Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese media franchise originally published as a seinen manga series
of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow.
The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of The Ghost in the Shell, and
later published as its own tankōbon volumes by Kodansha, told the story of the fictional
counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9, led by protagonist Major
Motoko Kusanagi, in the mid 21st century of Japan.
Animation studio Production I.G has produced several different anime adaptations of Ghost
in the Shell, starting with the 1995 film of the same name, telling the story of Section
9's investigation of the Puppet Master.
The television series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex followed in 2002, telling
an alternate story from the manga and first film, featuring Section 9's investigations
of government corruption in the Laughing Man and Individual Eleven incidents.
The year 2013 saw the start of the Ghost in the Shell: Arise film series with the release
of the first two episodes.
The third episode of the four-part series is set to be released on June 28, 2014.
Title Shirow has stated that he had always wanted
the title of his manga to be "GHOST IN THE SHELL", even in Japan, but his original publishers
preferred Kōkaku Kidōtai.
He had chosen "Ghost in the Shell" in homage to Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine,
from which he also drew inspiration.
Setting
Primarily set in the mid-twenty-first century in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama,
Niihama Prefecture, otherwise known as New Port City, the manga and the many anime adaptations
follow the members of Public Security Section 9, a special-operations task-force made up
of former military officers and police detectives.
Political intrigue and counter-terrorism operations are standard fare for Section 9, but the various
actions of corrupt officials, companies, and cyber-criminals in each scenario are unique
and require the diverse skills of Section 9's staff to prevent a series of incidents
from escalating.
In this post-cyberpunk iteration of a possible future, computer technology has advanced to
the point that many members of the public possess cyberbrains, technology that allows
them to interface their biological brain with various networks.
The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement
of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma.
This can also be combined with various levels of prostheses, with a fully prosthetic body
enabling a person to become a cyborg.
The heroine of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible
accident befall her as a child that ultimately required that she use a full-body prosthesis
to house her cyberbrain.
This high level of cyberization, however, opens the brain up to attacks from highly
skilled hackers, with the most dangerous being those who will hack a person to bend to their
whims.
Media Original manga
The Ghost in the Shell originally ran from April 1989 to November 1990 in Kodansha's
manga anthology Young Magazine, and was released in tankobon format on October 2, 1991.
Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface ran in Young Magazine from September 1991
to August 1997.
Four chapters that were not released in tankobon format from previous releases were later collected
into a single volume titled Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor serving as an interquel.
The manga was published on July 23, 2003 by Kodansha.
Several art books have also been published for the manga.
Animated films
Two animated films based on the original manga have been released, both directed by Mamoru
Oshii and animated by Production I.G.
Ghost in the Shell was released in 1995 and follows the "Puppet Master" storyline from
the manga.
It was re-released in 2008 as Ghost in the Shell 2.0 with new audio and updated 3D computer
graphics in certain scenes.
Innocence, otherwise known as Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, was released in 2004,
with its story based on a chapter from Man-Machine Interface.
Video games
Ghost in the Shell was developed by Exact and released for the PlayStation on July 17,
1997, in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment.
It is a third-person shooter featuring an original storyline where the character plays
a rookie member of Section 9.
The video game's soundtrack Megatech Body features various electronica artists.
Several video games were also developed to tie into the Stand Alone Complex television
series.
Live-action adaptation In 2008, DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg acquired
the rights to produce a live-action film adaptation of the original manga.
Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Steven Paul were later confirmed as producers, with Jamie Moss to
write the screenplay.
In October, 2009, it was announced that Laeta Kalogridis had replaced Moss as writer.
On January 24, 2014, it was reported that Rupert Sanders will direct the film, with
a screenplay by William Wheeler.
Stand Alone Complex
In 2002, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex premiered on Animax, presenting a new telling
of Ghost in the Shell independent from the original manga, focusing on Section 9's investigation
of the Laughing Man hacker.
It was followed in 2004 by a second season titled Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C.
2nd GIG, which focused on the Individual Eleven terrorist group.
Both seasons' primary storylines were compressed into OVAs broadcast as Ghost in the Shell:
Stand Alone Complex The Laughing Man in 2005 and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Individual Eleven in 2006.
Also in 2006, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, featuring Section
9's confrontation with a hacker known as the Puppeteer, was broadcast, serving as a finale
to the anime series.
The extensive score for the series and its films was composed by Yoko Kanno.
In addition to the anime, a series of published books, two separate manga adaptations, and
several video games for consoles and mobile phones have been released for Stand Alone
Complex.
An MMORPG has also been in development for several years.
Arise
Ghost in the Shell: Arise is another animated iteration that takes place in yet another
alternate setting, set before the original manga.
It is being released as a series of OVAs, with Kazuchika Kise as chief director and
Tow Ubukata as head writer.
Cornelius was brought onto the project to compose the score for the OVAs.
A manga adaptation began serialization in Kodansha's Young Magazine's April 2013 issue,
released March 13, 2013.
Notes
References
External links Madman Entertainment's Australian distribution
release site