With Eyes East

Here we are at the end of a journey which began back in early July, almost two months ago exactly, ten episodes later and a whole lot of up-and-down opinions. I remember David Simon, co-creator of The Wire, expressing frustration at the somewhat nascent practice of TV criticism (maybe as we’d identify it today) going episode by episode. If his show was broadcast that way by necessity in the era before streaming, it was meant to be so consumed but not assessed, as you wouldn’t dismiss an entire novel based on a few chapters (unless you were me). The Ghost in the Shell has been both a television series and a novel – of the graphic variety – and my earliest criticism was to do with pacing, or more accurately, how each unit of story was being divided, something that wouldn’t matter with a “binge” viewing. I didn’t like the start-stop rhythm, I didn’t like how it shaped the narrative against dramatic payoffs. And yet, there was always a sense that we were building up to something, and after a few more instances of delayed gratification, we’ve got one last chance in our finale. … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 10

A bit of table setting before the finale. With this episode, I finally realized the ideal shape of a “faithful” adaptation of the manga. Science Saru’s The Ghost in the Shell is great, but comics and television are two different mediums, no matter the success stories of, say, the Sin City and 300 movies, or whatever popular anime which goes panel by panel. Instead of needing new scenes to fill in the gaps of these later episodes, I wish they’d have taken that necessity as a founding design philosophy. I don’t know that each manga chapter needed to be a single episode. In fact, I’m pretty sure that one of the defining characteristics of comics is compression, and when that pace is translated to screen, in this case, the resulting anime feels rushed. Why can’t we see what was compressed? In strictly commercial, or logical or cynical terms, what’s the point of preserving Shirow’s The Ghost in the Shell in this way if it already exists in print, widely available and translated into multiple languages? … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 9

I did not know this before consulting the chatter online, but the eighth episode, “Intermission + Brain Drain i,” features original material, itself reminiscent of a famous sequence in RoboCop. Starting in the ancient past of May 23, 2025, we see through the Puppet Master’s point-of-view, being gawked at by scientists in Neutron, Inc.’s lab. From the very start, it’s doing unexpected things, like giving itself a voice. It then masters a board game by playing against copies of itself, but its true purpose as Project 2501, as discussed by Nakamura and Dr. Willis, is “system infiltration and espionage.” We fast-forward a bit, stopping at big events like the Puppet Master’s recruitment/takeover of an “average joe” under the guise of a job interview, and the arrest of Colonel Malles. The latter glimpse has the famous “Major butt shot” from the trailer, an image so tantalizing it inspired this anxious/horny Reddit post… … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 8

Once upon a time, I decided to do write-ups for every episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 52 in all, and I believe they came out in as many days, one after another. A testament, perhaps, to how little I applied myself in college, but I think the experience gave me an outsize confidence when embarking on the same journey for The Ghost in the Shell. “I know this franchise like the back of my hand!” I boast, and then comes episode seven, “Bye Bye Clay.” As it’s been more than a week since the original broadcast, I’ve had time to puzzle over how to approach this one, whose second half forgoes plot for a thrilling, abstract sequence highly reminiscent of Neon Genesis Evangelion. And in case it isn’t obvious, I fall back on plot recaps when unsure of what else to say, which is quite often with this 2026 edition. I briefly considered taking this space to discuss some of the aspects which have fallen to the wayside, like Maaya Sakamoto’s performance or the radioactive online discourse. Either way, this is what happens when even the plot is too difficult to summarize. But why else do I love Ghost in the Shell? It keeps me humble! … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 7

One of the questions I’ve seen raised among viewers of The Ghost in the Shell is over the likelihood of a second season. The 2026 anime has promised to cover the entirety of the original manga, to which there were a couple of direct follow-ups: Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor and Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface. Perfect, right? The problem is that 1.5 is as advertised, a half-step made up of four standalone chapters, and Man-Machine Interface is a wild departure whose density recalls From Hell, in that I gave up reading it. The best and most interesting approach to a second season would be original material. Imagine, The Ghost in the Shell pulling from the broader franchise which itself pulled so much from The Ghost in the Shell. Whoa. I can, however, sympathize with the inquiry, because the manga and this anime feel so precious. Ideas and characters and relationships are introduced which serve various purposes, whether plot-related or for gags, but don’t always exist for themselves. I need more! And for my money, the sixth episode is the series’ best since its premiere. In only 24 minutes, “Dumb Barter” manages to be quintessentially Shirow and the most constructively transformative adaptation yet. … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 6

I’m back from vacation, current with The Ghost in the Shell but not these reviews, so I can say with some confidence that “Phantom Fund” begins a run of extremely confusing episodes. A few years ago, on a podcast about The Matrix Resurrections, I asked a surprisingly trenchant question related to media criticism, effectively “Can we claim to like something we didn’t fully understand?” A round of applause. Because while “Phantom Fund” is so dense that even two viewings – one with hideously scrawled notes including transcription of entire dialogue exchanges – left me dumbfounded, it also has the Major absolutely obliterate some fucking guy. And as the previous “Robot Rondo” served with respect to Ghost in the Shell 2, it’s another inverse study in adaptation. A lot of what’s seen in “Phantom Fund” will ring familiar to fellow fans of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, from broad strokes and visual iconography down to incidental lines of dialogue. … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 5

With the promise of next week’s episode being “Robot Rondo” and only that, I’m wondering if episodes two and three are a kind of toll, accidents of format and adaptation that anticipate better later material. The fireball premiere aside, I’m enjoying The Ghost in the Shell about as much as I enjoy the manga, whose darker, serialized final arc appealed more than its, let’s say, standalone episodes. This leaves “Junk Jungle ii + Megatech Machine i + ii” a curious piece of television. Not entirely satisfying on its own, but certainly interesting. As with its predecessor, it features elements which were adapted previously, into Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 film, that gorgeous, thought-provoking classic of science fiction cinema. By contrast, this latest rendition feels like scattered, disorganized notes scrawled by a mad genius concerned with technical detail and the implications of future technology, in need of fastidious cleanup by a different mad genius more concerned with spirituality and the human soul. … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 3