The Ghost in the Shell remake has recently arrived on Amazon Prime Video, presenting a wildly different take on Major Kusanagi than had been seen in almost every other anime adaptation. Sticking more closely to its 1989 manga roots, the latest production from Science SARU has introduced a far more colorful, exaggerated approach to the cybernetic protagonist for this interpretation. While the anime has been paying homage to the work of Masamune Shirow, the second episode proved that the television series cannot be one hundred percent faithful, and there’s a very good reason why.
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For those who might not know, Ghost in the Shell’s second episode sees Kusanagi enjoying some time on a virtual boat between her cut-throat missions in this cybernetically enhanced future. In the manga, the star of the series has an extremely “not safe for work” way to relax on the open water, and while this is briefly shown in the anime adaptation, it certainly isn’t to the same extent as Masamune Shirow’s original iteration. So risqué is the original manga scene that we could not share it here, though you can check out the far less explicit scene from the anime by clicking here. As of the writing of this article, Science SARU hasn’t confirmed if it will make future edits to the anime adaptation from its original source material.
Ghost in the Shell’s Controversial Comeback
Ghost in the Shell’s new anime, thanks to its faithfulness to the manga, looks markedly different from almost every other anime adaptation of the franchise to date. Perhaps the best example is how Science SARU has made the series look far more colorful and injected more humor than the now-legendary film, 1995’s Ghost in the Shell. In that movie, Kusanagi’s story feels far more realistic in many respects while also presenting a far less colorful world. Follow-ups to the film, including Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, and more, all held somewhat similar styles to the original movie in presenting their worlds, even if all the stories weren’t interconnected.
Luckily, while this change might be controversial for many anime viewers, the new Ghost in the Shell has been faithful to the overall aesthetic of the story that bore the franchise from the start. On top of the wild color palette, Kusanagi’s personality is far more jovial in this original approach as she finds herself taking on some wild technological threats. With ten episodes confirmed for the first season, it will be interesting to see if Science SARU sticks around to give this new Ghost in the Shell a bright future.
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