It’s hard to get speculative sci-fi “right”; everyone has their own, valid opinion of what the future will turn out to be, but few are actually convincing. One of the few anime series to “authentically” capture the feel of a very possible future is Ghost in the Shell, or GitS for short.
GitS tops my list of most fascinating speculative sci-fi anime series ever, and adds another movie to its franchise this year with the release of Laughing Man.
Ghost in the Shell has been around, in one form or another, for quite some time. In 1991, Masamune Shirow released the GitS manga. Then followed two anime movies: Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. The GitS anime, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was released after the two movies. Another movie, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society was released in the US in July, 2007, after the series.
The anime series, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, ran for 52 episodes in Japan over the span of two seasons. The seasons were titled GIG 1 and GIG 2, respectively. GIG 1 and GIG 2 were summed up in 160 minute movies highlighting the events of each. Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C.: Laughing Man is a summation of the important highlights of the Laughing Man case from season one.
plot summary
In the not so distant future of 2030, humanity’s still no better nor any worse than it’s ever been: On one hand, technology has improved humanity’s quality of life and has increased lifespan duration as well. On the other hand, technology has also enabled criminals to commit more sophisticated crimes and has created new problems and diseases to combat.
The crime fighting unit, Public Security Section 9, helps track down cybercriminals and bring them to justice.
Major Motoko Kusanagi, is the unofficial leader of Section 9 and is well suited for the job, being that she’s more machine than woman. Her super human strength and heightened senses allow Motoko to track down and handle almost cybercriminal.
Six years ago, however, a cybercrime was committed and the perpetrator was never brought to justice. The perp was dubbed the Laughing Man for the smiling logo that always obscured his features.
A cybercriminal who was an extremely high level hacker, the Laughing Man kidnapped and attempted to blackmail the head of Serano Industries, Ernesto Serano, using hacked data. But things went awry when the Laughing Man pulled a gun on Serano in front of a camera crew. It was a very high profile crime, but no one could track the criminal since he had hacked everyone’s cyberbrain – a nearly impossible feat.
Now, it looks as if the Laughing Man has made a re-appearance- or has he? When the head of police is confronted by a proxy of the Laughing Man during an interview, all evidence points to the Laughing Man coming back to tidy up unfinished business.
A deeper look into the matter by Section 9, however, reveals plots within plots more sinister than mere corporate blackmail.
Review
Although Laughing Man is a movie comprised of highlights from season one, it’s no paltry patchwork quilt of GIG 1 episodes. No, Laughing Man is more of a “best of” from the first season of GitS: S.A.C.
To those who have seen GitS: S.A.C., GIG 1, the subject matter of Laughing Man is nothing new. However, the mode of delivery is sharper, quicker, and cleaner than the series. There are no breaks for commercials, no needless side stories which aren’t relevant to the story, no break to the overall flow.
To all those who haven’t seen GitS: S.A.C., GIG 1, Laughing Man is a seamless movie and you’ll never be able to tell it’s a glorified highlight reel from a series.
The series itself is interesting as a look at what could, nay, will happen, in the near future. Never was speculative sci-fi better exemplified than in this story arc from GitS. Not only are we presented with the triumphs mankind has achieved in the realm of technology, but we’re also confronted with our failure to evolve to the higher levels needed to use said technology responsibly.
The tone of the movie isn’t as dark as other speculative series; it has hope that man will evolve and grow into a responsible wielder of power. That’s what sets GitS apart from its contemporaries: Hope.
The characters are all believable and sympathetic, especially Batou, Togusa and Motoko. The Laughing Man is incredibly fleshed out and has terrific development. I’ve got no complaints as to any development in the movie.
Laughing Man has a great story and fantastic pacing. Its conveyance of heavy concepts never slowed down the delivery, except at the end of the movie.
There, wordy, verbose banter was thrown around between the Laughing Man and Motoko; far above the heads of all but the most alert and attentive viewers. I actually felt my eyes glaze over as I listened to comparisons in personality structures, etc. After five minutes of intelligent yet drudging back-and-forth, the movie picked up the pace again and ended seven minutes later. The pacing was thrown completely off by the poor timing of that discussion. Laughing Man did end well, but I was still distracted by that aside.
GitS has always had top-notch character designs. Always. The designs are what make the movies and anime so believable, besides the story. So many weapons and armored mech suits in other anime come off as laughable, but GitS has managed to avoid that speculative technology pitfall when others have not. The Tachikoma mini tanks are believable since they look as if actual R&D went into their conception. Most modern day technology is based off events and creatures in nature, as are the Tachikoma, which are based off jumping spiders. Little things like that help make Ghost in the Shell as good as it is.
I initially thought that the movie was going to be an edit job of all the pertinent scenes from the series. Yes and no. Production I.G., the same studio behind the GitS series, animated most of the scenes from scratch. The movie had a much more finished quality than the already fantastic anime. The production and attention to details were top quality and fans of the series will be well pleased with the treatment the story received.
Laughing Man has a completely different English voice cast from the series. The voice actress who played Motoko in the movie, Allison Matthews, sounded almost exactly like Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, the voice actress from the series. We watched the movie in English since that’s the way we watched the series. The voice cast was excellent in either Japanese or English.
Yoko Kanno scored the movie, just as she scored the series, and she did a damn good job. Most of the songs from the anime will be instantly recognizable to fans, since so much music from the series was used for the movie. Yoko adds just enough techno into the soundtrack to give it the electronic vibe needed for an audible edge.
The movie is also packaged with a DVD of extras, which includes: an animated short featuring the Tachikoma trying their hand at voice acting and an archive from Stand Alone Complex.
While Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- The Laughing Man isn’t exactly a new addition to the GitS universe, it’s still a finely edited, well paced, beautifully animated re-telling. For old and new fans alike, Laughing Man is a must-see look into the frightening and fascinating world of What Might Be.
out of a possible four gummies.
ooh… nice review
i was debating in myself between getting the series or the movie. I actually watched the entire 2nd gig stand alone complex thinking, it would have been easier to watch in a movie for exactly the same reasons you wrote.
It seems to me very much like Ghost in a Shell is written and produced with a view to being the prelude to the next series or movie. For example, it would be difficult to appreciate why Togusa is elevated to the lead investigator in Solid State Society without watching the close relationship between Ariki and Togusa unfolding in Second Gig series. Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s rather treacherous nature was implicit from the first movie.
Having watched Second Gig without watching First Gig’s series, i’m trying to work out whether its worth watching the movie or the series. In 2nd gig, there was so much backstory and fleeting references to the Laughing Man case. I have a strong suspicion he appeared in second Gig (e.g. cafe scenes between Hideo and some stranger).
I know in first gig, that PS9 is desbanded and then reformed early in second gig. There is also a new government. Would it be better to understand why through watching the movie or the entire series?
In a way. forgive me this now over-long soliloquy, i guess the reason for the movies is to make the series accessible for more people. Who wouldn’t have the time to go through the series and appreciate the refined plots. From your point of view, would you recommend the movie (which you’ve given 4 stars) to watching the whole series?
@sameen, The primary difference between the movies and the series is the focal point: in the first movie movie it’s the Laughing Man case and in the second movie, it’s all about the Individual Eleven.
There’s not much development about the government or relationships in either movie. Both movies focus mainly on the cases. They’re still fantastic movies in and of themselves, but if you like lots of development and details, I’d have to say, go with the series.
that’s fair enough. I like interesting developments but have a short patience for filler episodes. Sometimes they can be great in themselves.
I haven’t got the movies to the Stand Alone Complex, only the second series. There was a particularly excellent filler episode in 2nd gig:series where Major and Batou are sent to Berlin to find a terrorist with a blind daughter. It was very well done, and while they were there, they found out that the refugees had basically done a Kosovo on their island. Did that make it into the movie?
thank you for your perspective though.I’m tempted to go for the series of Laughing Man instead of the movie. Whilst the review here highlights that its great to be free from fillers, ads etc… sometimes its worth the pain and if it is worse than Doctor Who, then you can at least skip the episode.
I have found that the series offers more character development. For instance the first ideas of Motokos origins and her cybernization was in one of those ‘filler’ episodes of GITS season one. It was expanded on more in GITS2.
@warchild, I haven’t watched the series in years, but there’s no denying that the series would be more fleshed out than the movies. The movies are condensed snippets from the series, but still really good as movies.