With Eyes East

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

The first weeklong wait between episodes was brutal. I watched the first episode about three times, as well as the first two episodes of Stand Alone Complex, and if it wasn’t for Human Vapor (another Japanese procedural with a twist), I’d be in nonstop Ghost mode. So, was the second episode, “Super Spartan ii + Junk Jungle i,” worth all the teeth-gnashing? This one’s tricky, and surely trickier than the satisfying premiere, laying bare the broader shortcomings with this particular adaptation project. One couldn’t be blamed for assuming that each chapter of the manga might translate to an episode of the anime, but possibly because of the “Prologue” being a short but crucial chapter, everything is bumped forward a bit. For example, episode two opens with the final pages of the “Super Spartan” chapter, meaning it properly concludes the first episode before beginning the “Junk Jungle” chapter after the opening credits, itself left unfinished pending episode three. Perhaps a future short chapter evens things out, but in the meantime, this awkward timing ensures that “Super Spartan ii + Junk Jungle i” doesn’t feel like an episode of television, just “the next part of the story,” and it isn’t even clear what the story is yet. … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 2

The Ghost in the Shell is so much. For reasons within and without, it feels precious and rare like a gemstone in every second, every frame. It is true there hasn’t been a recent installment, the latest now six years old, but it’s also an example of anime, a craft initially defined by limited movement in comparison to Western animation, and yet Science Saru adapts Masamune Shirow’s kinetic manga with buttery-smooth animation, an active camera, and generous colors. The only visual element withheld is the gore, the opening body explosion covered in a digital mosaic – which somehow makes it more obscene – leading to the splat of a bloody stick-figure against the wall. Where traditional adaptations pare back the farcical, even manic quality of the source material, opting instead for deadly serious meditations which, honestly, better fit the subject matter, The Ghost in the Shell is paced with a punchline rhythm, and is altogether a carousel of great faces. One of the small joys of the manga is the candid glimpses of characters in repose, where Batou might be wearing an enormous grin or otherwise be looking silly (or pervy). This is practically the animating philosophy at the heart of 2026’s Ghost in the Shell, if the first episode is any indication. … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 1