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I just finished up watching almost all of Ghost in the Shell, from the original movie to Stand Alone Complex; I still need to re-watch Innocence. Originally I'

I just finished up watching almost all of Ghost in the Shell, from the original movie to Stand Alone Complex; I still need to re-watch Innocence. Originally I'd gotten into it back when I was a wee teen in the early/mid 2000s, and I hadn't completely understood the topics and commentary then. It was just cool action sequences with intriguing characters and an engaging story. All I can say now is, wow; the series is on-point. It's top tier sci-fi, up there with the likes of Neuromancer and Blade Runner. SAC is awesome and I liked it the most, since it has some really nice side episodes that expand on the world, like the one where the one Tachikoma's (a Tachikoma being this spider like mech with a nascent AI) neural net starts to develop beyond its parameters due to some "natural oils", but the whole series is amazing. Just don't watch the original video animation things (OVA), which are basically two movies that each are amalgamations of Stand Alone Complex's two seasons. Not only is Batou's voice different, they don't do SAC any justice. Those things should be banned.

mercurial 11y ago
Oh dear. I watched Innocence with a friend when it came out, and to this I don't have any idea of what it was trying to say. I liked GitS very much, as well as the first season of SAC, despite the oversexualization of the main character (ugh fan service).
- bsder 11y ago
  Yeah, I consider Innocence to be the most visually interesting (some of the scenes are just gorgeous), but it was kind of a mess in terms of story.
- justifier 11y ago
  innocence is brilliant one of those rare occasions where the sequel is just as good as the original but for completely different reasons > I don't have any idea of what it was trying to say. i am guessing this is in response to the way the characters have entire conversations with only referencing abstract quotes.. and to this i have to say i like this kind of dialogue if you do too, i would recommend the mid century new wave, specifically jean luc godard.. there is a sac episode in homage to him as well so perhaps my seeing similarities is more than coincidence.. stuff like pierrot le fou and notre musique are heavy with these quotation dialogues if you dislike this sort of writing style, may i suggest some ways to enjoy it more: you could watch the film like you would read a book, maybe a chapter a night spread out over a few nights to give you time to digest your mind's philosophical ramblings, and allow you to flip back and forth to track context also, or, you could get a list of all of the quotes used in the film from their original authors and read them, considering their meanings, before watching the film it can be frustrating to try to keep up with abstract concepts and poetic structures when you have the time frame subtitles afford by reading the quotes before hand you will recognise immediately what is being said and be able to consider the context of your understanding of its meaning within its placement in the film having one character dismiss another by answering a question using a quote from a 19 century poet, then later have another character, absent from the original scene implying omnipresence, recycle that quote in a completely different context and then also finish the rest of the quote altering its meaning is masterful writing spoilers from the original 1995 film ahead: it is rare to see someone take something as brilliant and successful as the 1995 ghost and decide to make a sequel completely abandoning the original's main character and themes to focus the main thread on a support character from the original innocence is the story of how those left behind deal when a respected person leaves and how that void pulls all of them around batou in innocence is a different batou from gits, in the absence of the major he begins to take on the inquisition that made the major so powerful, and this worries everyone else in the same way batou was worried about the major in gits batou's mirroring of the major's personality is only able to be relieved to his own personality again due to the event at the end of the film what oshii did with innocence is commendable i think all of the ghost material is masterful and great fodder for staring out of windows "mirrors are meant to be looked down on; stead looked into" .Ryokuu Saitou

mercurial 11y ago

Oh dear. I watched Innocence with a friend when it came out, and to this I don't have any idea of what it was trying to say. I liked GitS very much, as well as the first season of SAC, despite the oversexualization of the main character (ugh fan service).

bsder 11y ago
Yeah, I consider Innocence to be the most visually interesting (some of the scenes are just gorgeous), but it was kind of a mess in terms of story.
justifier 11y ago
innocence is brilliant one of those rare occasions where the sequel is just as good as the original but for completely different reasons > I don't have any idea of what it was trying to say. i am guessing this is in response to the way the characters have entire conversations with only referencing abstract quotes.. and to this i have to say i like this kind of dialogue if you do too, i would recommend the mid century new wave, specifically jean luc godard.. there is a sac episode in homage to him as well so perhaps my seeing similarities is more than coincidence.. stuff like pierrot le fou and notre musique are heavy with these quotation dialogues if you dislike this sort of writing style, may i suggest some ways to enjoy it more: you could watch the film like you would read a book, maybe a chapter a night spread out over a few nights to give you time to digest your mind's philosophical ramblings, and allow you to flip back and forth to track context also, or, you could get a list of all of the quotes used in the film from their original authors and read them, considering their meanings, before watching the film it can be frustrating to try to keep up with abstract concepts and poetic structures when you have the time frame subtitles afford by reading the quotes before hand you will recognise immediately what is being said and be able to consider the context of your understanding of its meaning within its placement in the film having one character dismiss another by answering a question using a quote from a 19 century poet, then later have another character, absent from the original scene implying omnipresence, recycle that quote in a completely different context and then also finish the rest of the quote altering its meaning is masterful writing spoilers from the original 1995 film ahead: it is rare to see someone take something as brilliant and successful as the 1995 ghost and decide to make a sequel completely abandoning the original's main character and themes to focus the main thread on a support character from the original innocence is the story of how those left behind deal when a respected person leaves and how that void pulls all of them around batou in innocence is a different batou from gits, in the absence of the major he begins to take on the inquisition that made the major so powerful, and this worries everyone else in the same way batou was worried about the major in gits batou's mirroring of the major's personality is only able to be relieved to his own personality again due to the event at the end of the film what oshii did with innocence is commendable i think all of the ghost material is masterful and great fodder for staring out of windows "mirrors are meant to be looked down on; stead looked into" .Ryokuu Saitou