Description

NEW HARDCOVER DELUXE EDITION! Now a major motion picture!

• Definitive new edition supervised by creator Shirow Masamune
• In the original, right-to-left format with Japanese sound effects for the first time!
• Released simultaneously with deluxe editions of The Ghost in the Shell 1.5 and 2

Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including “ghost hackers” who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interface and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers’ criminal ends.

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A Note From the Publisher

This is a ~100 page preview of the 352-page first manga volume.

This is going to be a short review. I wanted to love this manga because I enjoyed the Ghost in the Shell anime film from 1995, although I can barely remember it.

However, I ended up not getting into this at all. I had a hard time following the dialogue, which is quite wordy, and the main plot of the story. I ended up skimming much of it, which probably didn’t help my understanding at all.

The aesthetic of the manga is really cool, though I was kind of turned off/laughing at Major’s outfits. They’re pretty fan servicey. I don’t know if this was a sign of the times or what, but I couldn’t decide if they looked great or silly.

I didn’t get the beginning epilogue with government officials or the assassination, but I did like the plot where they went to what was essentially an orphanage and and workhouse where it turned out the children there were being hooked up to brain machines that caused them serious harm, like inducing madness.

I think Major’s tough love attitude might’ve been a little too tough on the boy that escaped, though. But maybe that was just what he needed.

I skimmed the rest of the manga once it continued after this scene. There’s some more violence and killings, and a section that kind of goes over how the cyborgs are made, which was kind of cool, but didn’t register a lot.

I think this might simply be a mismatch for me. I do like sci fi but tend to lean towards more fantasy. I gave this manga try because it’s so famous. But I had a hard time following a lot of it, so I sort of gave up.

I might try watching the anime, though, to see if that helps me understand a bit more.

Three stars.