Ghost In The Shell Creator Prefers The Sequel Film Over The Original (And Here’s Why)

Ghost In The Shell has been in the news quite a bit recently and for good reason. In 2026, the same studio responsible for the likes of Dandadan and Devilman: Crybaby will create a new anime adaptation for the series that harkens back to the original style of the manga. In a wild new interview, the creator of the original Ghost In The Shell franchise, Masamune Shirow, revealed a shocking factoid regarding his anime preferences. Not only did Shirow prefer Ghost In The Shell: Innocence to the its predecessor but he has a very unexpected reason as to why he touts the follow-up.

In a recent interview with Japanese outlet Yomiuri, Shirow started by explaining the headier concepts of Ghost In The Shell, specifically those that focus on man and our relationship with machines, “While the brain and body function as a single unit, there are control systems that are dominated by the brain, and control systems that are dominated by the body (such as the adrenal glands and spinal reflex system), and there are also parts that can be replaced and parts that can be lost (for example, in the past, it was quite common to remove the appendix), so I think it is a complex and mysterious structure.　Body swapping, like prosthetics, is not something I created.

Shirow then touched on other works of fiction that explore the dynamics of technology and our society, “There are already famous works like Stanislav Lem’s Are You Alive? and Shotaro Ishinomori’s Cyborg 009 in the Japanese manga and anime world. I think the general purpose of cybernetics is medical and military, but in the future, measures against aging and deterioration may become more prominent. Personally, I think it would be more realistic to develop simple reinforced exoskeletons and remote-controlled robots for disaster sites, which are increasing year by year.”

Innocence Vs The Original

When it comes to the Ghost In The Shell creator’s preference for the sequel film, Shirow lays it on the line as to why Innocence is his favorite, “Personally, I prefer “Innocence,” which is full of Oshii’s unique style, to the first film, which was more attentive to the original than the first one, which is unusual for Oshii. I’m grateful that he worked so hard on both films.”

One of the biggest changes that Science SARU will make for its upcoming Ghost In The Shell anime is that it appears as though the anime will stay the truest to Masamune’s original art style. At present, it has yet to be revealed if the new anime will explore stories from the original manga or if the anime studio will forge new tales for the technologically advanced universe. A release date has yet to be revealed but the new Ghost In The Shell anime might be one of the biggest new releases in 2026.

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Via Yomiuri