"Ghost in the Shell" by Shirow Masamune (or Masamune Shirow as he is called in Japan)
By chance, I stumbled into a bunch of videos reviewing and explaining the "Ghost in the Shell" franchise. Being old, and having lived through stuff, my opinions and experiences are sometimes different from those of people who are not. Sometimes, I am interested to find out things I did not know, and sometimes I reflect on things that I remember, and sometimes, I disagree with what some people say or do. The "GitS" franchise was a significant experience for me, but it has become a much bigger franchise, with legitimate differences. So I found more that I disagreed with than usual, but how I "feel" about it is variable -- depends on what I ate for breakfast. . . .
What separates me from the most common views is that I come at it more as a fan of Masamune Shirow's original manga (Japanese comicbook), whereas most of todays fans take their opinion from the Oshii Mamoru's first movie. The first time I saw the original movie, I thought it was ok, but disappointing on a few points. I remember hearing much stronger negative opinions from Shirow fans. If I were to rate that movie today, my opinion has not changed. It is/was a "very good" movie. When I read or hear exalting praise for it, it makes me cringe a bit.
The tone of the whole movie was downbeat and pensively dramatic. The original manga was more balanced, like Shakespeare. Yes it could have somber issues and gritty presentation, but it also had humour and slapstick. His margin notes added philosophical and technical scope, and yes, more humour. From a technical film perspective, I eventually heard that in one particular respect, Oshii had the same opinion that I did. The colour palette and its use were not well done.
I felt that his later "version 2.0" release, with added CGI was much better. Ironically, I ran across opinions that the added CGI in "version 2.0" and the CGI in "Part II, Innocence" was inferior. I would wonder if people like that would trash T S Eliot's poetry because he mixed his styles and genres? I don't have such a limited appreciative scope, and when those people grow older, they might find that they don't either.
Regarding the "2.0" release, the worst moment in that whole movie was still there. There is a short "moment" in a morning scene which was only drawn in outlines, signifying bright light as one wakes up. I didn't like that the first time I saw it, and overall, I think it's just plain lame. It just looks like the artwork was "unfinished".
I'll shorten my thoughts about this stuff by saying that the best animated version of "GitS" was the first season TV show. I found out recently that Shirow did actually consult for that show. The funny thing is that years ago, when it was "new", I was talking to another Shirow fan and we agreed that despite its changes, that TV show was much closer to Shirow's manga, and we were both much more enthusiastic about it. Yet neither of us knew that he had anything to do with it. We just recognized the balance, the details, and generally, the feeling of the show.
Lastly, about the Scarlet Jo movie: I didn't mind that SJ played the Major. I have heard that Shirow did not mind it either. In fact, if you go to real Shirow fans in general they could probably predict that Shirow would not have minded. Why? Well, because in the "Vol 2" manga, the Major takes a few new bodies (yes, plural) and the main body she uses is a red-head with, I think, a deliberately western look. This came long before the movie. The fact is, as a cyborg, she could look like anyone, and in Shirow's books, the world, and specifically Japan, in the future, is much more cosmopolitan.
What I did mind was the "Robocop" re-write of the story line. Whether you come at it as a Shirow fan or an Ohshii fan, either had strong stories, and Shirow in particular, I think was more optimistic, and original. It was like taking a Batman story and changing the names to characters from Hamlet and trying to pass it off as a new version of "Hamlet". Why bother? But I do feel badly that SJ herself became any kind of a target or negative opinions. All things considered, she did fine in the movie, and handled the criticism as well as could be expected.
Anyway, you can file this under books or television or movies. The franchise covers all three. But it started, essentially as a set of magazines and books.
