Ghost in the Shell 2! It’s Ghost in the Shell 2! Now, dear readers, how long will I make it into this post without mentioning Ghost in the Shell 2? Oh, I see. Let’s call this the elephant in the forest, because Mamoru Oshii’s 2004 sequel undoubtedly colored my experience with the fourth episode. Both pull from the “Robot Rondo” chapter in the manga, all three dealing with a potential robot uprising, like something out of a pulp sci-fi novel, as Batou notes here. It seems that even in 1989, this was well-trodden territory. And while Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence retains several key elements, like an attack in an alley (and Batou’s Power Glove), a yakuza connection, and even the doomed shipping inspector, it adds a layer of techno-philosophy derived from the writing of Donna Haraway atop the basic science fiction setup. In the end, we’ll learn that child trafficking victims being “ghost dubbed” into sex robots were sabotaging the machines to lash out and attract police attention, a morally grey solution to yet another instance of systemic child abuse that Masamune Shirow views with distance. Innocence Batou’s chief objection, however, is that the sex robots had ghosts, too, a conclusion which helps him accept the Major’s mysterious, transformative fate. … More The Ghost in the Shell | Episode 4