Introduction
About MANGA & ANIME
Reviews
Macross
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This story of the not-too-distant future is a wonderfully artistic and thought provoking presentation. It takes place in Hong Kong in the year 2029. Technology has advanced to the point that human brains can be placed into cybernetic bodies. Major Motoko Kusanagi, an elite officer in a secret service organization called Section 9, is one of these cyborgs. With her technically advanced body, she can insert her consciousness into the Net as easily as walking through a door.
But there is a new criminal using the Net to hack into all sorts of high-security systems. He has been dubbed the Puppet Master because of his ability to hack into cybernetic-ally enhanced minds and then programming them to do his bidding. Major Kusanagi must track down this elusive individual and bring him to justice for his numerous crimes. But during her investigation and pursuit, she uncovers political plots and mysteries surrounding the origins of the Puppet Master. As she delves deeper, she begins to question the certainty of her own human origins, as well as the intangible components that define life itself.
This anime (Japanese animation) film is regarded as a classic in most anime circles. It's been digitally remastered for its conversion to DVD, and the effort shows. The movie uses traditional cell animation combined with digitized compositing and computer animation. The end result is both beautiful and dazzling. My only reservation is that the widescreen presentation is not anemographic. This means the black bars are part of the video signal, which reduces the level of detail in the image area, but the loss is minimal with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The sound quality is wonderful on my two-speaker system. The music and sound effects add a great deal to the detailed atmosphere of the movie. There is also a "Guide to Ghost in the Shell" section that provides a lot of info about the movie.
There are a good number of bonus materials on this DVD. There is a 30 minute "making of" feature that interviews the primary contributors to the film. They speak in Japanese, so you need to read the translations on the screen, but it was interesting information. The theatrical trailer is included, as well as some commercials for other anime films.
You can watch the movie in dubbed-over English, or in its original Japanese with the option of English subtitles. I found it interesting that there were differences between the spoken lines in the English dubbing and the text of the English subtitles. Although these changes didn't change the plot of the movie, it did have an affect on the personalities of the characters.
This story is meant for mature audiences with its violent content (some nudity as well) and complex story line. I had to watch the movie a couple times in order to make all the connections the plot was piecing together.
If you are a science fiction fan, this movie is worth seeing if you can find it at a rental place (NetFlix has it for rent). If you are an anime fan, like I am, this movie belongs in your collection.