Koukaku Kidoutai: The Ghost in the Shell

The Ghost in the Shell
攻殻機動隊 THE GHOST IN THE SHELL

Manga8.014577 votes1 volumes · 11 chaptersFinished

ActionSci-FiAdult CastDetectivePsychologicalSeinen

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About this title

Synopsis

The year is 2029. The world has endured four world wars and ushered in a new age of technological advancement that has largely transformed society as humanity knows it. Cybernetic enhancements, robotic AIs, and cyborgs have now become the norm in a world where humans are more machine than man. However, with this modern change, crime started evolving as well: hackers, corrupt officials, and other opportunists have found ways to sneak into innovative systems for their own personal agendas. In Japan, where such crimes run rampant, the government establishes Section 9—a clandestine team of highly trained operatives—to counter these threats. Major Motoko Kusanagi, a woman of impenetrable caliber and bravado, leads Section 9 on its mission to tackle cyberterrorism and ensure that the nation's stability does not falter in the pace of the rapidly progressing future. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Publication notes

Koukaku Kidoutai: The Ghost in the Shell was published in Japan as an English-Japanese bilingual edition by Kodansha on September 6, 2002. The series was released in English by Dark Horse Comics into eight comic issues from March 1, 1995, to October 1, 1995, and later into a single volume on December 1, 1995. An uncensored version was published on October 6, 2004. Kodansha Comics USA republished the censored version on October 13, 2009. It was also released in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC in December 2016. A video game based on the series was released on the PlayStation on July 17, 1997, developed by Exact and Production I.G. The manga was also adapted into a Western live-action film that premiered on March 31, 2017.

Published

Mar 1989 to Sep 1991

Authors

Shirow, Masamune

External links

MyAnimeList page KodanshaKodansha USA Wikipedia Wikipedia

MAL rank: #1003
Members (MAL): 45,856
Favorites (MAL): 1,468

Related titles

Sequel

Koukaku Kidoutai 1.5: Human-Error Processer

Adaptation

Side Story

Innocence: After the Long Goodbye

Spin-Off

Koukaku Kidoutai Shousetsu Anthology

Alternative Setting

Character

Dominion

Other

Koukaku Kidoutai: Ghost in the Shell Comic Tribute

Main characters

Motoko Kusanagi11361 fan favorites
External profile
Height: 5'6" Motoko Kusanagi is the mysterious, even enigmatic woman who has led a group of SpecOps for years, and was recruited by Aramaki to work for Section 9. Almost nothing is known about her, her origins, birthdate, etc. She could not be older than 60 or so, since the widespread use of full-cyborgization was not in use until then. She was fully cyborged at a very young age and as she "grew" she went through a series of artificial bodies. This, more than anything, likely contributed to her great ease at controlling cyborg bodies of various types, even multiple at the same time. More mysterious is her incredible ability as a hacker, as she is equally at ease in a cyborg body as she is without one while diving the net; she is also officially registered as a Super Wizard Class Hacker. Her romantic life does not officially involve anybody in the Stand Alone Complex series; however, in the original manga she is bisexual and dates the leader of Section 1 for some time. Whatever her age, Major Kusanagi now prefers the body of a 20-something woman. She is most often identifiable by her short violet hair and violet eyes in her Stand Alone Complex design. Her Arise design features her with short, indigo hair and blue eyes and features the Major at a younger age as she fights for her autonomy from Unit 501 of the Army.
Batou1797 fan favorites
External profile
Batou (also Batto, Bato) is nominally the second-in-command of Section 9. Little is known about the strange, large foreigner who has been with Motoko Kusanagi for years. He was once American and served in the Special Forces in South America. His amount of cyborg-ization is variable according to the storyline, from his limbs only up to most of his body, second only to the Major herself. Despite the availability of superior eyes, he grew superstitious about his old-style eye replacements, popular with many high-level military operatives. He also retains some residual body-image issues, causing him to continually purchase workout equipment despite the obvious anachronism. In the two Stand Alone Complex series, Batou's personality is more like that in the manga version. He is an outgoing joker, but one with a quick temper. Being emotional and not as calm as the Major, Batou shows anger at injustice and cruelty, to the point of seeming downright hotheaded at times. He sometimes shows impatience with Section 9's rookies, such as Togusa, to the point of rudeness, and jokes with him constantly. At times, he is also shown to be a voice of reason and concern for the Major, to the point that she admits she can confide in him. Both seasons of the anime, like the movies, hint at some romantic tension between the two, particularly near the end of each Gig. This tension is touched upon, briefly, in the Solid State Society movie, where Batou admits that he's been covering up any of the Major's appearances in cases prior to the Puppet Master case. Batou had served in a military special forces team before entering Section 9. Most of his body is comprised of cybernetic prosthetics. Despite the fact that exercise will do his cybernetic body parts no benefits, Batou lifts weights as a hobby. Based on several of the Stand Alone Complex episodes, Batou seems to have served in the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force at some point before he joined Section 9. It is suggested several times that he held a JGSDF Ranger qualification. His unit was involved in World War IV and was deployed to South America alongside Motoko Kusanagi, where they accidentally stumbled across an American Imperial Navy unit conducting a covert operation codenamed "Project Sunset," which consisted of soldiers earning the trust of communities and then carrying out war crimes, spreading terror and chaos in the enemy ranks. Batou's eyes are grey and clearly prosthetic. They are standard cybernetic equipment issued to Ranger Special Forces operatives.
Togusa486 fan favorites
External profile
Togusa is the newest member of Section 9 and the only one not originally recruited from Kusanagi's team of SpecOps. Recruited from the regular police forces, Detective Togusa (no first name is yet known) has only the most basic of augmentation and no cyberization outside of his cyberbrain. The Major wanted him for his perspective as a real policeman and as an outside opinion so as to avoid intellectual incest within Section 9. Togusa mostly feels inferior to the rest of the team, forgetting to recognize the reason for his inclusion in the group. He is the only member with a spouse and child and he continues to carry his Mateba revolver, although it has been highly modified to fire anti-cyborg rounds.
Daisuke Aramaki132 fan favorites
External profile
The wise and powerful Head of Section 9, Aramaki relies upon his many international and corporate contacts to supply his team with the information they need to get the job done. Though he commands a great deal of respect, he is occasionally called "Monkey Man" (in the Manga) by his subordinates (perhaps because of his unconventional hairstyle/face). Seldom directly involved in police actions, he is nonetheless constantly working behind the scenes to coordinate the efforts of his agents, making quick and authoritative decisions and maintaining tight control of Kusanagi.
Project 2501128 fan favorites
External profile
Project 2501, also known as The Puppet Master from the film and manga Ghost in the Shell, is an artificial intelligence program secretly developed by Section 6 of Public Security that develops sapience.