T5W#574-Top 5 Times Motoko’s Gone Full Beast Mode in Ghost in the Shell

Major Motoko Kusinagi.  She is a pinnacle of the entire Cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction and one of the most iconic heroines in all of Anime.  How could you not love her?  She’s the total package: drop dead gorgeous, a dedicated military woman, second to none hacker and an expert on all things guns and martial arts.  While we’re getting a new, more playful side to the legendary Major in The Ghost in the Shell, when pushed too far in any series, Motoko wont just throw down, she will wreck you so badly you’ll need a new body as a result.  Today on Top 5 Wednesday we look at those hella intense moments aka the Top 5 Times Motoko’s Gone Full Beast Mode in Ghost in the Shell.

 
#5-Finally Nailing Goda (Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2^nd Gig)

Throughout all of SAC 2^nd Gig, the facially messed up Kazundo Goda manipulates Section 9 like his own pawns in his personal game of political espionage chess.  Goda is so confident he’s going to get away with all the crap he pulled, including almost starting a war, that he makes plans to be extradited to another country where the law cant touch him.  Motoko finally gets to let loose on this jerk after a season long wait in the seasons second nod to an iconic franchise moment.  She doesn’t just pop Goda in the head with a single bullet, Motoko goes full auto, making sure his brains are liquified all over the floor.
 
#4-Finishing Off the 501 (Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie)

Like the aforementioned confrontation with Goda, Motoko’s violent parting of the ways with the 501^st was teased althroughout Ghost in the Shell: Arise and The New Movie delivers on its promise.  It gives us a chance to see Section 9 in one of its most brutal and fun battles, coming together as a team like never before.  And as icing on the cake, Motoko gets to man a really big freaking cannon, with Borma acting as support, to take down a massive battle armor that in turn rips apart that egocentric Raizo.  When Motoko burns bridges, she doesn’t even leave the cinders around. 
 

#3-The Spider Tank Battle (Ghost in the Shell)

One of the most iconic moments in the entire franchsie, the climactic final fight of the original Mamou Oshii masterpiece sees Motoko soloing a Spider Tank protecting the Puppet Masters body.  Heavily outgunned, it’s all Motoko can do to stay alive until it runs out of ammo.  When it does, Motoko boards it and puts her all into ripping open the Tanks cockpit.  It’s a crazy show of strength that pushes Motokos cyberbody well past its limits, bulking up with veins going crazy and everything.  Sadly, this does result in Motoko literally tearing her body apart in the process.  Still, that’s dedication and effort at its finest (plus Batou saves her with your “Standard Issue Big Gun” so it all works out).

 
#2-Payback (The Ghost in the Shell)
SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 6

This is the whole reason I opted to do this list, this week.  When a ghost from Motoko’s past comes looking for payback, they cleave a swath of destruction across an entire district that pushes Motoko to her bodies limits.  She takes a ton of damage and is nearly taken out in a manner similar to our last entry’s Spider Tank encounter.  But she manages to avoid death once again and this time, when her old target is laying on the ground right in front of her, Motoko makes sure to finish the job this time, unleashing an entire clips worth of pistol bullets into his head with very red, very pissed off eyes.  Sayonara indeed.
 

#1-Sarah Conner Mode (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)

As the Laughing Man case heats up, Motoko and Section 9 come up against their toughest foes so far, complete with Armed Suits that even Saito’s rifle cant puncture.  In a tense battle, Motoko’s body gets torn up, including the loss of an arm.  Still, she gets the last word in by order Saito to fork over his big gun and then proceeding to empty the clip into the fallen Armed Suit, with the pilot still inside.  She knows it wont kill him cause the armors that thick but still Motoko fires and, with only one arm, cocks the rifle just like Sarah Conner in Terminator 2.  It’s equal parts hot and scary as the Major shows her opponents she doesn’t deal with taking a loss very well.