Elfen Lied

Name: Elfen Lied
Type: Television Show
Episodes: 13, 1 OVA
Rating: Mature
Runtime Per Episode: 25 min
Director: Kanabe Mamoru
Produced By GENCO VAP
Year Produced: 2004

A Serious Warning:
This is a very graphic anime, no matter what anyone might say, me included.  I may make jokes about situations, but this is not something that should be taken on lightly (unless you're a gore junkey).
There are more than a few things in this anime that are beyond the pail for an average, unprepared viewer, and I implore anyone not 100% sure about it to not take the chance (unless, as I said before, you have a high tolerance for gore, nudity, and other inhumane scenes/implications/situations).

That being said, I'd also like to downright state that this story is something that should be experienced, so if you don't think you handle watching it, then I'd recommend reading it (I'll provide a link or two at the end).  I'm afraid that it's not a story that you can appreciate by looking at a summery on Wikipedia... or here (duh), and because of the overall message that it sends, you'd do well to understand it.  I think I'll read it again too, actually.

Despite what some might call excess blood, gore, and nudity, Elfen Lied is what I call a must-see, and not just that, it's also an absolutely a must-read.  The manga by Okamoto Lynn is extensive and utilizes an art style that is unique and strange for these genres of anime (those being horror and alike).

Now the anime covers about half of the manga, taking bits a pieces out of the later halves, and then resolving with a different ending.

For obvious reasons, the anime was not aired in the U.S. as far as I can tell, despite the fact that there was a strong desire to by the Programming Director (look at Wikipedia or whatever if you want to know more), though it was later released.


In a quiet, island research facility, something terrible has happened.  For some reason, a test subject has gotten free of her restraints... and doesn't seem too happy about being restrained in the first place.

Using some strange kind of power, this test subject, named Lucy, is now roaming through the installation, trying to find her way out.

She's the quiet type, but that doesn't stop her actions from being loud... and... red.

Now I'm no doctor, but that's too much blood to be coming out of three people (trust me, it's three people).

Emotionless and very deadly, the facility's staff use everything they've got to try and stop Lucy, but can't even scratch her as she cuts through them.

When she finally gets to the front door, they box her in, but someone in the control room (also filled with dead bodies for unknown reasons) unlocks some kind of emergency, way too convenient side-doors, and Lucy goes out into the open air.

...What the hell?

... where she is hunted from afar.

Vectors?

The sniping attempt fails to kill Lucy, just blasting the helmet off her head, and her unconscious body falls into the ocean below.

Back on the mainland, a college student named Kouta has just arrived in town.

While walking up some stairs to his favorite place to watch the ocean, he is called to by his cousin Yuka, who's been looking for him at the train station.

As you might have been able to tell, Kouta has been here before, when he was a child, but that hardly matters right now.  What's more important is that Yuka, who's had a crush on him since childhood, drags Kouta down to the beach for a trip down memory lane.
But what they find is a little more interesting than some rather depressing memories of Kouta bulling his younger sister.

... um, hello?

Are those... horns?

Why yes they are!  Not in the conventional devil sense, but rather in the kind of cute, kitten way.  Nyan!

With an obvious head wound, and probably severe trauma, this naked girl was the beginning of a very interesting road for Kouta and Yuka.

Different from what I was expecting it to be, this anime was more than I bargained for, then again, it was my fault for watching it at night.  I just got sucked in and ended up having a monstrous headache from the sound piping into my skull.

The character development took a more hasty approach than I probably would have normally liked, but I knew that they needed to cram a lot of information into a short period of time, so I'll let it slide.

The character development was not so great to one of my favorite characters out of the manga.  In the anime, they only took him a little further than his starting place (I'll tell you who it is during the spoiler part).

That being said, if you go into an anime expecting the in-depth detail you'll get out of the manga, then you'll be disappointed at the least.

The art was a lot different than the manga.  Elfen Lied was Okamoto Lynn's first manga, and it's easy to see his progress as an artist through the story.  The anime had a different approach, it kept the moe-ness that Lynn started off with (one of the things that made this manga unique was it's lighter art style combined with the heavy storyline and scenes).

As far as I'll say, there were at least two animation styles combined into this anime (or at least into scenes of it).  I don't know if it's right to say this, but there you go, I already have.

There was the normal animation style for pretty much everything, but during the fight sequences, there was a special style that was preformed to create the vectors.

You should stay with the Japanese version on this.  Although it managed to get an English cast, it wasn't anything exceptional.
Actually, you should make a point to watch the Japanese version, at least of episode 12.  The creator Okamoto Lynn makes an "appearance" as "Special Guest", whatever the fuck that means.  If you can figure it out please tell me.  The best I can figure is he's the SAT member who actually says something.

I'm betting it's the guy who says this, since he the only irregular in the list of people who spoke during the episode.

The beginning theme was something opera, and therefore, not to my liking.  It was also repeated endlessly through the course of the anime.  It's not a bad song I suppose, the melody's melancholy, but kind of interesting.  I just wasn't thrilled with it, that's all.
Another thing about the opening was that those images are adapted from a painter named Gustav Klimt.  I don't understand the significance of that, so don't ask me.
That being said, I did kind of like the ending theme.  It was a cool riff and stuff like that is usually more important to me than the words.

If you still want to watch this, please do, but refer to the opening section of this post again, just to make sure.

Elfen Lied Minitheatre

Coming up next!


Kai Doh Maru!

Miyazaki Marathon Day 2: Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Name: Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Type: Movie
Rating: Any Age
Runtime: 124 min
Directed By Miyazaki Hayao
Produced By Studion Ghibli
Year Produced: 1986

The To Aru Kagaku no Home Theater Miyazaki Marathon... and then some... continues, despite public protest!

This is a "festival" where I sit down at spend about a week and a half watching all of the Miyazaki movies that I want to.  I didn't mention this last time, but I don't have any particular interest in Ponyo.

What's still to come are:

Wednesday - My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Thursday - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Friday - Porco Rosso (1992)
Saturday - Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Sunday - Princess Mononoke (1997)
Monday of Next Week - Spirited Away (2001)
Tuesday of Next Week - Howl's Moving Castle (2004)


I've already reviewed Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa yesterday, so if you're interested in that, then check it out... back there.


Set in (again, no name) what appears to be a coal or other fuel mining town, Laputa is a magical story about a young girl... actually, I don't have any idea how old the two main characters are.  About 12?

This is Sheeta, the main character.  You try and guess her age!

She is being held captive by a group of strange, suit-wearing men... gentlemen (not), for reasons unknown (I love that word... that phrase).  Suddenly, from out of the clouds comes...

Mutant... dragonfly things.

Well, you explain it!  I don't think that this could work, even in fantasy... especially not with two people riding...

PIRATES!!

And guess what, they've come for Sheeta (of course.  If you can't predict these kinds of things yet, you need to leave.  I actually think that a story about the hero's friend would be awesome.  Yeah, probably slightly boring, but it'd sure as hell be different).  Actually, they didn't come after her, but rather the jewel that she is carrying.

Doom.

So Sheeta brains her guard and escapes through the window.  She's just forgotten one vital thing...

Oh dear...

The fact that she's really high up.  She's above the clouds, for God's sake.  Looking back on it, she probably regrets her choice to brave the outside of the ship, but then again, hindsight is 20x20.

Sheeta manages to crawl along the hull of the ship until she gets to the window in the above picture... then she slips and falls.

If she died, then that would make it impossible to make the joke that I always do, but since she didn't, and I'm getting tired or being predictable, I'll just say this.

She flies away...

...

... no, seriously!  I'm not the boy who cried wolf, dammit!  She actually flew... not away, but she sure as hell floated!

Woah...

She floated down to the surface of Earth... or wherever, where she is spotted and then "caught" by this guy, Pazu.  The guy from Ghost in the Shell SAC before he grew up.  Not.

Pazu...

"Catch".

Actually, in all fairness, that's not what happened.  This is what it looked like (since it is a freaking screen-shot).

Yes, girls are heavier than they look (not intended to be a derogatory remark of any kind).  I can attest that you are not one of those heroes out of any number of B action films.  Neither are those heroes, actually, if you look, they're straining.

Anyway, now that everybody's after them, they've got to get away... naturally.

Okay, I watched this twice, and I have to say that I liked it a lot better the second time.  It had one of the best scenes in it, involving idiotic American-Style fighting!  No spins or twirls or anything, just punch as hard as you can.  It's pretty awesome... actually the whole scene was awesome...

POP YOUR BUTTONS, BOSS!!

WOOT!!

The characters were fun and awesome, and nobody that you cared about died, which was cool.  By the way, the above two characters (especially the second one) are among my top-ten favorites right now.

The music must have been good for the show because I don't remember it at all!  If I had particularly liked it though, it would have stuck in my memory.  I do get the feeling that it was a lot of light, probably woodwind instruments.

Both the English and the Japanese were good, and Mark Hamill makes a comeback as the bad guy.  What's going on there, man?  Am I going to see him in My Neighbor Totoro too?

 Mr. Skywalker?

Check it out, it's good fun.  "Clean" if that's the right word, though I'm not too thrilled about the term "Good, clean fun".

Laputa: Castle in the Sky Minitheatre

Ghibli 13 Movie Collection (Dual Audio) Nihonomaru

Coming up next!

Day 3: My Neighbor Totoro!

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Name: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Type: Television Show
Episodes: 24
Rating: TV-14
Runtime Per Episode: 24 min
Director: Maeda Mahiro
Produced By Gonzo
Year Produced: 2004

Ignoring the totally yaoi covers and pictures that I found online, I have my own opinion of this show.

Since I have a hard time being mean, I'll have to say this...

It was... interesting.  In a good way, though.

The whole story is vaguely reminiscent of the actual classic... The Count of Monte Cristo, written by... I don't know and I don't particularly car, I'm nowhere near a literal guy.  If the book isn't loaded with pictures and speech bubbles, I don't usually bother with it.

I kind of remember watching that one movie: Man in the Iron Mask, or something like that, but I don't remember well enough to cross-reference.

The story behind this one version is that in the distant, distant future, you've got a bunch of noble brats... and then a heroic soldier from I dunno what campaign.  As you can tell, I already have a slight bias, but not debilitating (and I didn't like the soldier much better than the others, it was just that I agreed with him a lot more than say... I dunno... Albert (pronounced "Ahl-bhere", since he's French... wait, that explains it!)).

Albert is the son of a famous General (famous from some other campaign), and some rich princess-kind of person.

Bored with his mundane life of... whatever the hell it is that young nobles do, Albert and his friend Franz go on some kind of vacation to another world.  They arrive just in time for some big festival, and during the course of it, Albert meets a mysterious, pointy-eared, freaking green tall noble, who drops his pocket watch.

Like any good conniving upstart, Albert uses the return of said pocket watch to have a meeting with the mysterious man, who is introduced/actually introduces himself as the "Count of Monte Cristo".

Now the big question running through my head right now is: "If this is space, and most of the humans alive in that age probably haven't even heard of Earth, then where in the hell is "Monte Cristo", or is that not even a place?".

Anyway, the two get together and CoMC (... you know, I'm not even going to explain it to you.  If you get it, good, if you don't, then you've got a problem) invites Albert and Franz to brunch at a... public execution.  What the fuck?  Have people in the future reverted back to some kind of medieval entertainment system?  Then again, this is based on a classic set in those times, so maybe this is supposed to be happening.

And so their wild and utterly annoying time together starts.  If you know the story of the Count of Monte Cristo, then you know where this story leads, and if you don't... then I guess you'll just have to watch it, won't you?

I actually watched a bit of this before I even decided to do this blog, so I had a good idea what I was getting myself into, and I choose to anyway because this anime had a couple of things that I wanted to talk about.

First of all, the director Maeda Mahiro was staff on a couple of other animes that I liked, such as a couple of Miyazaki movies like Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, and even Porco Rosso (all of which are coming up in quick succession), and he also worked on Samurai Champloo (which I just recently watched... it wasn't bad), and Last Exile (which I didn't love at first, but after watching it a second time a while back, am starting to like).

Maybe because of all of his work on stuff that I already liked (though he didn't direct any of those), or maybe because he's just good, I found the style and such of this anime to be really cool... it was just the characters that pissed me off.

The other thing that I'll bring up is the clothes.  I don't know if this is unique, or something Maeda Mahiro's take from one of his other animes, or what, but the way the clothes were animated was really interesting.  Since I'm an aspiring mangaka myself, I'll let you in on a secret.

Mangakas, being people who don't want to work themselves to death on every little detail have come up with something called a Screen Tone.  What that is is like a sheet of a "tone" with a given pattern on it.  What they do is cut it down, then basically glue it over the parts of their work that they want... toned.

... Like all that black in night scenes... do you really think that the mangaka spent about three days coloring all that shit in?  Well, maybe, yes.  But probably not.

For those of you who are reading this without any frame of reference in this anime or manga, then I'll tell you... that you're out of luck.  You might as well just close this down and go watch the anime I'm talking about.

For those of you who are following me, then I'll just finish up with; "What made this anime worth reviewing is the fact that they use a stable tone on the clothes.  So there's no crinkles or anything, it's just a shifting tone on a body.  It's really kind of cool and new."

Since this is from a book, I couldn't tell you if it was "true to the original work", but it seemed to flow nicely and keep a good pace.  Actually, I don't really recall a down moment, there was always something weird or aggravating going on.

Character development was good, actually.  The Count's history came to light in bits and pieces, though if you had half of a brain, you could usually see the plot "twists" coming from an episode away, but that's okay.
Albert's history and personality... I don't really give two shits about.  He was a little prick, the end.  In this show, I found myself liking the supporting cast way  more than... Albert.  The Count was okay though.

The animation style, I've already said everything that I want to about that, but still, even if it's just for the first episode, I highly recommend checking it out just for that.  It was a really mind bender the first time I saw it.  No matter how much I plug it though, I actually didn't find it all that appealing.  It was new and all, but it kind of distracted me for a while, not that the story line was keeping me enthralled.

Japanese or English, it doesn't matter, Albert was still weird.  Actually, both versions were good enough.  And in the English one, Albert's wimpy side was made all the more clear by the actor, so good job, man!

The music was... harsh on the ears in the beginning.  I dunno what that guy was on when he wrote that, but the dumbass tried to cram too many syllables into a line, then he scratched on another, and all kinds of weird stuff happened.
All in all, I wouldn't have kept that take... or the song, for that matter (I thought the song in general was crap too).  Eugenie's version wasn't bad though... mainly because nobody was singing it.

The ending themes were pretty good, more to my style of music, and when you're following up "We Were Lovers", it's hard not to be better.

Okay, I've bashed this enough for the visible section... oh, and I watched this from a borrowed DVD, so that's why this post isn't overflowing with pictures and stuff.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo Minitheatre

Coming up next!

Miyazaki Week... and then some!

Day 1: Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa! 

DNA²

Name: DNA²
Type: Television Show
Episodes: 12
Rating: Any Age Able to Handle Underwear
Runtime Per Episode: 26 min
Director: Sakata Jun'ichi
Produced By Bandai and others
Year Produced: 1994

In the future, there is an overpopulation problem.  "Yeah, what else is new?" is probably what you're thinking right now, but fortunately, I have good news for you!  It's not your fault!
It's his fault!  That one in the middle, middle right, dammit!

His name is Momonari Junta, and he's your average high schooler... well not exactly, I mean, if he was, then what would be the point of an anime?  Has there ever been an anime with a truly normal character with normal, common surroundings?  If there has been one, then was it any good?
Actually, now that I think about it, Junta is about as far away from a normal guy as you could get without having a sex change and moving to another planet.

For a start, he reminds me of SSJ4 (and just what the hell does the "J" stand for?  Super Saiyan... what?!) Goku.

Junta

 

Goku

... that's okay, you don't have to see it.  I actually don't really see it just looking at it like this, but when you see the anime (if you want to), you'll see the DBZ... almost blatant ripoffs...

 

   

Junta also can't talk to girls.  At all.  And he really has trouble in more... intimate situations.

Cause and...

... Effect.  Note the chunks there.

Granted, that would be a rather awkward situation for anyone not used to it, but... damn.

Either way, you're probably still confused at how this... pathetic soul could be responsible for the overpopulation problem.  I mean, the dude can barely stand to look at a woman wearing a swimsuit, how could he possibly make one pregnant?

I'll tell you how!  When he gets shot by a time-traveling woman from the future, sent back in time to stop the "Mega Playboy" (that's supposed to be him, by the way)!  Major gear shift, yeah?  Well, I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of any better way to introduce it, so here I am.

Her name is Karin, and she's from the future... and she's got a crazy hairdoo, but then again, all of them do.  She also reminded me of something out of DBZ.  Probably because of the outfit.  It kind of reminds me of something that I saw in one of the shows.  In case you haven't figured it out yet, I haven't ever actually watched a whole episode of DBZ.

Anyway, she was sent back in time to prevent Junta from becoming the Mega Playboy by shooting him with a DNA bullet.

As far as I can figure this one, it's a new invention that ultimately destroys a DNA strand, or something along these lines.  But... wouldn't that kill you?  I'm not a geneticist, so I'll just go with it.

Only problem is that when she actually shoots him with it, he turns into the Mega Playboy (what a good name).  That's right.  Got the wrong bullet.  Now that she's turned the total pansy into the unstable Mega Playboy, Karin has to stay behind in the past to try and find a way to keep him from impregnating 100 women.

Character development was... practically non-existent.  A little harsh, but this wasn't the greatest anime that I've seen.  I like it over a couple of others, and it's funny enough to keep my interested (especially in the end), but the story and character personality and depth were kind of lacking.

As I understand it, this was adapted from a manga by Katsura Masakazu (who also did Video Girl AI.  I didn't read it (though I found it once and was planning on reading it, but I ultimately didn't)), but now I kind of wish that I had.  Then maybe I would have understood it better, or at least appreciated it more.  Maybe I'll read it now and try watching it again.

I've already said everything that I can about the art style, and that is that it really reminds me of DBZ.  But when you think about it, most animes in that time period had the same look to them.  I don't know if Toriyama Akira went with the flow of the age, or if the art style followed him, but there you go.

It had some classical moments in it, which were good.  I haven't seen a good sledgehammer in a long time.

BITE IT, ASSHOLE!

And I don't want you to think that this anime was without attractive qualities beyond the sledgehammer...

That was from the first episode... like, within the first five minutes!  Damn.

The Japanese version of this anime was pretty good.  I agreed with all of the character choices, and I especially liked Tominaga Miina who was Karin.  Then again, I liked Karin hands down.

The English version... don't bother with it.  I don't know how to explain it, but there's something about lip-syncing to Japanese words is really hard for English-speakers, even more so when you don't know what you're doing, which is most everybody (especially back then).

Decent intro and outro music, if you like slightly depressing songs (though the intro wasn't that slow).

Since I was kind of out of my depth for this anime, I don't really know what to say about it.  If you're not a big fan of the old/classic style of animation and drawing, you should probably move on, but if you prefer stuff from this age, then you might want to watch it.  I don't know if this is good or bad by the standards of the time in which it was produced (since I'm not a big fan of that style), so I can't tell you how good this is in comparison, so you'll just have to watch and figure it out for yourself, sorry.

I also don't know if you should read the manga and watch this anime, or if you should do only one, or if you should do neither.  All in all, I didn't consider watching this a waste of time, and it didn't give me an annoyance headache, so it was pretty good, just not outstanding.  Make you own decisions, I'm sick of being asked to do everything for you, dammit!

DNA² Minitheatre

Coming up next!

Midori no Hibi!

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 1st Gig

Name: Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 1st Gig
Type: Television Show
Episodes: 26
Rating: TV-14
Runtime Per Episode: 25 min
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Produced By Animax, Bandai, and others
Year Produced: 2003

One of the few animes that I can stand to watch in English, Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. (both of them), were produced about 7 years after the movie directed by Mamoru Oshii and was the first thing reviewed on this blog.

The classic troupe (with the same voice actors from the original Japanese version) and a couple of new faces make a return/entrance, to hunt down crime on the mean streets of New Tokyo, now!  Screw Hong Kong!
Actually, in all fairness, I thought that the movie was set in New Tokyo (I'll explain the "New" part later), but as I was looking around the net for verification of my plot summary, I figured out that the director said that it was set in Hong Kong, and that, if you looked carefully, you wouldn't find any hirigana or katakana (two character sets exclusively from Japan (since Japan got most of it's third alphabet, kanji, from China)) in any of the sign names... you might find English though... odd.

Chief Aramaki (Old Ape) and the Kusanagi (Queen Kong/The Major) now have a new foe!  A Super-Class-A Hacker (a term you'll hear quite a lot through the series)!  What is that?  No idea.  As far as I can figure, it's an honorific saved for those who have the ability to quickly and effectively hack/infect (via standard computer virus) other people's cyber brains.
It all started on February 3, 2024 when a man kidnapped the CEO of a micro-machine manufacturing cooperation called Serano-Genomix, demanding him at gunpoint to reveal a secret that "the world needed to know"... but what was this secret?  And who was this masked man?  And what does it have to do with the events occurring today... in mean, in the future...

The first part of a two-season run (though the two seasons have close to nothing linking them story-wise), Ghost in the Shell S.A.C 1st Gig is... strange in it's episode layout... actually, both "Gigs" were.

There were two types of episodes; Stand Alone episodes, and Complex episodes (and you can tell the difference by the color (green and blue respectively) and the fact that it tells you over the episode name).
Stand Alone episodes are just what they say.  The anime equivalent or a oneshot, or just a normal anime episode (pardon me, I have a mind more adapted to manga).  A plot that is summed up during the episode with practically no impact on the others except random flashbacks and references down the line.
Complex episodes, however, are part of the main story; that of "The Laughing Man".  I don't know what to relate it to, since I don't have television, and rely on downloading to get all of my anime and stuff, but that's the way it works.

The same thing goes for the 2nd Gig, only those are called Individual and Dividual episodes (new names for Stand Alone and Complex episodes, but pertaining to the main plot in that one.)

As far as the character development goes, even though some new characters were introduced, the plot still revolves around Motoko, Batou, and The Laughing Man, so you don't get to see much about them.  Togusa looks like hell though.  That's what married life does to some guys, though.

It's hard to describe character development, actually, since I watched the movie long before the show, and as such, couldn't really tell if there was much deep, probing ventures into the psyches of the characters...
Actually, that's a lie.  You get to know Batou a lot better through the series.  Like the fact that he grew a pony-tail.  A new aspect of his personality is revealed, and you learn about his jaded past (and how he lost his eyes!).

The art style was very different from the movie.  Don't be frightened by the opening sequence.  Actually, that's what I was afraid it was going to look like, and I was very happy when it was... well... not that.  There was a lot more color and shine in this one.  The eyes are probably the most apparent change in the art style (they get a lot more... anime...)

See?  She's also a lot more... I dunno... purple.

Animation style and flow is still good, and since it was for TV, that had to kick up the action factor, and drop most of the philosophic and (God, I'm getting sick of this word) existential stuff.

I don't know if I should be happy about this or not, but I found it well balanced for television.  Just enough action to keep them watching, but just enough thinking to make them question their existence a little (if they haven't been numbed by the movie already)... good work!

Again, good voice acting.  While they kept the original cast from the movie in Japan (as earlier stated, geez, don't you read anything I type?!), they changed almost everybody else except for Aramaki.  Among the new cast are (as far as I am concerned) a couple of stars!  Richard Epcar as Batou and Crispin Freeman as Togusa.

I don't particularly like or dislike Freeman, but I noticed that I've been seeing him quite a lot.  Saw him in Noein, and heard him for about a second in Hellsing (which I will be reviewing rather soon).

Now I do like Epcar.  I haven't seen him as much as Freeman, but I like the characters that I've seen him play, and also he's just got a inflection in his voice, and knows how to use it!  The guy's awesome!

As for the dubbed vrs. subbed argument, I can't lend much to it.  It was nice seeing the original voice actors in the Japanese one, made it easier to transition, but, like I said, I can stand this show in English (probably because I watched it in English first, though that doesn't always make a difference).  Now this show is one that I can stand to listen to while I'm "working".

I found the soundtrack and such better than the movie.  The movie had it's own charm, as I stated (the wailing children charm), but the anime was more into the punk/rock scene, with a couple of... "pop" (is that the correct term for "Inner Universe"?) numbers in there.
My personal favorites included Lithium Flower by Scott Matthew, Run Rabbit Junk by... someone, probably Yoko Kanno (who composed the music for pretty much all of the music), and Inner Universe by Origa.  You can also get an OST CD with all of their songs on it.

In the end... it really depends on what you're looking for.  If you want the action and more multi-ped tanks, watch the anime...

 

If you want the philosophy, the self-awareness, the more depressing (or should I say "realistic") story-line, or the nudity, then you should watch the movie (I think I know what you'll pick if you're a guy).

I can't attest to which one I like better, so the best that I can say is watch them both... just for the experience.  If you don't, then...

... I'm afraid you'll just have to accept the consequences... and the bullets and the pain.

I've also been told that the games produced for the Playstation are quite good, though since I'm too poor to afford a controller, I can't attest to it personally.

Once again, check out MiniTheatre for this one, and again, if you want to listen to the English version, go to the dual-audio folder.  Actually, I got mine from a Mediafire file folder, but it's only the English version.  I'll give you the link anyway.

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 1st Gig Mediafire Folder

Coming up next!

DNA²!

Ghost in the Shell (Movie)

Name: Ghost in the Shell
Type: Movie
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 83 min
Directed By Oshii Mamoru
Produced By Bandai Visual and Production I.G.
Year Produced: 1995

In the not-so-distant future (now, at least, the story is set in 2029), computers have taken over, but in a much nicer way than the Terminator.  These computers ask you if you want fries with your Happy Meal.
Yep, cyborgs.  Actually, there is a whole spectrum of body and being types, with just one of the many exciting options being cyborg.  There's also "Prosthetic", "Android", and "Human" (but only if you don't have any money).

With the turn of this new technological age, there comes a whole new set of problems.  Malfunctioning robots, cooperate and cyber terrorism up the wazoo, and also... robots becoming self-aware.

Major Motoko Kusanagi, the Ocular-Implanted Batou, and the rookie human Togusa now roam the mean-streets of Hong Kong, looking for the scum of the net.  But something much more... weird is going on.

A super-hacker by the name of "Puppet Master" is hacking into people's cyber-brains and controlling them (mind control is just around the corner, people, get ready!).
So now it's up to our plucky band of new-age, near-indestructible heroes to find and stop him, even if Motoko has to get naked and wheel-kick some sleazy criminal, that's a sacrifice that I am willing to make for anime.

All in all, this was a very smooth anime, as expected of a classic.  It got all around good marks from both me and the public.

The character development was well rounded and presented in a good time frame.  I'm not sure what else to say other than that it was interesting enough to me to keep me watching, and not in that way where you just go "God, I wonder what kind of idiotic mistake he's going to make next".

Even though I find the whole "Who am I" question very "Ugh, headache", I was still mesmerized by the idea of self-awareness, especially when it's not done in the classic Terminator way (i.e. become self-aware, then launch nukes at humans).
I'm not sure why anyone or anything would want to be more human because we're the dumbest creatures on earth.  Self-awareness has given us wars, racism, and fruitcake!  I'll stop right there to avoid having to have an argument with myself about all of the benefits of self-awareness, so just forget about all of the good things in your life like medicine, television, and chocolate.

Other than that, the plot kept a good pace, and it had action and nudity, that's all I need in a movie.

The artwork was good very good all the way through.  Actually, where I determine the quality of the artwork and general animation is during action sequences, or at least the sequences where there is the most movement, and since this movie had plenty of those, it gave me good time to check it out.
It wasn't all jerky and glitchy, and it kept a good pace/frame rate.

The cool thing about the movie that I noticed was that almost the entire thing took place at night.  It lent a kind of heavy tone to the whole thing, all dark and stuff.  I also noticed that, since it was at night, most of what you could see was lights out of windows and such.  Gave it another tone of isolation and technological dependence or independence depending on how you look at it, a kind of reliance on the net.  I'd say it was sad, but then I'd have to go outside and... (shudder) enjoy nature.

Again, the voice acting was very good on both sides (Japanese and English).  When I watched the movie, I remember finding Motoko's voice (Mimi Woods) really awesome, but for some reason, after watching the anime, she kind of sounds weird now, but still good.
I thought that you were supposed to stick with your first impression.  Maybe quantity wins out over first impressions in this case.

The music wasn't to my taste, and unless you're into the soundtrack to The Omen or any other score involving choirs of children wailing in an extremely depressing and... screechy way, you probably won't be much into it either.  But it was interesting.

All in all, this really is a classic.  5 out of 5, A+, whatever.  I'm not sure what else to say, watch it.

Seeing as this is an anime that is know to pretty much the entire world (there's a freaking Italian dub of it, damn), you should watch it even if you're not into anime or robots or whatever.  You'll learn something, I guarantee it.

When it comes to adaptations, they usually suck, but even so, you should probably consider watching at least the first season of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime, and you should defiantly read as much of the manga as your mind can stand.
I'm not aware or any other anime that contains both the same content and style, so you're out of luck, so just keep yourself occupied with the 2 other movies, the 2 anime series, and the 3 manga books until I get around to discovering something like it.

I haven't watched Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, but I keep hearing bad things about it, so you should either steer clear of it, or if you're going to watch it, keep your mind open and it might not be that bad.  I'll watch it as soon as I have the time... right after Naruto.

The Ghost in the Shell movie covers the main story in the Ghost in the Shell manga by the talented Masamune Shirow.
Personally, I liked the manga better for the art style, the presence of actual humor, and the more vibrant color, but I have to admit that the movie delivered the existential message in a more easily understandable way.

Download links... download links... don't have any.  Actually, I'm watching a copy that I (no WAY!) bought online.  The best that I can do is tell you is to check at MiniTheatre.
If you want to get the English dub as well, then check under the Dual Audio tab.

Coming up next!

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 1st Gig!