FIF#114-Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045

Nine years after the Puppeteer, the world has changed drastically.  An economic disaster known as the Simulteneous Global Default has destroyed the value of all forms of currency, digital or otherwise.  Four nations engage in conflict, known as the “Sustainable War” in order to keep the economy going.  The roles of Public Security Section 9 have changed.  Once the secret guardians of a nation, Major Motoko Kusinagi and her team now work as a mercenary team known as GHOST, working to survive in this war torn world.  However, their former boss, Chief Daisuke Aramaki, hasn’t given up on his former subordinates yet and may have stumbled across a case that might require the Major’s help to solve.

It’s been five years since Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie but it’s been a whopping 14 since the last entry in the Stand Alone Complex series, 2006’s Solid State Society.  Fans of the beloved TV iteration of Ghost in the Shell have long held out hope for a third season.  I’m sure they weren’t expecting this.  Granted, there’s plenty to be curious about.  While SAC_2045 sees the return of SAC Head Writer Kenji Kamiyama as Writer and Director, he’s sharing directorial duties with Shinji Aramaki, who is most famous for his 3D Anime films, particularly those based on another Shirow Masamune work, the Appleseed trilogy.  What kind of potential gold could be mined from this interesting combo of creators?  Well…SAC_2045 is gonna be a curious watch but I think you’ll know from the get go whether you’re on board or not.

Alright, let’s not beat about the bush: The Animation is weird.  That’s definitely not something I’d associate with either Production I.G. (unless it was on wacky purpose) or Shinji Aramaki.  Sure the Appleseed films have forgettable stories but they are gorgeous animated.  SAC_2045 sometimes feels like an elaborate tech demo, other times it feels more like a video game cutscene instead of a 3D Anime…aren’t those one in the same sometimes?  The character models look true to their Anime and Manga inspirations.  And yes, I think Motoko looks as hot as always.  It’s still going to take some getting used to with this art style (if I ever get used to it at all).  Like I said though, if you’ve seen even a little bit of the production art, you know where you stand on this matter.

The status quo change is just as jarring as the animation.  Section 9 disbanded?  Motoko and most of her fellow team members playing Road Warrior?  Togusa on his own and even divorced?  I get that things wont stay the same after…I wanna say 9, maybe 10 years since the events of Solid State Society.  But this feels heavy.  The idea of a near worldwide economic collapse also makes my head spin.  We only saw a little bit of the world outside of Japan during the first two seasons of Stand Alone Complex, so we didn’t know a lot about it outside of tidbits and whispers (though we def got a lot more intel during 2^nd Gig).  Maybe I just think that if we’d visited America or more of Europe and gotten a sense of how things were before the collapse, I could be more on board with this.  So how did this result in the disbandment of Section 9 and why would Motoko abandon Togusa and Aramaki?  It did send a chill down my spine when Aramaki mentioned the case to come might be his last.  That coupled with his gaze at a portrait of (former?) Prime Minister Kayabuki (who was kind of his love interest in 2^nd Gig) makes me dread to think that we might be headed for a world without our beloved Chief.

There’s enough mystery in the story to warrant a watch of SAC_2045 alone.  But the sort of sudden shift in status quo and the entirely CG Animation is already working against it to some degree.  I know I’ll end up doing a full series review on this one down the line.  I know that 2 seasons of 13 episodes have been planned and both are going to air on Netflix.  I just need to know when Part 2 will drop to plan something…possibly for Early 2021 if not sooner (2020 is pretty locked in by now).  Nevertheless, for now, it’s good to have new Ghost in the Shell again, and more Stand Alone Complex especially.  There’s also the added bonus of the forthcoming English dub (delayed due to current events) which will feature the return of pretty much the entire Stand Alone Complex cast.  That means we’ll hear Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, William Knight, Richard Epcar and Crispin Freeman back as Motoko, Aramaki, Batou and Togusa once again (also wow, Epcar and Knight have been playing these roles since the first movie, that’s wild).  I just hope the uneven Animation doesn’t become the one thing that this entry becomes known for…but who knows.