, but.... High-speed submersible rubber rafts really exist, as do underwater breathing systems that recycle exhaled air. By the way, the gun muzzle has a waterproof seal-however, you couldn't tell that from the panels shown here (it's made clear in the book, though).
[...] Since Japanese comics read from upper right to lower left, this may be difficult for some foreign readers to follow. In English editions, the pages are flopped to read left-to-right, sometimes creating a bit of a sense of distortion, as the line of sight no longer flows perfectly correctly from top to bottom. I've heard that many manga artists dislike having their work published in the West for that reason. It's a serious problem. and one with no real practical solution... (I personally had no objection to being published in English this way, since, being warped myself, I'd rather have a slightly warped English edition than none at all).



GitS Characters

ARAMAKI: Chief, Security Police Section 9
Aramaki is very intelligent and resourceful enough to control the unique personalities of Batou and Kusanagi. He has been Chief of the secret intelligence agency for as long as anyone can remember. He would rather get his job done and hates to intervene in politics. However, he is also the Machiavelist who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty in pursuit of duty. His personality is too complex to perceive what he is actually thinking.

"MAJOR" MOTOKO KUSANAGI: Security Police Section 9
All background info about Kusanagi is unknown, but assuming from her nick-name, she may have been in military service before. She is an expert on unlawful activity, secret intelligence, and demolition. The "Major" was scouted from the special maneuver team of the Ministry of Home Affairs. She commands Batou and Togusa, which makes her the number two person in Section 9. Kusanagi had her body changed to that of a cybernetic one; Motoko's body is almost completely robotised and only a part of her brain is from her original body. She has an early 20's cyborg body, but actual age is estimated at being in her late 30's. Her sub-brain can access any kind of computer network on the Earth. The appearance of the Puppet Master has caused her to suspect the existence of her very soul or "ghost".
The name Kusanagi has a mythological reference: in fact it is spelt with the same characters as the name of the sacred sword of the Emperors of Japan, the KUSANAGI (also called AME NO MUREKUMO) [by The Wanderer].

BATOU: Security Police Section 9
An expert of unlawful activities like Motoko, he has been working as her partner for several years. His role is to support and control Kusanagi (who tends to go too far). They have been working together so long that they have grown accustomed to each other. His personal life is unknown.

TOGUSA: Security Police Section 9
Togusa is in his late 20's and married. He is the rare case of a person who has transferred to Section 9 from the police department, after being scouted by Kusanagi. Even though his brain has a connection to the cybernet, most of his body is still original. Togusa is considered an outsider by the other members of Section 9, who are mostly cyborgs transferred from the military.

ISHIKAWA: Security Police Section 9
The oldest member of Section 9 except for Aramaki. He is relied upon to keep his cool in a crisis.

NAKAMURA: Chief, Security Police Section 6; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, treaty ratification division
Nakamura's territory is different from Section 9, however, after the Puppet Master incident, he launched a secret operation, trying to outmaneuver Aramaki and Section 9. He is more likely to go "by the book" than Aramaki.

PUPPET MASTER: Official codename "Project 2501"
This is the program developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their diplomatic conspiracy activities. It is connected to all the computer networks in the world. After accessing various kinds of databases and programs, it reached sentience and claimed itself a life form.
In the Indian edition Mr. Shirow himself has covered with a fabric the nude female cyborg (android?) used by the Puppet Master to escape in the episode "09. Bye Bye Clay" (what about the notorious pages in "03. Junk Jungle"?).



Censorship

As many of you know, the US GitS edition (by Dark Horse) has been censored. The editor removed two pages representing explicit lesbian sex (in virtual reality; did Shirow want to show the infinite possibilities of technology?). In particular the pages cut are number 5 and 6 of the "03. Junk Jungle" episode. Perhaps less people know that Dark Horse did another modification to the original book; in fact a part of page 4 has been retouched too (probably by Shirow himself). Due to Geocities rules I cannot show you both the images, but in the original one the jumping girl hasn't any swimsuit, as the other two girls who aren't getting tanned. Thanks to Kurt.

The movie

In the year 2029, the world is made borderless by the net; augmented humans live in virtual environments, watched over by law enforcement that is able to download themselves into super-powered, crime busting mecha. The ultimate secret agent of the future is not human, has no physical body and can freely travel the information highways of the world, hacking and manipulating whatever and whenever required. The agent, created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is designated code name Project 2501 and distanced from them under the pseudonym "The Puppet Master". 2501 seems to be the perfect solution to their international espionage requirements. Everything runs smoothly until this prototype virtual agent concludes it is a life form in its own right "born in a sea of information" and requests political asylum and true physical existence in defiance of its creator. The race is on to recapture the Top Secret Project 2501 before it succeeds in finding a host body and escapes for good. What the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hasn't counted on is the Puppet Master's cunning and reserve. It has threatened to expose their illegal creation (itself) to the Internal Bureau of Investigations who are unaware of its source, and regard the Puppet Master as a Grade A priority security threat. The two agencies maneuver discreetly against one another in a violent, high-tech race to capture the ever changing omnipresent Puppet Master. The Internal Bureau is unaware of the Puppet Master's persuasive ability to offer seductive hints at true freedom to their semi-cybernetic human agents, who are forced to question their own validity as human beings. One of these agents, "Major" Motoko Kusanagi, is a highly trained female agent sent to counter the Puppet Master's threat, will have to make the ultimate decision when the Puppet Master suggests a merger with her. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are engaged in direct explosive confrontation, Kusanagi must decide if she will fulfill the Puppet Master's ultimate objective to become truly human and exist outside of the Electronic Net.

Ghost in the Shell becomes one of the most significant films in the history of Japanese animation in autumn 1996 when it is simultaneously launched in Japan, Britain and America. This is the first time an anime has received such international recognition, evidence of the genre's growing worldwide appeal. GitS is premiered at the Odeon in Leicester Square as part of the London film Festival on Saturday 11 November.

Creator: Masamune Shirow Director: Mamoru Oshii Screenplay: Kazunori Ito Animation: Toshihiko Nishikubo Music: Kenji Kawai Mecha Design: Shoji Kawamori Character Design: Keisuke Okiura Hiroyuki Okiura Copyright: Kodansha Bandai Visual Manga Entertainment Running time: 85 minutes


During the film you can recognize three episodes from the manga: Junk Jungle, Bye Bye Clay e Brain Drain, but there are particulars from others episodes like the fight against the tank (it comes from Dumb Barter). The film has been co-produced by Kodansha (a Japanese publishing company), Bandai Visual and the British company Manga Entertainment - the first Western partner in a Japanese animation project. GitS combines computer graphics with traditional cell techniques and it was directed by Mamoru Oshii who was also responsible for Patlabor anime series.
It has also been re-released in a Special Edition. Besides the complete feature, it includes the theatrical trailer and a 30 minutes "making of" segment in which the directors and animators show how they created this movie and demonstrate their DGA (Digitally Generated Animation) process. The approximate running time is 120 minutes.

	Pictures Copyrights From the Top: 1) GitS ©1991 Shirow/Kodansha. 2) Cyberdelics ©1997 Shirow/Kodansha. 3) GitS © Shirow/Kodansha/Dark Horse. 4-5) GitS Movie ©1995 Shirow/Kodansha/Bandai Visual/ Manga Entertainment. Left: Orion ©1991 Shirow/Seishinsha.

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