The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Oh boy... I know I'm gonna get a lot of flak for this one."Ghost in the Shell" is without doubt an incredible achievement in animation, and stands as a classic of its genre. An adaptation of a beloved Manga source material, director Mamoru Oshii's 1995 film is often a powerhouse of keen visual design, true-to-life motion and subtle, heady themes. And it most definitely deserves to be celebrated and beloved. It's a pretty great film, with a lot to enjoy both on the aesthetic surface and in the provocative ideas below. And it also deserves special commendation for being one of the first true breakout anime hits for many Western audiences, paving the way for Anime to take the world by storm. I remember being blown away by it the first time I viewed it about ten years ago, and I hold it in a pretty high regard.I just don't think it's quite as perfect as it's oft made out to be.Please! Put down the torches and pitchforks and hear me out, because I know that statement is going to anger a lot of people who hold this film high as an example of perfection. I'm not saying it's a bad film. From from it. But in the grand scheme of anime and the Science Fiction genre, I do think this type of story has been done a bit better on several occasions, and that the film does have a small handful of wonky moments that don't quite work, mainly pertaining to a few minor weaknesses in the writing and storytelling. It's a great film. Heck, I'd still call it a classic myself. But it's also a mildly flawed one.In a near future where technology has so advanced that the human body can be augmented or even replaced completely by cybernetic material, an entity known as Section 9 operates to protect key secrets and eliminate potential threats, without having to be constrained by corporate or political red-tape. At the head of it all is a cyborg known as Major Motoko Kusanagi, who serves as the leader of Section 9's assault team. When a mysterious cyber- terrorist known as the "Puppet Master" shows himself in a serious strange and bizarre incidents, Section 9 is on the case. However, probing into the matter, Major Kusanagi comes to find a treacherous web of political deceit and morally ambiguous circumstances that will leave her questioning her loyalties and just what it means to be alive...One of the greatest things about the film is also the source of one of its more noticeable weaknesses... that being the story. It's a very well thought out and generally solidly structure tale that lends itself well to analysis and deeper pondering. With complex and very rich themes of sexuality, gender identity and the concept of what constitutes "life", the film has many great talking points, and there's also plenty of fascinating twists and turns along the way to supply entertainment for those who are looking more for a traditional film. That being said, I can't help but feel the movie is fundamentally trying to do too much, too quickly and that it's pacing and handling of key dialog can be suspect from time to time. It's strange... the film often alternates between two key issues that I have with complex story lines... those being that it often holds the audiences hands a bit too much with blatant exposition dumps, while also being needlessly vague at other times. In a way, I'd compare it to the original entry in the "Matrix" franchise for that same reason. It wants to be a cryptic and masterful philosophical exploration piece... but every couple scenes it grinds to a halt so they can dump about five minutes of expository dialog that comes out and states what we should be thinking about instead of just letting us think it. But it doesn't do this consistently, and sometimes the ideas at play are vague to the point of being almost completely lost without frequently repeated viewings. It's a good story with great ideas... it's just a bit too... uneven to rise to the level of perfection.But beyond the story, the rest of the production is pretty much a top-notch affair all around. Characters are well-established, generally quite likable and lend a lot to the story being presented. I could just watch 90 minutes of Major and her friend/Section 9 accomplice Batou shoot the breeze, they have such a good dynamic. The visual design of the film is absolutely spellbinding and holds up incredibly well. It's beautifully conceived and expertly realized. The action, though limited, is very well-choreographed and very much leaves you on the edge of your seat. The bizarrely (and bizarrely good) experimental musical score will stay with you long after you turn the film off. And the animation is absolutely gorgeous. It's smooth. Fluid. Nails the right balance between realism and stylization. And has left its mark in the worlds of both Science Fiction and anime."Ghost in the Shell" is a phenomenal film that's held just shy of perfection, and it's OK to admit that. Admitting its minor flaws does nothing to tarnish its outstanding legacy or its generally exceedingly high quality. It's influence is still felt to this day and it remains one of the most widely beloved works of its genre. And you can't deny that.I give it a fantastic 9 out of 10.

One of the first anime feature films to gain a foothold in the Western world, Ghost in the Shell has since gone to influence a whole generation of science fiction with its sleek visuals and heavy themes of machine versus humanity.And yeah, the film definitely holds up even today. The animation, groundbreaking on its day, is still really impressive and near flawless. The characters are identifiable and varied, with no unneeded soul to be seen. The music and storytelling are both professional and haunting in quality.But it's the story that people talk about and what made this film such a hit. And the story is... complicated. Personally I do think it jumps around a bit too much and ends more then bit abruptly, but I can also see that its themes and style have more than enough depth to pull people in and make this into a cult classic. What it means to be human? Can someone at some point stop being a human and become something more? Or something less? Are we defined by our memories or the other way around?Personally I have the problem of already having examined most of these questions through other films and stories, many of them drawing influence from this very franchise. Thus the original film itself didn't have as much to offer. Nevertheless, it's still an impressive film by any measure and well worth a watch for all.

It's a masterpiece of film, cyberpunk and animation. Stylish, dirty, deep, shallow, melancholy or chaotic it's always engrossing and beautiful. It captures a living complex world so lovingly, with characters and relationships that hide so many details the deeper you delve. Truly a classic piece of futurist art.

I saw the trailer for the Scarlett Johansson live action movie, that looked like a Blade Runner style movie, it looked fantastic, and then I found out it was a remake, this is the original Japanese anime movie, based on the popular manga comics. Basically in the year 2029, in Japan, advancement in cybernetic technology have allowed the human body to be "augmented" or even completely replaced with cybernetic parts, a significant achievement is the cyberbrain, a mechanical casing for the human brain, with access to the Internet and other networks, the consciousness is referred to as a "ghost", and the body is referred to as the "shell". Major Motoko Kusanagi (Mimi Woods) is an assault- team leader for the Public Security Section 9 of "New Port City", she successful assassinates a diplomat of a foreign country, following a request from Chief Nakamura (Simon Prescott) of Section 6, to prevent programmer Daita from defecting. The Foreign Minister's interpreter is ghost-hacked, the perpetrator is believed to be the mysterious Puppet Master (Abe Lasser), Kusanagi's team trace telephone calls to investigate the virus, but they end capturing a garbage man and a thug who were ghost-hacked and have no clue about the Puppet Master. The investigation is at a dead end, but "shell" manufacturer Megatech Body, with suspected close ties to the government, is hacked, and a cybernetic body is assembled, the body escapes, but is hit by a truck. Section 9 examine the body, they find a human "ghost" inside its computer brain, it may be the Puppet Master himself, the body reactivates and requests political asylum, it argues what constitutes being human, then a camouflaged agent creates a diversion that allows the body, with Nakamura, to escape. Kusanagi's team suspected foul play, they prepare and immediately pursue the agent, "Project 2501", mentioned by the Puppet Master, is investigated by Section 6, a connection with Daita is found, Chief of Section 9, Daisuke Aramaki (William Frederick), concludes that Section 6 created the Puppet Master itself, and are trying desperately to reclaim the body. Kusanagi follows the vehicle carrying the body to an abandoned building, she is anxious to face the Puppet Master's ghost, she is nearly killed engaging with the walking tank protecting the body, her partner Batou (Richard Epcar) is in time to save her, and connect her brain to the Puppet Master's. The Puppet Master explains to Kusanagi that he was created by Section 6, wandered various networks, became sentient, and contemplated his existence, deciding the essence of humanity is reproduction and mortality, he wants to exist within a physical brain that will eventually die, he downloaded himself into a cybernetic body to escape Section 6's network. The Puppet Master sees that he and Kusangi have a lot in common, he believes she also questions her humanity, he proposes merging their ghosts, Kusanagi would gain all of his capabilities in return, she agrees. Snipers from Section 6 approach the building, intending to cover up Project 2501 by destroying the Puppet Master's and Kusanagi's brains, the shell of the Puppet Master is destroyed, but Kusanagi's head and her brain is saved in time being shielded by Batou, Section 9 closes in and the snipers retreat. "Kusanagi" wakes up in a new cyborg body in Batou's safe house, she tells him that the entity within her body is neither Kusanagi nor the Puppet Master, it is a combination of both, she promises Batou they will meet again, before leaving the house, and wondering where to go. Also starring Christopher Joyce as Togusa, Michael Sorich as Ishikawa and Bryan Cranston as Dr. Willis. The breakthrough movie based on manga was Akira, this follows with a an equally hypnotic experience, if you really concentrate, you can just about understand what is going on, the traditional hand-drawn animation is magnificent, especially surprising with the amount of nudity, gory violence and exciting action sequences, and accompanied by great music by Kenji Kawai, a most worthwhile animated science fiction. Very good!