T5W#59-Top 5 Observations from the Ghost in the Shell Teasers

Studios can be pretty crafty sometimes.  Last week, during the Season Finale of the USA hit series, Mr. Robot, 5 separate mini TV spots for the upcoming Live Action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell were shown.  Could this mean we’ll have an actual trailer soon?  I hope so.  Because those 5 clips were the very first bits of footage we’ve seen from the film.  My feelings are mixed but overall, ive got a good feeling.  We’ve come a long way from the controversial first image of Scarlet Johannson as Motoko Kusinagi.  Now we’re one step closer to seeing this bad boy in its completed form.  Ghost in the Shell has always been a special spot in my Anime fandom (up there with Mobile Suit Gundam and Dragon Ball Z).  So I’m keeping my fingers crossed this movie can work.  Anyway, figured I’d share my Top 5 Observations from those teaser snippets.  This could be the American Anime adaptation that wipes our mouths clean of the foulness of Dragon Ball Evolution…oh who am I kidding, that bad taste isn’t going away any time soon.

 

#5-Beat Takahasi as Aramaki

Aramaki is a tough role to cast.  When I heard he was being played by the legendary Takeshi Kitano, aka Beat Takahasi, I got stoked.  You might recognize him from Spike TV’s MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge-his character is Vic Ramano in the parody) as well as both Battle Royale films.  Seeing him for the first time in his Aramaki role is…kind of weird really.  The hairstyle throws me off quite a bit.  At first I was also not sure about Aramaki handling a gun…until I remembered him in action in Ghost in the Shell: Arise.  How this goes will be as curious as the rest of the movie.  But I have faith in Takeshi Kitano.  He was already a bad ass, if kind of crazy, teacher.  I’m sure he’ll do just fine as the Chief of Section 9.  Plus if he’s rocking a revolver, means we might get to see him in the field in action.

 

#4-Motoko looks a little nervous

The final teaser of this set shows Motoko wandering down a dark corridor, gun drawn, clearly heading towards something dangerous…and she’s looking a little nervous I think.  Pretty much every interation of Motoko’s character in Anime has shown her to be a cold as ice warrior, with very little fear in anything she does.  Granted, Arise has shown Motoko as younger, less experienced and thus a little rough around the edges.  This is different though, this feels like it will be a very different Motoko than we’re used to.  I could be looking at this all wrong though.

 

#3-“What are you?”

Now this is a curious question to ask in a world like this.  Is Motoko somehow different than most cyborgs?  Who is the girl asking this question?  Still, it’s a three word question that is most closely associated with the world of Ghost in the Shell.  In a world where cybernetics are the norm and the line between Human and Machine blurs daily, what is normal?  What is Human?  What does it mean to exist?  Motoko faces questions like these on a regular basis.  Given her origins in Arise, it makes sense.  But we don’t know where Motoko comes from in this new movie.  What is she?  I cant wait to find out.

 

#2-Oshii like Visuals

 

Seeing the robot Geisha walking down the corridor feels very inspired by Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.  It feels very Anime, complete with a mysterious vibe you can easily spot in either of Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell films.  I really hope this means that they’re sticking to that visual kind of style with this film, translating it from Anime to live action.  Some of the 1995 GITS films best moments were some of the slower ones, featuring grand looks at the city and a minute of thoughtful contemplation while we watched the cast make their way from Point A to Point B.  In short, this movie doesn’t look like it’s ignoring it’s Anime or Manga routes and is looking to keep them alive and well…which brings us to one moment in particular.

 

#1-That bed shot

This moment alone has sold me on this movie having a chance.  It’s not a dead on replica of an infamous shot from the beginning of the original movie.  But it’s close, real close.  Actually, if you look at any iteration of Ghost in the Shell: the movies, Stand Alone Complex or Arise, you’re going to see shared scenes popping up with their own spin in their own separate universes.  The opening of the 1995 movie is retooled and shown in both SAC and Arise and both are just as good as that iconic scene, making it their own but not ignoring what came before.  If I can see more shots like this in any upcoming preview, then this film just got bumped up the list of my Most Anticipated Films of 2017.  In 2004, I named Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence my top movie of the year.  Could this film accomplish that same feat?  Could this be the big win Live Action Anime in America needs?  Who knows.  But I’ll be there March 2017 to find out.

 

And you better believe there will be a review here too.