Ghost in the Shell (sometimes shortened “GITS”) is a Manga of Masamune Shirow.

original Title: 攻殻機動隊 ( Kōkaku kidōtai , literally “anti-riot Police officers in offensive carapaces”). Published in Japan in Young Magazine.

Ghost (in English: the Phantom , the spirit) refers to the spirit, the human heart, and Shell (in English: the shell, the carcass) refers to the robotized human envelope. The ghost (in English in the original text as in the French translation) is what makes the difference between the robots and the human ones.

The manga was adapted in Anime:

  • in two films by Mamoru Oshii, the first, Ghost in the Shell , left in 1995, and the second, Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2 , left in 2004;
  • in a series of animation 2 seasons of 26 episodes each one whose first, '' Stand Alone Complex '' ( SAC ), was diffused in 2002 on television Japanese and left in DVD to France in 2004, and the second, '' Stand Alone Complex - 2nd GIG '', was diffused in 2005.
  • a third consecutive film with this series left in 2006 to Japan under the name of '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society ''. Its exit in France is envisaged at the end of 2007.

Summary of the history

Ghost in the Shell is a futuristic manga Cyberpunk being held in the neighborhoods of the years 2030.

The main character is a Cyborg of female sex of the name of Motoko Kusanagi. Kusanagi belongs to a section of anticriminelle elite, the Section 9.

Cyborg, and not androïde: a androïde is a machine with whole, human share only of appearance. A cyborg is a creature resulting from fusion between the machine and the organics. Major Kusanagi still has his brain, locked up in a reinforced, high protection, and enchased metal brain-pan in his artificial body. It is all that attaches it to its humanity of origin.

The principal screen of the manga, and weaves it film, tells the tracking of a known cybercriminel under the name of “Marionnettiste” (Puppet Master) . This cybercriminel takes the control of the spirit of human via the Matrice.

Whereas the investigation progresses section 9 ends up discovering that the criminal is not a natural person but a Artificial intelligence having acquired, for the first time in the world, a conscience. The desire of Marionnettiste, which succeeded in being incarnated in a body of androïde, is to reproduce. It does not wish to be duplicated like a simple virus (always identical and thus vulnerable) but to give rise to well a new form of life and this is why it requests Motoko Kusanagi to amalgamate their ghosts (the equivalent of the heart and the spirit) and thus to create a new and single being.

Topics approached

Several traditional topics of the science fiction are approached, such as the relationship between the men in a robotized company, but the main theme, approached throughout works of Masamune Shirow, is the following: what human being? A nonexhaustive list of the questions with philosophical range that the author poses can be:

  • What distinguishes the human being from a thinking robot being aware of its existence?
  • What makes the specificity of the human thought?

These questions are tackled, inter alia, with the character of Kusanagi which has all the attributes of an human being, if one puts side his artificial body heavier and strapping man, alone its brain (cyberamélioré by implants giving access the network Internet) being of origin. This character doubts his humanity sometimes.

One can bring closer the topics approached in GITS to those evoked by Blade Runner (whose author was obviously strongly inspired: details of architecture, polluted environment, déstructurée and dehumanized company…). The metaphysical aspect is paramount, and in spite of scenes of spectacular actions, the film is rather slow, very introspective, rate/rhythm by the existential monologs of Motoko.

Beyond the question of knowing what differentiates the human being from the machine, the film also tackles the question of unicity, of the individual as an entity separate and independent of a vaster whole. The questions of Motoko return us to our own doubts and interrogations on humanity in what it has of radically " autre".

Characters

detailed Article Characters of Ghost in the Shell (useless because the page does not exist and only each character with his) -->

List volumes

Ghost in the Shell

  • Volume 1 - 04/1996 at Glénat
  • Volume 2 - 10/1996 at Glénat

Ghost in the Shell (Animates Comics)

ManMachine interfaces

  • Volume 1 - 12/2002 at Glénat
  • Volume 2 - 08/2003 at Glénat

Note: Volume 1 left under the title Ghost in the Shell - Volume 3 whereas volume 2 left well under the title ManMachine interfaces - Volume 2 , which can pose some problems of coherences.

Human-error processor (Ghost in the Shell 1.5)

  • One shot - 11/2006 at Glénat

The Glénat edition is accompanied by the same CD-ROM that the Japanese edition (thus not translated).

They are four short stories relantant of the investigations of section 9:

  1. Conceited Cat (1991)
  2. Slavic Drive (1992)
  3. Mines off Mind (1995)
  4. Lost Past (1996)

Censures

The English edition of Dark Horse Comics was the subject of censure, in particular the pages five and six of the episode “03. Junk Jungle”.

The first volume of Ghost in the Shell 2 , published in France as a 3rd volume of Ghost in the Shell, called Man Machine Interfaces was also published in Japan in an integral version where certain scenes are in erotic matter.

Derivative products

Films of Animation

  1. Ghost in the Shell of Mamoru Oshii (1995)
  2. Innocence of Mamoru Oshii (2004)

These Films of Mamoru Oshii is the first Adaptation Mangas of Masamune Shirow. It also supervised the series of the same name whose direction was entrusted to Kenji Kamiyama, also at the origin of cartoon films adapted thereafter. The creation of a third opus is not with the day order according to an interview of Mamoru Oshii.

  1. Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man of Kenji Kamiyama (2005)

  2. Stand Alone Complex - Individual Eleven of Kenji Kamiyama (2006)
  3. Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society of Kenji Kamiyama (2006)

The first cartoon film is a Montage over the first season of the Televised series of the same name (26 episodes) in a Film with some Scène S new. The second cartoon film is an assembly over the second season (26 episodes). The third is a new continuation with the series in the form of Long-métrage in waiting of possible following the series.

Series of animation

Video games

See too

External bonds

  • Card of the editor of the Critical manga

  • of the manga on krinein.com

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