In 2002, we saw the release of the original Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a
stand alone Ghost in the Shell story that sought to, like all good science fiction,
explore current affairs within a cybernetic world.
The SAC series directed by Kenji Kamiyama was then expanded into a sequel season, film,
and video game.
And now, 18 years after the original release, Stand Alone Complex has returned to portray
the world of 2045, now in full 3DCG for Netflix.
Here’s 5 things you need to know about the show.
The 2045 project started like all good things do, at a party.
Specifically, during the Yubari International Film Festival in Hokkaido.
Shinji Aramaki was there as a guest, and had been thinking about a new approach to take
the Ghost in the Shell franchise.
Also at that party was Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, president of Production IG.
So Aramaki took his chance and pitched a Ghost in the Shell series using full 3DCG and motion
capture to the president.
Ishikawa’s response was positive, but his first question was “Who’ll direct it?
Will you?”
Directing this series would be an overwhelming task, so he reached out to Kenji Kamiyama
and pitched them both as co-directors.
Ghost in the Shell has had a history of great character designers.
While they’ve all been based on the manga designs by Masamune Shirow, the original films
were designed by the legendary animator Hiroyuki Okiura, 2nd Gig had Naruto and Hunter X Hunter
designers Tetsuya Nishio and Takayuki Goto on staff, and Arise had Kazuchika Kise, who
built a huge profile across the noughties on stuff like xxxHolic.
And 2045 refuses to let us down by bringing on Illya Kushivnov, a Tokyo-based Russian
illustrator who’s been referred to as a genius by Hideo Kojima.
He previously worked as character designer on Birthday Wonderland, but the way he shades
his characters really gives off the impression that his work is suited for being adapted
into 3D.
CG anime is a difficult challenge.
The directors recognise that while realism is appreciated in Hollywood movies, the opposite
is true for anime.
Yet, they still wanted the detail and character performances that come with realistic styles.
Therefore, the result is somewhat of a hybrid of animation.
One that’s constantly going to be balancing realism and anime aesthetics to make something
unique.
However, it’s worth mentioning that fan response to this aspect hasn’t been overwhelmingly
positive, with many saying that it feels like a video game cutscene.
Unfortunately, while the directors are aiming for this hybrid stylised realism, that’s
also something game cutscenes are going for as well.
As I said, it’s a difficult challenge.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a reflection of the real world but when you
make something about the future in 2002, expect reality to catch up.
There are now elements of the original series that actually match the way technology is
used today.
The original also covered themes that were more relevant in the early 2000s.
Therefore, for 2045, they’re aiming to cover topics relevant to 2020, like the role AI
plays in our day-to-day lives.
They’ve even mentioned that there’s some ideas they’d had only a few years earlier
that now feel dated.
It’s not necessarily about predicting the future, but discussing current issues through
the lens of sci-fi dystopia.
Seeing as the new series will heavily feature AI, they went a little over-the-top with the
theming and actually attempted to get an AI to write an episode of the show.
This has been done before, but usually for the sakes of jokes, as it can get a bit weird
and nonsensical.
However, despite the difficulties in getting it to work, they actually did do some experimenting
and believe that it’s something that will be possible in the future if you can get it
to stick to a narrative format.