Ghost in the Shell (1995) Anime Movie Review

No, you simpletons. I am neither human nor machine. My name is Project BCG. I am a living, thinking entity, born in the sea of YouTube. And I have come to review your art. Hey guys, TheBlackCriticGuy, and oh ----, I'm still naked. You put your left hand in, you put your right hand out, you put your head right there, and then you shake it all about. Alright. That's much better. That's more family appropriate. Hey guys, TheBlackCriticGuy, and welcome to my impromptu and poorly planned Ghost of the Shell week, where I'll be reviewing a bunch of films and TV series in the Ghost of the Shell franchise, all leading up to a film that I refuse to see coming out this Friday. And to start us off, I thought we'd begin with the film that literally started it all, the 1995 anime classic, Ghost in the Shell. Now, Ghost in the Shell takes place in a futuristic world where mankind is interconnected by a vast electronic network, many of whom access this network through cybernetic bodies, or shells, as the film puts it. From here, we follow Major Motoko Kusanagi, an assault team leader for the Public Security Section 9, as they hunt down a hacker known simply as the Puppet Master, and in the process, learn the truth behind the Puppet Master, and what his endgame is. Now, this film was directed by Mamoru Oshi, and in typical, repetitive fashion on this channel, you may not be familiar with the man's name, but you might be familiar with the man's work. As before making Ghost in the Shell, he was the chief director for the hit anime comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, one of my personal favorite anime comedies. And he also directed the first two films based on that series, called Only You, and probably the most iconic of all the Urusei Yatsura films, Beautiful Dreamer. Not to mention that he was a major influence on some well-established and well-known sci-fi directors, like the Wachowskis, and surprisingly, James Cameron. And after hearing the not-so-surprising news that Hollywood was once again desecrating the legacy of a classic film by pointlessly remaking the damn thing, I said to myself, you know what, I think it's about time that I actually give Ghost in the Shell a watch. I actually did not see Ghost in the Shell until they announced that they were remaking it. And so I saw it back in 2016 with plans of reviewing it, then I got lazy and didn't do it. And now here we are, a year later, and I'm finally getting to my long-awaited review of Ghost in the Shell, mere days from its remake. Great planning, huh? And so, I watched the film again, and what did I think about it? Well, let's get into the review, shall we? First up, as always, the level of detail in the animation here is truly astounding, guys. From the use of hand-drawn to the seamless incorporation of CG and digital effects, it's incredible to witness. They put a lot of effort to not only make it look distinct, but also to capture as much realism in every single frame. I actually watched a short documentary that went into the process of making the animation for the film, and it was truly inspiring and eye-opening. I highly recommend that you guys give it a watch. There's a link in the description that I'll send you to that video. It is quite an interesting watch. The music is haunting, yet memorable. It sticks with you throughout the entire film, especially the main theme, which gave me feelings of melancholy and loneliness, emotions that perfectly capture the tone of its story and world. The Japanese voice acting was great. I was especially impressed by the subtleties in their deliveries, try saying that three times, as it added an extra layer of depth to their characters. Although, I cannot say the same for the English dub done by Manga Entertainment, which wasn't terrible, mind you. It just wasn't at the same level, nor did it have the same impact as its Japanese counterpart. The story here is pretty straightforward, and it reminded me a lot of Blade Runner, which, honestly, is not a surprise, as it was heavily inspired by it. But I will admit, though, that the heavy dialogue and lack of setup to this world made it a bit difficult to follow the story at first. I mean, watching the first ten minutes is akin to pushing a first-time swimmer into the deep end. But, I really appreciated the fact that the film challenged me to get a grasp of its story, and when I finally did, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Personally, I rather have a story that challenges me as an audience member than a story that treats me like a complete imbecile by dumbing itself down. I also love the story's approach to existentialism, challenging the perception of what defines being sentient and having free will, as well as the process of evolution beyond human understanding. I can definitely see the influence Ghost in the Shell had on the Matrix. And the characters in the film were quite fascinating, even though a majority of them did not have detailed backstories or development, which is pretty surprising to me, to say the least, as characters like this usually I would deem weak or uninteresting. But that's not the case here. What makes these characters work so effectively is the depth that lies within them. These are complex characters that battle with their identities as well as their emotions. This is especially true for the leads Motoko, Bato, and the Puppet Master. Motoko, throughout the film, tries to understand who she really is, and whether or not she is, in fact, her own person, her own sentient being, or rather, a collection of memories of someone else. My personal favorite, and quite honestly the most relatable character in the entire film, was Bato. He's a character that battles with his emotions for the major, as he not only respects her as a fellow officer, but deeply cares for her on an emotional level that is subtly shown in scenes that the two share. The best example of this is the boat scene. I didn't beg you to come along, and I sure as hell don't want to lecture. You can tell from that one scene what's going on in Bato's mind. He wants to tell the major how he truly feels, but he can't seem to find the strength to just say the words himself. It's a very powerful scene, conveyed mostly through non-verbal communication. But the character that intrigued me the most was the Puppet Master, a program that was at first created, but then evolved to a higher plane of consciousness. And we understand his motives. His motives aren't destructive in nature, but instead, instinctive. Like any living being, he fights to survive and spread his genetic information. And in that, we have a very complicated and layered antagonist, who, by the end, we kind of understand and empathize with. Now, to be honest, I only have a couple small issues pertaining to Ghost in the Shell. The one that irritated me the most is that they could have done a better job at exploring the world of Ghost in the Shell. Give us an understanding of how things work in this world from a political standpoint to a social standpoint. It also would have been beneficial to explore some of the other members of Kusanagi's team and kind of flesh out the chemistry between them, as you don't really feel like they work as a team. I mean, you're told that she has a team, but where are they? And how do they all work together? How do they function? How do they communicate? All that good stuff. Where's the chemistry between them? It also would have been nice to explore some of the other members. Like, I would have loved to learn more about Tosuga. What does he contribute to the team? Why does he not want a cybernetic body? And all the other members whose names I don't really remember, because I don't think they stated their names in the entire film. And by the way, most of these problems could have been fixed if the film had a longer run time than an hour and 22 minutes. I mean, an hour and 22 minutes? The Simpsons movie was longer than that. And adding to that, the film fails to answer a lot of questions by its end. Questions that I personally felt like were crucial to get a good understanding of how this world works. Like, the cybernetic bodies. How do those things function? How do people buy cybernetic bodies? How do people transfer their minds into cybernetic bodies? What is the relationship with the various countries around the world? And how do people react to the idea of people having cybernetic bodies? How do they tell the difference between cybernetic bodies? Is there a small faction that are against cybernetic bodies and, like, want to fight off getting cybernetic bodies? Like, we have to stay natural. Natural is the way to go. All these potentially world-building questions, completely ignored and pushed to the wayside. But besides those small things, overall, Ghost in the Shell is a fantastically made film. It's thought-provoking, it's engaging, it's challenging, and it's definitely one hell of an anime film that people need to go watch. Watch that instead of that other one that's coming out in a couple days. Please, for the love of God, just watch the original. Watch the original. But as always, guys, I'm not the end-all be-all opinion when it comes to the original Ghost in the Shell. I would love to know what you guys thought about the film as well. Did you absolutely adore it? Is it one of your favorite anime films of all time? Or is it probably boring and dull and you don't get why people love it so much? And let me know what is the most challenging story you have ever seen in a film. Comment below, let me know, and stay tuned. More Ghost in the Shell videos are on their way, including a review on the sort-of sequel to Ghost in the Shell, as well as two Ghost in the Shell series, and a TV movie based on said series. So stay tuned for all that. Oh, it's gonna be a pain to get through all of those. But until those videos come, guys, if you'd like to see more videos on this channel, be a part of the Black Critter Crew, please hit that subscribe button below, like this video if you really enjoyed it, and I'm Tony Juan II, the cybernetic man known as the Black Critter Guy. Till then, peace YouTube!