Throwback Thursday Review: 'Ghost in the Shell' (1995)

This week I'm reviewing the original 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell to coincide with the release of the 2017 live action Ghost in the Shell reboot. Like last week, I'm once again expanding my horizons by venturing into the anime genre, the closest I ever got to watching anime growing up was Pokémon and I'm not sure that qualifies. Reviews you can expect in the next two weeks include Throwback Thursday Reviews over Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Spider-Man 2 with reviews for new releases The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, Ghost in the Shell (2017), Going in Style, and The Fate of the Furious. 

'Ghost In The Shell' (1995) Review

Ghost in the Shell depicts 2029 Section Nine cyber cops Major Motoko Kusanagi and Batou in their mission to apprehend "The Puppet Master", who hacks into the minds of various "shells" (hollow human cyborgs). In the midst of Section Nine's pursuit, Major begins to contemplate her own state of being in hopes of discovering her identity. Ghost in the Shell was adapted from Masamune Shirow's manga series and is considered by many to be a turning point for anime (Japanese animation) and an outright masterpiece. 

While I may not quite agree with that sentiment, I do think there's a lot to take away from Ghost in the Shell. For one, Mamoru Oshii's direction maintains a clear focus. Oshii deliberately sets Ghost in the Shell at a slow pace with longer, methodical shots to help the audience enter the headspace of this world. Kazunori Itô penned the screenplay and doses plenty of social commentary on how humans are dependent on technology and how technology's connected the world that are surprisingly even more relevant today. I just couldn't help but feel I'd seen some of these ideas better executed in films like Ex Machina. Itô sometimes gets lost in the philosophical meaning of it all that so it requires multiple viewings to completely unravel everything Itô has to say.

On the other hand, Ghost in the Shell's animation is absolutely remarkable and holds up incredibly well today with picturesque portrait backgrounds and intricately refined details sprinkled throughout. Ghost in the Shell constantly has a splendid visual plane to offer the viewer so even if you're somewhat lost in the narrative, there's no denying the animation's a triumph and the visual imagery may help you get back on track. Kenji Kawai's musical score serves as a brilliant accompaniment to the proceedings. Kawai contrasts harmonious ethereal tones with a vacant space that not only lends a beautiful sound but perfectly parallels the idealogical themes behind Ghost in the Shell. 

I also feel it's worth noting that Ghost in the Shell's sound effects meant to emulate the digital space feel true to the nineties representation of technology but not necessarily what we see today. One of my issues with Ghost in the Shell originated from my decision to watch the English dub. I found the voice actors for the most part to sound unenthused, leading me to think they may have only gotten onboard as a paycheck gig and just read the script in front of them without adding much emotion (voice over is acting too!). 

One of the few exceptions was Mimi Woods voicing Major, who did an excellent job. Woods is essentially playing a robot so it makes sense for her to sound apathetic and well removed from the events as an introspective fighter. Richard George convincingly captures Batou's grit and resiliency through his gruff voice while the background and supporting players sounded indifferent. Another problem is that even at an hour and twenty three minutes, Ghost in the Shell's a chore to get through due to the meticulous pacing I mentioned earlier. 

There are only three action set-pieces and the remainder of the film's mainly dialogue but it's delivered in such a  wooden manner that it seems to pull from the momentum. I rarely watch a film multiple times but I felt Ghost in the Shell warranted a rewatch for a few reasons. First off, I actually dozed off a few times when I watched it Tuesday as I was quite tired and wanted to be sure I didn't inaccurately cast off Ghost in the Shell as boring. Secondly, it takes at least one viewing to wrap your head around the story and then another to begin to really take in its  weighty philosophical themes. Well, it turns out Ghost in the Shell just wasn't for me because I once again found it difficult to get engaged in the narrative due to slow pacing. 

Maybe I need to watch Ghost in the Shell a few more times to fully appreciate it, but for me if I can't get all the way onboard after two tries then I'm not very liable to try a third time. I would like to make it clear though that I have a great appreciation for the art form, direction, and scoring. I just couldn't get as engaged as I'd have liked to. Fans of anime that either haven't seen or absolutely love Ghost in the Shell should definitely check it out but I can't quite recommend it for others as an entertaining use of an hour and twenty three minutes due to sluggish nature of the storytelling. Anyone looking to prepare for the latest live action incarnation opening this weekend should at least give it a shot and maybe they'll take away something that made their viewing experience worthwhile.

Film Assessment: B