Ghost in the Shell

If you've had a chance to see any of the Ghost in the Shell animated films or episodes, you'll probably really enjoy reading the Manga that inspired them. This graphic novel has so much character to it; there are complicated plots, thick footnotes describing the author's view of the future, and a varying art style that goes from finely detailed to absurd and surrealistic (depending on the mood of the scene). But be warned: do not buy this for your kids. There is a very explicit and graphic lesbian sex scene about midway through the book. From a narrative perspective, it fits with the themes of the novel and helps expand on Major Kusanagi's character (and shows an intriguing vision of cyber-sex), but there is quite a lot of intense eroticism in those two-to-three pages. Altogether, however, this is probably the best Japanese graphic novel I have ever read or will ever read.

This is the ultimate Ghost in the Shell manga! The 2nd edition has 18+ rating and so it includes original adult content :-) Also it's printed on a really quality paper with A5 dimensions so it's quite handy and nice. For GitS fans who don't have the 1st edition this is a must buy. Go for it you won't be disappointed ^_^

First created in 1991, 'Ghost in the Shell' is Masamune Shirow's vision of a future world, complex and dysfunctional peopled by humans, robots and cyborgs. Best known in this country as the Anime film of the same name, it has had an unexpected influence on manga, anime, and the world to come. Like Phillip Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,' is asks questions about the essence of life and the validity of a society where it is an artifact that can be installed instead of something innate. The Film was my first sight of what anime was capable of, and this book was my first introduction to manga, the unique Japanese form of the graphic novel.The action of the story centers on a security team led by Major Matoko Kusinagi. Kusinagi, like almost all of her team, are highly modified humans, or highly humanized machines, depending on your viewpoint. They are shells, biomechanical miracles, in which a human brain and spinal column have been places. However, unless you see one of them being made, or notice their cable contact points, they seem utterly human.The team investigates possible cases of government wrongdoing. Their paths often bring them into contact with the less reputable side of human and cyborg traffic. Shirow uses these contacts, robots in revolution, berserk cyborgs, illegal memory copying, etc., to gradually shift the story from hard science fiction to a semi-metaphysical deep dive into the significance of the information net and alternate life form possibilities. The question, of course, is not just 'what is human?' but 'what is intelligent life?' Where exactly is the boundary between the shell, whether it be bioengineered or flesh.The last third of the book, which comprises most of the film, is Major Kusinagi's quest to bring down a 'hacker' called the puppeteer. This goes awry in unexpected fashion and Kusinagi finds herself confronted by the impossible rather than the criminal. What effect this has on her, and the possibilities is creates are Shirow's answers to his own questions. Like the rest of the book before them, they raise as many issues as they resolve. Masamune Shirow's imagination has built a finely detailed world. To complete the picture the artist/writer provides countless notes and commentaries about his technology and society. Unable to do this, the film simplified the plot to make it digestible. While it succeeded, the reader will find that manga is much richer and engaging. Given the longer format, Shirow is able to spend his time setting the scene, focusing on the interactions of the characters, and at exactly the right time, pulling the trigger. Working in both color and black and white, his artwork is a mixture of high tech detailing and unembarrassed sensuality.The manga and the subsequent film created a whole new era for the Japanese storybook. For many people in the US such as me, 'Ghost in the Shell' is the anime production that made them fans. The themes validated it as a literary

the action here is better than in the movie and the story is much more elaborate and does not concentrate on the philosophical aspects so narrowly. They should've asked William Gibson to write the movie script -- this is his area of expertise and probably would make a much better movie from the material of the novel. Don't get me wrong: i loved the movie when i saw it first (and many times since), it's just after reading this novel i realize how much of the movie is spent in long-winded conversations and how much of the good stuff is left out. Another area where the novel excels and the movie practically fails is character development. So if you liked the movie, you'll learn much more about the characters here.Also, since i was only exposed to US version of the novel, i can only guess how much was censored out but it feels that a good chunk didn't make it through. Hence the eroticism level is low against the expectation.

GITSh is a book about the dark side of cybernautics technology. Taking place in the near future, 2030, it tells the story of conflicting viewpoints of what conscioussness means. Technology has become so advanced that a human soul, ghost, can be transpanted into a cyborg body, shell. There are many robots in the world that look human, and behave human with the aid of AI, but only cyborgs with ghosts are truly considered alive. Major Motoko Kusanagi is one of those cyborgs. She is the leader of a covert actions team, in a section of the Shinahama Police. Related incidents lead her into an encounter with a life form known as the puppeteer, a software program that claims to call itself a ghost. What is a soul, and what exactly is life then? The ensuing events are facsinating, up to the book's climatic ending, leaving the reader wondering what the soul really is. GITSh is beatifully drawn by one of the best Japanese Manga Artists, and has several full color pages to complement the rest of the black and white ones. The english translation has been censored by Shirow, and Dark Horse, therefore I can only give it a 9, instead of a 10 for the original.