C@V Animation Month: Ghost in the Shell

1995’s Ghost in the Shell is set in the year 2029 and follows a cyborg policewoman and her partner, who hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master. 

The film was a watershed moment, both for Anime/Japanese culture’s impact in the West, but also for animation as a whole. Ghost in the Shell’s violent, adult, cyberpunk aesthetic was nearly unheard of outside of Japan, where Western 2D animation was almost entirely reserved for children’s films, upon its release in U.S. theaters. The film is influenced by other science-fiction films like Blade Runner and The Terminator, and ushered in a Japanese pop-culture boom that is arguably at its apex still today. 

Rated R, this film presents adult themes; viewer discretion is advised.