In the East, their has been a philosophy about what makes a person a person.  For years; man has been trying to find that unique quality that distinguishes each of us.  We know that the body has a brain that controls our physical actions but what makes us who we are.

In the west it is referred to as the mind; religion refers to it as the soul and the east refer to it as the ghost in the shell.   The trouble with trying to understand something so incomprehensible, is that there is no way to find this part of the human psyche.  This is the premise for the movie ghost in the shell.

Ghost in the shell is based on a Manga series that was released in about 8 volumes of graphic novels.  Unlike the west; the Japanese take comics seriously.  This series follows the incident of the puppet bomber and the movie follows the Manga almost word for word.

The Movie

You follow the  detective work of Major Motoko Kusanagi and Batou as they try and prevent the puppet bomber from turning Tokyo into a war zone.  The movie was released in 1997 and in Japan was released in the Cinema.  In Japan; Anime is considered the same as big block buster movies are in the west.  They are big events and some of the movies take many years to create.  If you look at some of the best games that have been released in the west from Japan, you will already know that they put a lot of effort into these games.  For example;  Take a look at Super Mario World on the Super NES again, and look at all the detail that was added into the game and you will know what to expect in this movie.

As the story unfolds you will learn something surprising and it might make you question the meaning of what is life and whether you really are alive.  There are some who have said that the Matrix was heavily influenced by this movie.  Even the intro to the film is strikingly similar.  It it very likely that this film is based in Buddhist beliefs.  One thing the Japanese seemed to do well is researching there subject well.  You will usually find references to many different cultures and this movie is perfect example of that.

Don't worry; I will review this movie last and if you haven't seen this film yet (why?), but there will be spoilers and that is why the review will be last.

The animation in this film is amazing and even though this movies is now over ten years old; it holds up well to anything that has been produced since.  The animation I think; was hand painted and you can tell.  The detail is phenomenal and would make Disney or Dreamworks animation look like the work of a first year art student; it really is that good.

The story isn't that hard to follow and after watching Akira in 1990; I thank god for that.  Some of the Anime subjects used can really be confusing if you aren't of Japanese descent.  The films can really be confusing and that is something that is not an issue for this movie. 

Now down to the review.  I must warn you that this is a spoiler and if you have not seen the movie and intend to watch it but aren't sure; all you need to know is that this is one of the best movies you will ever, ever, ever see.

You still with me?  Good; so the puppet master is blowing up buildings and has become a problem for section 9 and they are sent out to find out what the hell is going on.  It looks like the actions of a foreign government.  You find out that the puppet master is using dolls (cyborgs with no minds) that blow up and no one can work out its pattern or why it's doing this.

There is a sequence where they chase a gun toting lunatic through a market place and they find out that he's been hacked.  You did read that right.  It seems, in the future the populous can connect into the internet directly and this poor soul has had his brain hacked by the puppet master but what purpose does this achieve and who is the puppet master?

They latter learn of a project 2901 that the department of foreign relations is working on.  What is this project, and does it have a connection to the puppet master?  You will have to watch the movie to find out for yourself.  All I will say is that after you have watched this film; go back and watch the Matrix and see how many similarities there are between these two films there are. 

There has been two movies and two TV series made and it continues the the subject of the metaphysical question first asked by some dude in Egypt.  It has been a major talking point by many civilisations throughout time and is a question that still dogs man today.  The trouble with trying to find out what makes us an individual, is that man can not find the part of the brain that enables us to learn.  Until man does; it makes the job of creating an artificial intelligence difficult.  For example:  What makes one person run head one into a battle and another run and hide?  Why is it that one person can be charismatic and the next behave like a social leaper?  What gives one person the drive to achieve any goal he/she sets them self and the next person feels like they are on a downwards spiral to oblivion and their only hope is knowing that one day they will die.