ScreenWize

The opening title sequence, echoing that of its predecessor Ghost in The Shell, is pure art. With Kenji Kawai’s apocalyptic music as an accompaniment, it dramatically unveils the creation of a female cyborg, another entity in a futuristic world where the lines between man and machine are indistinct; where humanity exists only as a fragment of the soul or “ghost”.

The first Ghost in the Shell – also screening at Electric Shadows as part of the Reelanime showcase season, was a groundbreaking film that strongly influenced style in the Matrix. It combined computer-generated animation with traditional forms to create its distinct style. Innocence continues the tradition, with 3D backgrounds rich in detail and colour, whilst principle characters are rendered in more muted 2D form.

Time has moved on to 2039 and, with a serious nod to Blade Runner, the stoic undercover cop Batou embarks on a lonely and sometimes erratic exploration of the meaning of life in an underworld of cyber-gangsters and pleasure-robots. Batou has been allocated a traditional sidekick named Togusa by the bosses at Public Security Section 9, and together they blast their way through action sequences in search of those behind a spate of strange murders. Between fights, and sometimes in the midst of them, the characters mutter philosophical quips. Descartes, Milton, Confucius and the Bible all get a mention.

There is no doubting this film’s technical brilliance. It radiates and throbs with a vibrance only available in the anime genre, occasionally bordering on self-indulgence. The narrative often plays second fiddle to the orchestra of artwork, and the shoot-from-the-lip wisdom is cute rather than clever. Perhaps in a mocking moment of self-reflection, Batou dryly comments that “when dialogue fails, its time for violence”. A great line, and one that might reveal more about the film than the director Mamoru Oshii might have intended.

Like conceptual art, it works best with a dose of background understanding. If you’re a Ghost fan and have waited patiently since 1995 for the follow up, you’ll know what you’re in for. If not, and you know nothing about the Japanese manga world of cyberpunk anime, then both Ghost films are a perfect introduction into the world of Japanime. Expect sublime graphic animation and a story of existential foreboding in a multi-coloured trip to the cyber-future.

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Filed Under: Reviews by Simon