[Categories: OAVs, Movies and Full Series]
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
The seminal feature film that was Ghost in the Shell has long been lauded among fans as a landmark production, combining jaw-dropping visuals that combined cel and CGI animation, blistering action and a plot laden with philosophical musings concerning the nature of the human soul. It is perhaps one of the most hyped animated feature films as a result but there’s no denying its historical significance. Mamoru Oshii returned to the director’s chair almost a decade afterwards to revisit the futuristic world that manga artist Masumune Shirow created to give us another thought-provoking and occasionally shocking tale.
Questions, questions, questions
With the Major vanished into the expanse of the Net, a new case concerning the deaths of high profile public officials at the hands of female cyborg ‘gynoids’ falls into the laps of Section Nine. Batou is paired up with Togusa to solve the case which leads them on the trail of master hackers, corrupt businessmen and all manner of other unsavoury characters. Although it’s not as obtuse as his early effort Angel’s Egg, Oshii delivers a very cryptic and straight-faced interpretation of the GitS universe.
Batou in action: Huerrgh!
It goes without saying that Innocence is visually stunning enough to warrant the attention of any film fanatic, whether they are ‘into’ Japanese animation or not: computer-generated animation can’t exactly be invented twice so Production I.G. have settled for merely pushing the envelope in what is technically feasible once again. I expect Innocence to follow its predecessor in being the standard by which its rivals will be judged for years to come: from gritty cityscapes to shimmering mecha and visceral action, it certainly does not disappoint from a technical standpoint, complete with with numerous layers of intellectual commentary that cover themes that are equally at home in hard science fiction, psychological horror or philosophical discussion.
A typically impressive cityscape
In some ways though Innocence is a little too clever for its own good. Action junkies will find much to enjoy but Oshii is characteristically stubborn about putting what HE wants into a movie, which is not what the audience necessarily wants or expects him to do. There are moments during the film in which Batou and Togusa are standing around talking about What It All Means in a pretty pretentious-sounding fashion, which may leave more casual viewers lost and bored with the multiple interpretations. To be fair, it never pretends to be anything other than an intellectual headscratcher of a production but this aspect is nevertheless more pronounced than it was in the original GitS feature film.
It wouldn’t be complete without one of Oshii’s beagles
Artistically and technically Innocence is cutting-edge but for those of us who are looking forward to meeting some familiar faces there is some interesting characterisation lurking beneath it all. The barely-mechanical Togusa is more cynical and laconic compared with his naive ‘rookie’ persona of earlier days, highlighting the passage of time since the first movie and showing him develop a little (by 2032 it appears that a man can finally wear a mullet and still look cool). The scenes featuring Batou alone are even more touching still, exploring his innermost feelings and insecurities more thoroughly than the 1995 film, or even the Stand-alone Complex, did. The loss of Kusanagi has affected him more deeply than he lets on: with his physical body almost completely mechanically enhanced he turns to his beloved pet dog to re-affirm his humanity. As for the disappearance of the Major herself, the number 2501 is all hardcore fans need to know! 
Summary
If 1995’s Ghost in the Shell woke cinemagoers up to the fact that animated science fiction can be serious and meaningful as well as looking pretty, Innocence makes a thorough job in reminding us. At times it is potentially too bleak and inaccessible to a significant poportion of its audience but overall it is a work of art that delivers its albeit cryptic messages in spectacular style. If you’re in the mood for some mindless fun this isn’t the film for you but given time the intelligent and polished Innocence will be rightly remembered as yet another modern classic.
Posted on July 30th, 2008 @ 2:19 am
the dog is a basset hound.
srry i just randomly dropped by, but…..it’s a basset hound, which will also be featured in Oshii’s new film, Sky Crawlers