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Ghost in the Shell Arise announced - Details updated in OP

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Mature

Member
There is no Section 9 in Arise. This is 2 years before Section 9 is even formed. There are details in the character profiles on the official site which indicate what some of the characters are doing though.

Motoko is a major in the 501st Division in the army, some sort of special forces unit. She runs into Aramaki when he consults her on a certain case. It's not clear where he's working, but probably at public safety (since he later starts Section 9 there). Togusa is indeed a detective in the special investigations department in the Niihama Police Station. Paz is an undercover cop working for the military police, and he runs into Motoko during a deep cover operation. Batou is apparently investigating the murder of a coworker of his, and suspects Motoko is involved. The other characters don't really have any details other than their general description.
This sounds really cool. I like the idea of a plot revolving around all the different threads of characters and how they all string together.
 

Sallokin

Member
There is no Section 9 in Arise. This is 2 years before Section 9 is even formed. There are details in the character profiles on the official site which indicate what some of the characters are doing though.

Motoko is a major in the 501st Division in the army, some sort of special forces unit. She runs into Aramaki when he consults her on a certain case. It's not clear where he's working, but probably at public safety (since he later starts Section 9 there). Togusa is indeed a detective in the special investigations department in the Niihama Police Station. Paz is an undercover cop working for the military police, and he runs into Motoko during a deep cover operation. Batou is apparently investigating the murder of a coworker of his, and suspects Motoko is involved. The other characters don't really have any details other than their general description.

Thanks for the info. This sounds like it could be really interesting. I liked the music I heard in the trailer too. That has me the most excited.
 
There is no Section 9 in Arise. This is 2 years before Section 9 is even formed. There are details in the character profiles on the official site which indicate what some of the characters are doing though.

Motoko is a major in the 501st Division in the army, some sort of special forces unit. She runs into Aramaki when he consults her on a certain case. It's not clear where he's working, but probably at public safety (since he later starts Section 9 there). Togusa is indeed a detective in the special investigations department in the Niihama Police Station. Paz is an undercover cop working for the military police, and he runs into Motoko during a deep cover operation. Batou is apparently investigating the murder of a coworker of his, and suspects Motoko is involved. The other characters don't really have any details other than their general description.

I like all of this so far.
 

duckroll

Member
Or something completely out of character with a cast that people already know and love.

There's nothing out of character about it. Character details in every version of GitS changes depending on who is working on it. They're not meant to be in a single continuity which is related to each other. It's just like how Batman the Animated Series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the old Batman movie series, and the newer Nolan Batman movies are not related to each other at all. They're each an original interpretation of the base concept.

The GitS manga, the Oshii GitS movies, the GitS:SAC series, and GitS:Arise are not connected in any way. They each have details which contradict each other, and other than the basic concept of the characters and the setting they do not share the same continuity.
 

7Th

Member
There's nothing out of character about it. Character details in every version of GitS changes depending on who is working on it. They're not meant to be in a single continuity which is related to each other. It's just like how Batman the Animated Series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the old Batman movie series, and the newer Nolan Batman movies are not related to each other at all. They're each an original interpretation of the base concept.

The GitS manga, the Oshii GitS movies, the GitS:SAC series, and GitS:Arise are not connected in any way. They each have details which contradict each other, and other than the basic concept of the characters and the setting they do not share the same continuity.

That's what the post you are responding to implied, no? They can create an alll-new Motoko by not connecting it directly to the TV show or the movies; it would be a new interpretation of the character.
 

duckroll

Member
That's what the post you are responding to implied, no? They can create an alll-new Motoko by not connecting it directly to the TV show or the movies; it would be a new interpretation of the character.

I dunno, sounds more like he's arguing against Arise throwing away all the SAC stuff, if you follow the line of discussion.
 

fallengorn

Bitches love smiley faces
Geez, what happened to Paz's face?

I'll probably end up watching it. I ended up watch Johnny Mnemonic over the weekend just because I wanted watch some cyberpunk.
 

s_mirage

Member
The staff on Arise consider CSI to be a foreign series with high quality writing, and that's a bar they wanted to try to match. Wow. I have no words. :p

Lol.

That's not a surprise. They probably overrate foriegn stuff the same way that some western anime and asian cinema fans tend to.

Personally I'm cautiously optimistic about this but I have to say that I'm not a fan of the Major's new design and I'm gonna miss Yoko Kanno.
 

genjiZERO

Member
they played up the rookie aspect of Togusa's character more in the first movie than the TV show. In the show he was a mostly human family man who has great detective skills and is occasionally the victim for the episode. And of course the Mateba.

The major doesn't exactly age anyway, so can't really make judgement calls vs. Togusa on that front.

Count me as needlessly excited!

There is no Section 9 in Arise. This is 2 years before Section 9 is even formed. There are details in the character profiles on the official site which indicate what some of the characters are doing though.

Motoko is a major in the 501st Division in the army, some sort of special forces unit. She runs into Aramaki when he consults her on a certain case. It's not clear where he's working, but probably at public safety (since he later starts Section 9 there). Togusa is indeed a detective in the special investigations department in the Niihama Police Station. Paz is an undercover cop working for the military police, and he runs into Motoko during a deep cover operation. Batou is apparently investigating the murder of a coworker of his, and suspects Motoko is involved. The other characters don't really have any details other than their general description.

Fair enough. Although I'll say I never felt SAC and the films were terribly contradictory. Maybe I was missing something? Obviously, they are different universes, but, to me, they still seemed consistent with each other. Something about this seems really inconsistent. Maybe (hopefully) I'm overanalysing.

I guess the Tachikoma as we know them wont be there :(

Any info on a subtitled release for us English speaking people? Or are we going to have to wait a long time for this?

There is no doubt in my mind that there will be an english sub within days after its release. Note, I'm not advocating piracy simply stating a fact.

Barkley's Justice said:
A more touchy-feely GITS, for a more sensitive age?

Emo Kusunagi. They should get someone at Square Enix to do the character designs. (sarcasm).
 

Hachimaki

Member
For me it feels weird seeing this younger version of the Section 9 crew. My question is in this universe how far along is cyberization and nano-machines?

If I remember correctly Motoko was 100% machine as well as most of the other crew besides Togusa and Saito who only had the eye replaced thanks to
Motoko
and an arm.

I wonder how this universe will handle the backstory of Motoko and how she came to be fully cybernetic.
 

duckroll

Member
For me it feels weird seeing this younger version of the Section 9 crew. My question is in this universe how far along is cyberization and nano-machines?

If I remember correctly Motoko was 100% machine as well as most of the other crew besides Togusa and Saito who only had the eye replaced thanks to
Motoko
and an arm.

I wonder how this universe will handle the backstory of Motoko and how she came to be fully cybernetic.

In terms of technology it should be similar, since it's 2027 AD. Not a huge time gap from the period GitS usually takes place anyway. As for Motoko's past, it's definitely not based on SAC, since her description says that in this version she has never had a real body since she was born. Other than her brain and a part of her spine, she seems to have been a 100% cyborg all her life. As to why that is the case, it's probably part of the story in Arise.
 

Shouta

Member
Geez, what happened to Paz's face?

I'll probably end up watching it. I ended up watch Johnny Mnemonic over the weekend just because I wanted watch some cyberpunk.

Saitou looks terrible too. I laughed at Togusa being largely unchanged though.
 
I like how they basically went
"Hmm, what's an excuse to have a teenage girl as the lead...let's make it a 'backstory' for Section 9! What about the other guys? Ehh, just give em more hair, remove a few wrinkles, and call it a day"
 

Blader

Member
Fair enough. Although I'll say I never felt SAC and the films were terribly contradictory. Maybe I was missing something? Obviously, they are different universes, but, to me, they still seemed consistent with each other.

They felt pretty different to me. Batou, for example, is a badass in SAC. In the movies, he's a big weirdo.
 

Jex

Member
My first reaction: is that it?

Now, it's early days still and I'm only judging the property based on the limited amount of information they've provided but I can't say that I am excited. What I can see from the trailer:

- A number of visual call backs to shots in the original movie.
- Makoto fanservice
- Explosions
- Action sequences which looks pretty in terms of animation and choreography
- No interesting animation to speak of for the rest of the trailer
- Questionable character designs
- Questionable colouring and lighting
- Questionable background art

Where's the wow factor? I would assume that Production I.G must realise that Ghost in the Shells is one of those few properties they have which is really popular outside Japan and has the potential to do well in those markets. As such they should really be brining out their big guns to totally floor us with something unexpected but powerful. By resting on established and familiar visual elements it feels like they haven't bothered to create something new and interesting - they just want to capitalise on a successful property and this is one way to do that. Nothing in the trailer grabbed my attention at all and if you imagine it unconnected to the Ghost in the Shell franchise than it's not the kind of thing that you'd even bother making a thread. A new Ghost in the Shell work should be far more ambitious and impressive than that. This trailer had no style of grace.

Now, the logical retort to all my points is: people don't like new stuff, they want more of what they've already had. Just throw on a new paint of coat, don't make something totally different because that will put people off. My response to this claim is that I don't care if people would be put off by something new or daring, I want to see that new or daring thing. I don't really care about more of the same.

Based on the director and writer's past works I can't see them topping either Mamoru Oshii's or Kenji Kamiyama's vision of Ghost in the Shell. More over, their comments about CSI and Production I.G.'s approach with many of it's recent properties has led me to doubt that they'll be producing anything that I care about.

Another problem with the whole approach that they're taking is that I honestly don't care where these characters came from. Motoko and Batou are perfectly interesting and engaging characters without a whole series of works dedicating to exploring their origins. There are very few prequels that actually add anything to a franchise overall and so I'm honestly quite sceptical of this whole approach.
 

Blader

Member
Where's the wow factor? I would assume that Production I.G must realise that Ghost in the Shells is one of those few properties they have which is really popular outside Japan and has the potential to do well in those markets. As such they should really be brining out their big guns to totally floor us with something unexpected but powerful.

The fact that it's one of their most popular and recognizable properties seems like a pretty good reason why they wouldn't have to blow right out of the gate. It's already going to sell no matter what.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
I just realized that I haven't seen anything from Production IG since Eden of the East. What have they been doing? Has any of it been good? The only recent thing I'm thinking about checking out is Psycho-Pass.
 

Jex

Member
The fact that it's one of their most popular and recognizable properties seems like a pretty good reason why they wouldn't have to blow right out of the gate. It's already going to sell no matter what.

And that's certainly proven to be the case with works like Persona 4 The Animation.

Now, leaving aside the fact that I don't actually care about their business they should be a little bit concerned about wowing people because their work might someone's first introduction to anime. This happens quite often with anime that are popular in the west - they get recommended to newcomers because they're easier to get into. If someone's first experience is something like Akira they're probably going to try and find more works to consume, if it's a sub-standard or even average work you're not going to see the same conversion. It's really in their interests, long term, to keep creating new fans.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Unimpressed. Generic art direction, tonally seems more like Ergo Proxy than Ghost in the Shell, action sequences ripped straight out of the film.
 

Dresden

Member
The fact that it's one of their most popular and recognizable properties seems like a pretty good reason why they wouldn't have to blow right out of the gate. It's already going to sell no matter what.

It'll be fun times when they blow up one of the few properties left with western appeal.
 

Izayoi

Banned
I was super hyped, and then I actually read about the people producing it.

Japan hates me, I think.

Edit: and I just watched the trailer... :(

Does she have a real body in this or her cyborg body?
I think that's her first cyborg body, judging by the trailer anyway.
 

Mesoian

Member
There's nothing out of character about it. Character details in every version of GitS changes depending on who is working on it. They're not meant to be in a single continuity which is related to each other. It's just like how Batman the Animated Series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the old Batman movie series, and the newer Nolan Batman movies are not related to each other at all. They're each an original interpretation of the base concept.

The GitS manga, the Oshii GitS movies, the GitS:SAC series, and GitS:Arise are not connected in any way. They each have details which contradict each other, and other than the basic concept of the characters and the setting they do not share the same continuity.

But in both examples (Batman and GITS) while the universes are seperate, having characters act starkly different than expected can take you out of it. Think about the Joker in B:TAS versus the Joker in "The Batman". Personally, I couldn't take "The Batman"'s Joker seriously at all. He was a goofy supermutant, but that still made sense (...sorta, kinda...sorta...) for that timeline.

It helps for there to be a physical seperation between timelines in order to not have long term fans get annoyed that their favorite characters are acting dramatically different. GiTS is odd because almost everyone acts exactly the same way in all of the GiTS timelines. No one comes off as being dramatically different. i'd say the most glaring difference is Motoko being more philosophical in the first movie versus her being a lot more no-nonsense "just do it" in the second movie and the SAC series.
 

Risette

A Good Citizen
I can't really feel any outrage or disappointment to this. SAC was already ass ugly and lifted sections straight from the movies so Arise is just picking up where it left off.
 

duckroll

Member
I think the Dragon Tattoo comparisons from earlier on turned out to be pretty funny, since after the actual unveiling, we see her naked in the shower, riding a bike, being all emo in her room, etc. Stuff that wouldn't be out of place in the earlier comparison either! Lol. The Akira comparison was hilarious too, since it turns out she actually rides a futuristic red bike. Loool.
 
I really like the trailer. The music in the first half is especially cool, and I'm digging the few action scenes we're shown. Love Motoko's new design in comparison with SAC's.
 

duckroll

Member
Best case scenario these days is a UK release in Q4 2014.

The Japanese Blu-rays should have English subtitles. This is distributed by Bandai Visual, and all their other releases in this theatrical-OVA format (Gundam Unicorn, Yamato 2199, Code Geass Akito the Exiled) have English subtitles on the discs.
 
All of them, except for Lisbeth. (Noomi Rapace is hot stuff, Prometheus and Sherlock 2 notwithstanding.) Even there Rooney Mara is more than up to par.

The Millennium Trilogy is hardly a great property, but I think Fincher was able to do up that pig with a pretty nice lipstick job.
I watched it since making that post, I can agree with your assessment.
 

Velti

Neo Member
EEEEE!

*watches title opening*

...SAITO, BABY, NO! What did they do to your FAAAAACE-!! D': Nooooooooo~

Why is she part of the TEAM. She was part of the Japanese military as a full fledged ADULT before joining section 9. WHAT IS THIS?! WHAAAAT IIIIS THIS.

Clearly aimed at men. Togusa looks alright, even with his signature mullet, but the rest look totes lame. (Saito... *sniff*)
 
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