When anime fans think of a project that helped revolutionize the medium, Ghost In The Shell is regularly included in the discussion. The 1995 animated film didn’t just introduce a style of animation and story that changed the game, it led the way for several projects to weave new tales focusing on Major Kusanagi and her allies. With a new anime project on the way in 2026, the franchise has decided to unveil a brand new project that will take anime fans back to the past once more. Not only will said project revisit the critically acclaimed film, it will also venture into the many series that helped make the franchise an anime household name.
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Ghost In The Shell as an anime anime property is one that dives deep into what separates man and machine. In the cyberpunk future, Kusanagi is a cyborg who works for the Public Security Section 9 task force, attempting to solve and prevent crime. The original movie helped spawn sequels, television seasons, and even a live-action movie starring Scarlett Johansson, though the live-action adaptation is arguably one of the most controversial examples of these projects to this day. As mentioned earlier, Ghost In The Shell will return with a brand new anime next year, bringing back the animators from Production I.G. once more though they won’t be alone. Science SARU, the production house responsible for Dandadan, will also be a part of the new anime adaptation.
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The Ghost In The Shell Exhibit
While Ghost In The Shell has had exhibits before, the newly announced exhibit that is arriving in Japan in 2026 is going one step further than any other event. The real life exhibit is one that will share art and material from all of the Ghost In The Shell anime projects that have hit the screen over the years. You can check out all the stories that will make up this exhibit honoring the franchise in Tokyo below:
- Ghost in the Shell
- Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Ghost in the Shell Arise
- Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045
- Ghost in the Shell (2026)

The Origin of Ghost In The Shell
In 2023, franchise creator Masamune Shirow discussed the origin of the franchise and how he had created the world of Major Kusanagi, “In the winter of 1970, an idle observation computer game called “Life Game”, or a type of automatic drawing art, was introduced to the world. Later, inspired by this, I created the framework of the story worldview in the early 1980s (“story worldview” refers to the Masamune Shirow world that continued from BLACK MAGIC and ORION. (There are many works that have not yet been published.)”
His story continued, “In 1985, he published a manga called Appleseed, and with the help of various connections, he was able to begin publishing overseas, mainly in English-speaking countries. In this work, the story already includes various full-body armored cyborgs, partially mechanized people, wide-area surveillance networks by artificial satellites and public security, people with mechanically enhanced brains, two-way simultaneous communication, digital and analog methods. hacking, etc. have appeared, and these are not elements that were started from Ghost in the Shell.”