Why Ghost in the Shell is the greatest and most philosophical anime ever made

Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 manga-based sci-fi hit, the setting of which was modelled on Hong Kong, questions the ethics of AI, making it more relevant now than ever

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A still from Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell (1995).

Richard James Havis

Published: 12:45pm, 6 Dec 2019Updated: 1:33pm, 6 Dec 2019

Ghost in the Shell, directed by Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Oshii and released in 1995, is not only one of the greatest anime movies ever made, it is also one of the best science-fiction films of all time. What’s more, the story of an artificial intelligence that evolves to such an extent that it demands to be treated as a new life form is more relevant today than when the film was made.

Although it is pinned to an action-oriented storyline, Ghost in the Shell features many philosophical scenes that explore the way humans relate to computers – and vice versa – and it even veers into metaphysics to discuss the nature of existence itself. There is a bonus for Hong Kong viewers because the “Japan” of the film is modelled on the city and will therefore seem disconcertingly familiar.

The movie is based on a 1989 manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow, although Oshii has described the manga as “complex” and said he felt it was his job as director to strip it down to its essence.

The story is set in a fictional Japanese city in 2029. Major Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg who works for a criminal investigation unit called Section 9. Motoko’s body is a machine but she still bears the traces of her human mind, or even a soul – the “ghost in the machine” of the title.

When Motoko and her team are called in to investigate a rogue AI program – the Puppet Master – that has the capability to “hack” human minds and implant artificial memories, they assume it’s the creation of the government department that is trying to capture it.