Ghost in the Shell (1995)
"Kôkaku kidôtai" (original title)

A female cyborg cop and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Kazunori Itô, Masamune Shirow (comic)

Stars:

Atsuko Tanaka, Richard Epcar, Akio Ôtsuka

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Atsuko Tanaka	...	Major Motoko Kusanagi (voice)
Richard Epcar	...	Bateau (voice) (as Richard George)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Batô (voice)
Tamio Ôki	...	Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki (JPN) (voice)
Iemasa Kayumi	...	Project 2501 aka 'The Puppet Master' (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Togusa (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Section 6 Department Chief Nakamura (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Blum	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Roger Canfield)
Steve Bulen	...	Section 9 Staff Cyberneticist / Coroner (voice)
Toni Burke	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Richard Cansino	...	Diplomat (voice) (as Steve Davis)
Tom Carlton	...	Garbage Collector A (voice)
George Celik	...	Old Man (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Garbage Collector B (voice)
Gina Connell	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

The year is 2029. The world has become intensively information oriented and humans are well-connected to the network. Crime has developed into a sophisticated stage by hacking into the interactive network. To prevent this, Section 9 is formed. These are cyborgs with incredible strengths and abilities that can access any network on Earth.

---

Plot Keywords:

cyborg | hacker | invisibility | cyberpunk | watermelon | 

---

Taglines:

It Found A Voice... Now It Needs A Body

---

Genres:

Animation | Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

29 March 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghost in the Shell

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 600,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, Kodansha, Production I.G.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mamoru Oshii:  [Basset Hound] 

---

Quotes

Project 2501: As a sentient lifeform, I hereby demand political asylum.
Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki: Is this a joke?

---

Connections

Referenced in Anime Abandon: Mad Bull 34 Part II (2011)

---

Soundtracks

"See You Everyday"
Composed and Arranged by Kenji Kawai
Lyrics Pong Chack Man
Vocals Fang Ka Wing
Chorus Junko Hirotani

User Reviews

At the top of its genre...

I was a huge anime fan in highschool but as time progressed, my interests and focus in media have changed. A few days ago I re-discovered my forgotten anime collection. Behold, Ghost in the Shell.

Watching this fine piece of animation again brought back the reasons why I was attracted to anime in the first place. It is obvious that a lot of work went into Ghost in the Shell; the attention to graphic details creates some remarkably realistic animation.

Though the major reason to see this film is for the animation, there are also other fine points to consider. It has a fairly complex plot. The science it focuses on is definitely modern though, albeit, fantastic.

I recommend the subtitled version because the dubbed dialog is sometimes over wordy and odd-sounding (as are most dubbed versions).

Some viewers may be turned-off by the many scenes that aren't accompanied by music, especially the action sequences. The music, however, is outstanding. There are a couple of scenes that are basically slide shows of various themes. These are accompanied with music and no dialog. The animation, to say the least, is beautiful and seems to be the focus.

In summary, Ghost in the Shell is very satisfying.