It’s been forever since we got any kind of substantial
update on the next Anime iteration of Ghost in the Shell. All we’ve known up until now is the Studio
taking charge, Science Saru (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Star Wars Visions 3) and
that it might be going back to the very beginning with the source
material. Well, low and behold, a kick
ass teaser dropped not too long ago and I am more pumped than I already was. The teaser trailer doesn’t offer much outside
of a few shots, staff announcements and a banging track playing over the visuals. Oh I guess it does give us an actual release
window of July 2026, so only a few months remain until the return of Major
Motoko Kusinagi and Section 9. With that
in mind, my Ghost is whispering me to share on today’s Top 5 Wednesday my Top 5
Thoughts on the Teaser Trailer for The Ghost in the Shell.
#5-What’s (Possibly) Being Adapted So right after watching the trailer a few times, I pulled
the original GITS Manga off the shelf and read the first few chapters.
Nothing is certain, especially with the
little footage we have, but it looks like the series will be adapting quite a
bit of the OG source material as previously theorized.
The Manga’s first two stories involve a
familiar setup from the 95 movie with Section 9 tracking down a lead to the Puppet
Master while the other sees Section 9 raiding a lab using children for Cyber
slave labor.
Again, can’t say for sure
but the quick glimpses of shots fired from machine guns and missiles seem to
match.
#4-Charge of the Fuchikomas
What would a GITS Anime be without the loveable Think
Tanks with Guns and Missiles?
In Stand
Alone Complex, we had the now iconic Tachikoma’s (and later Uchikomas for the
Solid State Society Movie).
In Arise,
they were called Logicomas.
But since we’re
going back to the source, it’s time for the Fuckicoma’s to make their Anime
debut.
We see a little bit of them in
the trailer charging into battle in force while one is literally leaping into
action (probably with Motoko or Batou at the helm).
Expect more adorable voices and whimsical
techno wonder but if you really want a sort of sneak peak, the Fuchikomas are the
main playable character of the PS1 Game based on the 95 movie, which has Anime
cutscenes with voice acting from the English Dub cast, so it’s a good primer if
you seek it out on Youtube.
#3-Cherry Blossom Stakeout
Every iteration of GITS share scenes that are synonymous
with the franchise as a whole: the hotel raid, Motoko fighting a Spider tank
solo etc. One scene that does appear in both Stand Alone Complex and The New
Movie (aka the theatrical conclusion to GITS Arise) is the 24 Hour Cherry
Blossom Surveillance Stakeout.
It serves
the same function in Arise as it does in the Manga, Motoko and the boys
drinking at a shrine while they wait for the official approval of their Section
9 budget from Aramaki.
Like everything
else, it’s only a glimpse but it’s a pretty dead on glimpse of the more laid
back Section 9 we’re going to be getting in this version.
Though still guaranteed that we’re going to
get that infamous Hotel Raid scene again in the first episode for sure.
#2-The Old Ape
Since the new series is leaning heavily into the original
Shirow Masamune source material and artstyle, that means the character designs seem
to be aiming at being more in line with their Manga counterparts.
Nowhere is this more clear than with Chief Daisuke
Aramaki.
The old bad ass leader of
Section 9 is often nicknamed “The Old Ape” by his subordinates but I’ll be
honest: I can see it but I also cant see it in most of his Anime
appearances.
Here in the teaser trailer,
Aramaki’s face, posture and clear over worked and serious attitude lend more
credence to his office nickname.
And
like I said, he looks super focused on something, probably making sure Motoko
and Co. don’t slack off or try to piss him off (which happens often in the Manga,
I cant wait to see this new version of Aramaki or any of the cast are portrayed
here).
#1-The Title
The teaser trailer closed things out with Mokoto mounting
up in a Fuchikoma before revealing the official title of the new Anime
series. Nothing says “straight from the
source” like the name of the original Manga “The Ghost in the Shell”. No this isnt just another one of those sequels
or remakes that add “The” to the title just to be different. This is the clearest of the clear indications
that we’re going to be getting a very different beast of a Ghost in the Shell
than most fans of the Anime are used to seeing.
That means a lot more levity and some very different personalities for
the main cast, especially Motoko.
Honestly, I know some weren’t happy with the ’95 film for being too
serious and veering too far from what made the Manga special. Still the ’95 is as much a legend today as it
was back then but the time has finally come for Masamune’s original vision to
see the light of day. July 2026 cant get
here fast enough.
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