Flash book review: Ghost in the Shell
Shirow Masamune (pseudonym) is a master of science fiction manga, and Ghost in the Shell is one of his most critically acclaimed and fan-favorite works. It's inspired sequels, movies, and even video games, and it's easy to see why.
It's a tale set in a futuristic Japan where the line between man and machine often fades or even seems to disappear completely. Most human beings' "ghosts"--or souls, psyches--inhabit bodies augmented by technology. Human minds are interconnected in a vast network, like computers, and both the good guys and the bad guys use information and data to survive.
Major Motoko Kusanagi, the gun-toting heroine, takes point on operations conducted by Public Security Section 9, a black ops group of enforcers who hunt down terrorists, cybercriminals, and other targets. The rest of the cast is equally endearing, not to mention multifaceted, and even the prime antagonist, the Puppeteer, isn't just some bland criminal mastermind.
The sheer amount of detail and information in this graphic novel may make it hard to swallow for some; for the first several volumes, you'll probably feel lost and confused by all the unfamiliar terms and references. But the more time you spend in the world within, the more you'll start to understand it all, until you feel like you could be a resident of it, yourself. Of course, not everyone will have that kind of patience.
The artwork is gorgeous, especially the colored sections at the start and end of every volume. I wish the rest of it would have received the color treatment, too, but the price of the book probably would have gone up a bit (and the time it would have taken the artist to complete it would have increased exponentially). Still, even the black and white artwork is engaging enough to keep you interested, and there's always an abundance of things to look at and admire. The drawings are full of about as much detail as the text. There's also lots of action, for those of you who want it.
If I have one real complaint about this work, it's that the plot seems to wander too much and become disconnected at times. You'll read about all kinds of missions and events Section 9 gets involved in, but sometimes they don't really seem relevant to the central plot (granted, this is a work that was originally published in separate volumes, which may account for that somewhat). It's all a joy to read thanks to the style, but when you put it down after you've finished it, you'll probably feel a little confused about why certain elements of the story were included.
This is a highly recommended read, especially if you like to scrutinize. You'll find a lot here worth thinking about.
8/10
(Note: I read and reviewed the 2004 Dark Horse edition of the book, which combines all 8 of the original volumes into one. It's rated for explicit content, due to the fact that a lot of the adult content that didn't make it into the original American printings was reintroduced in this version.)