Ghost in the Shell : Beginner's guide

[SolkaTruesilver]

Hi there. After seeing the Complete Naruto (both serie and manga, f***** fillers), I was quite satisfied with my experience, and I'd like to take on another popular manga/anime.

Ghost in the Shell interested me. I usually enjoy more the mix of sound/image, so I think I'd be interested more into the anime.. but.. arrgg!! There are 3 series and a handful of films! And wikipedia say that the serie isn't following the same timeline than the manga, ARG

I need suggestions as to what to watch/read, in what order.

(Also, on my list of things to see, I have Cowboy Beebop. But I'll keep that for later on)

[Poison_Fish]

My suggestion: Follow the movies and stand alone complex. The manga is gonna be a bit rougher to follow.

[Mx.Silver]

My suggestion: Follow the movies and stand alone complex. The manga is gonna be a bit rougher to follow.

Although it's worth noting that the series and the movies don't follow the same continuity either. The films are pretty damn good, but may take more than one viewing to 'get'.

[Attilargh]

Well, there's the manga. And I found the manga pretty incomprehensible, but hey, it has cyberpunk tech and boobs. Basically, it's written for people who regularly think about things like "what is self", and drawn for nerds.

Then there's the movie of the manga, which is probably equally incomprehensible, and probably doesn't have as much porn for nerds. The movie has a sequel, which is also a movie.

Then there's the two Stand Alone Complex series and movie (which is a sequel to the serieseses), which don't follow the manga and instead form a continuity of their own. They're less incomprehensible, and I had fun watching them as basically cyberpunk cop shows.


As I haven't seen the movies and didn't get the manga, I heartily recommend starting with the first Stand Alone Complex series and going from there.

[Fri]

For me they're good, but not great. Especially the second movie, for me it is just for the director spouting philosophical things with pretty background (at least that's the only thing that I remember). Might be mind screwy.

[UltraDude]

Listen to Attilargh. Watch Stand Alone Complex and sequels, they won't leave you scratching your head. If you like all that, then look into the earlier movies I guess.

[Eldan]

Actually, the first movie is a pretty good starting point as well, but I thought the second movie was a lot better if you already knew a little more about the charcacters from the series.
I think the movies are incredibly well-done from an artistic standpoint (well animated, beautiful music), but perhaps a little confusing and they don't really explain the characters. The series on the other hand has a little more action scenes, interesting characters and a good story.

[Mx.Silver]

For me they're good, but not great. Especially the second movie, for me it is just for the director spouting philosophical things with pretty background (at least that's the only thing that I remember). Might be mind screwy.

The second? It's pretty much made of mind-screwage. Especially when they visit the hacker. Dear god do things get weird.

I rate the first film very highly, personally. But I can see that it requires a particularly mindset going into it, you have to be prepared to do a lot of infering otherwise it's unlikely to appeal. Has more than a few similarities with Blade Runner in that regard (and incidently was the main inspiration for The Matrix).

I haven't seen Stand Along Complex so I can't really comment on it.

[Prime32]

Stand Alone Complex opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4STXwlYLkY&fmt=18)
Stand Alone Comlex ending (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4DUhnkpZJM&fmt=18)
Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClyFIKy0E28&fmt=18)

There was also a movie called Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society - I haven't seen it, but I assume it isn't as mindscrewy as the non-SAC movies.

They're making a remake of the first GitS movie called Ghost in the Shell 2.0. Don't confuse it with the second movie, which is called Ghost in the Shell: Innocence.

SAC was noted for a having a very good dub - it's been a while since I've seen the movies, but I think they used different VAs.


Also, Ghost in the Shell has been called not cyberpunk, but post-cyberpunk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_punk_genres) - the characters are government agents rather than renegades.

[Eldan]

Heh. I remember those openings... I had the series from about five different fansubs and most of them couldn't even agree what language some sentences were sung in.

There's also the Alternative Intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa_Kw2RLSlY&feature=related) to 2nd Gig, but it's a little strange compared to the others.

[Verruckt]

Heh. I remember those openings... I had the series from about five different fansubs and most of them couldn't even agree what language some sentences were sung in.

There's also the Alternative Intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa_Kw2RLSlY&feature=related) to 2nd Gig, but it's a little strange compared to the others.

It's Latin, Russian and English, sung by a Russian born Japanese artist. You can see why they might be confused.

full version
opener 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVgSuuUTwQ)

As to the OP's question, I'd have to agree with the other posters here. Start with the SAC series, move on to the Solid State Society movie that follows them, and then go around back to the first two movies (GitS and GitS: Innocence) That's pretty much a list in order of increasing mental difficulty, shooty bang bang gun violence peaks around S.S.S. any scene involving Saito is gold.

I have not read the manga, but I pale to think what Shiro is capable of when he has the written word to work with.

[UltraDude]

Heh. I remember those openings... I had the series from about five different fansubs and most of them couldn't even agree what language some sentences were sung in.

There's also the Alternative Intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa_Kw2RLSlY&feature=related) to 2nd Gig, but it's a little strange compared to the others.

Yoko Kanno and Origa do good things together, like being good at making lyrics in multiple languages and confusing you.

Given that Kanno has made up languages for songs, flipping between English, Russian, and whatever else isn't a big deal, and sounds very cool.

[Eldan]

Oh, I sure like the songs, but given that my latin is extremly bad and mostly limited to what I can guess from english, french or botany and the only russian word I know is Wodka, the fact that the subbers were confused meant I didn't know what the song meant. Well, at least I got three or so translations which all sounded very impressive and fitting.

[Yulian]

Listen to Attilargh. Watch Stand Alone Complex and sequels, they won't leave you scratching your head. If you like all that, then look into the earlier movies I guess.

Near-future police procedural shows with an ensemble cast. SAC is much better than the films and far more comprehensible. Also less of the Major, who, in my opinion, has little to no personality. Batou and Togusa are far, far more interesting to watch. You will also love the Tachikomas.

- Yulian

[Stormthorn]

There was also a movie called Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society - I haven't seen it, but I assume it isn't as mindscrewy as the non-SAC movies.

Retirement home/internet gestalt complex. So...yeah.

So, i have seen three movies and one or two episodes of the show. I need to watch the rest of the show. I suggest you watch the first movie then try the show. Then move on to the second movie and the Solid State Society movie before trying the manga, which i havnt read but have bene told is rather sexxy.



There's also the Alternative Intro to 2nd Gig, but it's a little strange compared to the others.

I cant get that video due to the country im in.

[Decoy Lockbox]

Near-future police procedural shows with an ensemble cast. SAC is much better than the films and far more comprehensible. Also less of the Major, who, in my opinion, has little to no personality. Batou and Togusa are far, far more interesting to watch. You will also love the Tachikomas.

- Yulian

I really agree with this. I found Togusa especially interesting to watch, since he is a family man, and a non-cyborg to boot. It always peeved me how little character the Major had, especially since she is is ostensibly the main character.

To the OP: why wait to watch Cowboy Bebop? Are you saving the best for last :smallbiggrin: