It’s been a long time since the release of the original Ghost in the Shell film, having caused a stir with breath taking visuals and an intelligent, if a little convoluted, story of whether robots can have souls.
The film was loosely based on the Manga, which took a different route and provided a different Ghost world. The second film, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is again loosely based on the Manga, taking some of the well known characters and placing them in to what is essentially Ghost in the Shell but with Batou as the lead this time. The Manga also spawned a sequel, but that has nothing to do with this, so try and keep up.
Having seen the teaser trailers for GitS2: Innocence, I was looking forward to the film with salivated anticipation. The visuals seemed far in advance of the original, and seemed to indicate the vast gap of imagination, creativity and originality in computer generated graphics between the West and the Far East. Wonderful Days provided a fair example of mixing CG with hand drawn animation, but nothing can truly prepare you for what GitS2 has in store.
Part of the intro both in terms of the music and the on screen animation is a homage of sorts to the original film. We see the construction of the robots, piece by piece in splendid CG, transforming spinal cords and skulls into torsos and and heads. It is a testament to the work that has gone into this film, with the bodies forming like some insidious ballet. The music too is a sequential to the original, with the operatic choir singing to what seems like a beefed up track of the original opening. Everything up to this point says GitS2 is GitS.
The film even seems to have taken on a darker tone; Batou was never really known for being a charismatic friendly friend of the family, but he seems to have lost any remnant of his humanity
The story itself is unoriginal and more than a little contrived, harking back to the original once more, it involves the hunt for a hacker trying to start something quite dangerous involving robotic dolls created for sexual pleasure. Of course, when one of them goes wrong, and investigation begins, and together with his partner attempts to solve the mystery. The plot is actually far more sinister, but I would have to give away the ending then!
As mentioned, and as you’ve probably surmised, the sequel is not so much a sequel as it is a retelling of the same story. Agency discovers hacker; hackers try to stop agency; agency wins. The distinction between humans and cyborgs is even thinner than it was in the original, which is perhaps the only evolution in the story, and it’s welcome if a little underwhelming. I was definitely expecting a greater expansion or evolution in the plot, once Kusunagi had left the original. Indeed, you could rename this film Ghost in the Shell without Kusunagi, and you’d be almost there.
Perhaps I’m being overly harsh, but as I watched the film, it seemed very much a case of repetition. Not to say it was poorly done, or boring, far from it. I enjoyed every minute of it, even when it had moments Lynch-like scenes of abstraction, in particular the virtual sequence, which initially confused the hell out of me but made sense as it ended.
GitS2 does have some the best animation I have ever seen in an anime, mixed with beautiful CGI with intricate detail and care. Everything about the film screams “Look at me, I’m a stunning whore” and it’s hard not to appreciate the sheer beauty of it all and Mamoru Oshii’s vision. The characters seem to have grown older, the level of animation has increased phenomenally providing an almost creepy human movement. It’s like watching a live action film, but with animation instead. Everything from the animation, to the music, to the set pieces says, “I want to be a film”.
The work that has gone in to polishing GitS2 has to be seen to be believed, almost everything is animated, even small details like birds in the distance flock and change direction with some movement, contrasting it against the mechanical bird which lands. The direction of the film is done in such a way that there seems to be a a physically camera within the animated world itself; the camera zooms, it pans, it’s pulled and pushed, it shakes, and does everything you expect a camera would do. Except it’s all recreated in an animated world.
It’s understandable when someone asks why the film was not just made as a movie with real actors. The answer would perhaps be that this is an attempt to do just that, but without the ego’s of actors, without the restrictions of finding real life locations to film, or delays to this and that. There is much more freedom in making animation than there is a film with actors acting. To be honest, when it looks this good, you don’t particularly care whether or not what you see is real or imaginary, as it all merges as one and suspends your own disbelief as the film draws you into its world.
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, did not live up to my expectations. The set pieces and battles when they do occur are truly something spectacular, unmatched by anything that I have seen to date in animation, rivaling even that of gun battles in films with actors. It will blow your mind.
The film even seems to have taken on a darker tone; Batou was never really known for being a charismatic friendly friend of the family, but he seems to have lost any remnant of his humanity, if which little is left besides his brain, and you do feel some sympathy for his plight in his struggle to hold one to whatever he has left. The essence of Kusunagi still lingers within him and the others, as her absence brings a coldness to the proceedings. Where there was once Major Kusunagai, Batou is now left to fill her shoes, and he doesn’t like it.
The visuals seemed far in advance of the original, and seemed to indicate the vast gap of imagination, creativity and originality
Yet, there is something lacking. Whether it’s originality, whether it’s an evolution in the story, there is something that doesn’t quite grab like the first film did. It seems to deal with the same issues, the same problems, and doesn’t provide an equally spectacular conclusion. Having said that, the ending is quite ironic after everything that takes place and is said. The special appearance by a certain character was really well handled, if a little suspect. It was delivered in entertaining fashion, but you have to wonder whether it really added anything to the film other than to please the fans of the original.
That said I can take nothing of the entertainment value of this sequel. It has drama, it has deep philosophical pondering of what it means to be human and such, some stunning action set pieces and characters that draw empathy. It is an overall package of joy, providing everything you would want in an anime, or a film, and delivering it at twice what you would expect. However, if you’ve seen the first film you maybe left wanting. For someone who hasn’t seen the first film, they may actually find this more enjoyable with perhaps a brief explanation of who Major Kusunagi is as she is referenced several times.
Verdict: Visual, eye candy rehash of Ghost in the Shell. Entertaining, and expansive but ultimately unoriginal.