Readaholics Anonymous: Ghost in the Shell Excitement!

Feb 26, 2017

Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including "ghost hackers" who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interface and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers' criminal ends.

I've been a fan of the Cyberpunk manga series for a while. When I learned they were making the movie, I was thrilled! I have the original Ghost in the Shell 1 written in Japanese and the The Ghost in the Shell 2 Deluxe Edition in English. I plan to add to my collection soon. I've been on a DC kick for bit now.

Major Motoko, is such a badass! It's an emotional story. I hope they can carry over that tone into the film.

I've always found it interesting that Masamune Shirow wanted to name the publication as a homage to Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine, from which he drew inspiration. There are many authors who have been inspired by the same book as well such as Stephen King. Ghost in the Shell has influence a bunch of big name filmmakers as well, such as The Wachowskis, creators of The Matrix and its sequels. And you know how amazing those film turned out.

I'll be posting a review soon of both the books and the movie. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading them or seeing the animated 1995 version, you may want to have look at both to have a better connection with the film. You can grab the Blu-ray at a reasonable price on Amazon now. PlayStation even came out with the game back in the day, which of course I had to play. Fingers crossed they will come out with a new version!

It's such a unique story. Scarlet has the look and the anesthetics based on her past edgy films. I think she will do the part justice. I can't wait to see the fresh take on all the futuristic elements the film will bring to the table adapted from the books.