Today I finally got around to one of those classics that many people talk about, but for…

Today I finally got around to one of those classics that many people talk about, but for some reason have never seen myself. My friends and I went to see the 4K remaster of Ghost in the Shell at the cinema, and what’s funny is that we had the entire theater to ourselves ( because no one else came ). The atmosphere was almost intimate - as if we had rented the hall solely for this viewing. For me, this was my first experience with this work, and, frankly speaking, it’s a little embarrassing that only now 😵‍💫

I can't call myself an anime fan. Rather, I treat it as a separate form of art: there, as in any other form of creativity, there are works that you should not pass by. That’s why I approach the choice of titles as selectively as possible. "Ghost in the Shell" is just in this category

Let me add a little historical context: the anime was released in 1995, directed by Mamoru Oshii based on the manga by Masamune Shiro. This is one of the first and most recognizable representatives of cyberpunk in Japanese animation, influencing many subsequent works - from The Matrix to modern TV series and games 😱

Now about impressions. I'll start with the cons. There is a lot of completely gratuitous nudity of the main character in the film. As a man, this, of course, pleases me, but from the point of view of the script it looks rather ridiculous and out of place. There are protracted and downright boring scenes, and there are script “stupidities”. A couple of times, as a technology person, I just couldn’t stop thinking about how the authors messed up the terminology and technical nuances. The story itself is interesting, but surprisingly simple, and there was clearly not enough time to develop the characters and lore

But it is important to remember the context here. This is the early 90s ( the manga came out earlier ), one of the first attempts to comprehend the theme of cyberpunk in this format. What seems cliché today was fresh back then, and in that regard, Ghost in the Shell became the inspiration for many iconic works. The atmosphere is definitely cool - a gloomy city of the future, questions about the nature of consciousness, about the boundaries between man and machine. In some ways this has something in common with Blade Runner and its book source 📖

In the end I was satisfied. Just for reference - that's it. I had a great Saturday evening, broadened my horizons and now at least I understand what everyone is talking about when they mention this anime. I would put it 7 out of 10 , although, frankly speaking, such things, as for me, no longer need evaluation. They themselves are part of the story.

#film_review