It is a tough series to get into, and I won't apologize for a lot of it's pacing issues. All incarnations of Ghost In The Shell have prioritized communicating i

It is a tough series to get into, and I won't apologize for a lot of it's pacing issues. All incarnations of Ghost In The Shell have prioritized communicating ideas about future society, which often comes at the cost of narrative cohesion. Stand Alone Complex and the Manga are, I think, the best entries in the franchise, but even those subject the audience to big exposition dumps. But for my money, I think GitS has been one of the most prescient pieces of futurology. It's depiction of the impact of omnipresent telecommunications and technology on society is eerie.