The story begins with an assassination, and progresses through two distinct story lines. The first storyline is the tale of how a criminal hacker mastermind named only The Puppetmaster infiltrates the security of numerous government and security installations. Section 9, the counter-terrorism group, is forced to try every technique to capture this elusive individual that can literally capture an individuals mind and use it to hack in to more and more facilities. The second and underlying story line, however, is where Ghost in the Shell really shines – focusing on what constitutes reality. This is a tale about the Major, and how she copes with the fact that she is, for all accounts, real, yet with a manufactured body, can she be considered alive? Does she have a soul?

Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese story, so the dubbed version does lose some of the dialogue. Things sound strange sometimes – character pauses last far too long, and the dialogue itself is truncated and rather elementary. There’s also a lot of cartoon nudity. The creators of the movie clearly love to draw breasts, so if you’re uncomfortable with the drawn female form, this might not be the right title for you. And make no mistake, just because it’s animated does not mean that it’s suitable for children. Ghost in the Shell features ample doses of nudity, profanity, and extreme violence. Yet, for all it’s quirks and flaws, this is really good science fiction.

Trailer for Ghost in the Shell

The animation and overall visual polish of Ghost in the Shell is astounding. Most of the frames were drawn painstakingly by hand, and it’s incredible how accurate things like lighting, reflections, and human movement can be. Of course, there are some awesome designs in the props and characters as well, including things like high-tech helicopters, mechanized tanks, and fingers that expand to reveal dozens of typing “mini fingers”

If you’re looking for something outside of the normal live-action science fiction movie, give Ghost in the Shell a shot.