Comment on [Discussion] New ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Anime Is Gloriously Goofy And Very Faithful To The Manga
isekaihero@ani.social 1 week ago
I absolutely adore Stand Alone Complex, 2nd Gig, and Solid State Society. I also own the light novels, which are nearly identical to the anime, but it seems that the SAC anime came first, and the light novels were written afterwards as a compliment to the anime.
I can recognize some similarity in the art style of this new GitS and Black Magic M-66, which I also own, but I didn’t know that SAC was such a departure from Shirow’s manga.
That said I prefer SAC exactly as it is, and I love the light novels. I like how it takes itself seriously and Motoko is presented as a strong, aggressive bombshell of a woman. I’ll probably skip this adaptation because it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I just don’t think it holds up to the adaptation which I love and enjoy.
cobysev@lemmy.world 1 week ago
I was living in Japan when the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002) anime first released, and whereas I appreciated the deeper dive into the world of Ghost in the Shell, it was still doing its own thing separate from the original 1989 manga I grew up reading.
Just like the original 1995 movie, which was semi-loyal to the overarching plot of the old manga, but took a much darker tone and new art style. And its sequel film went off in its own direction, ignoring the manga completely.
Then Ghost in the Shell: Arise (2013) came out as a prequel story. A third animated franchise that expands the world with the same characters, but still doesn’t hit on the actual story written by Shirow Masamune back in the '80s.
The 2017 live-action movie was basically just a remake of the 1995 anime film with a slightly altered plot. Still ignoring the source material. And because they cast a white American to play the lead Japanese role (even with an in-universe explanation for the switch), it got “cancelled” and ended up being a huge flop.
The Ghost in the Shell (2026) is the first story that’s actually loyal to the original manga, both in art style and in story. And for that, I’m extremely excited. We’ve seen so many interpretations and recreations of the original work over the years, it’s nice to finally see the original work itself being represented in anime form.
A lot of anime series are fiercely loyal to their original manga. It’s so strange that it’s taken nearly 40 years for Ghost in the Shell to get the same treatment.