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The film Ghost in the Shell has to be one of the most interesting anime movies I’ve seen thus far. It was the first anime film we have seen in which the main character was not human. An interesting topic brought up in the film is the importance of a soul. For the Japanese, its commonly known that everything has a soul but for Americans, only humans seem to have souls. Considering that last statement, I was surprised to see how a robot can function with a soul.
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The main character of the film, Kusanagi, was quite fascinating for both viewers and the main antagonist of the film. She was birthed in a fashion similar to a human, coming out of a pool of birth-juice (sorry, not quite sure what you call it). Kusanagi demonstrates a personality and feelings, which are quite different from any other robot. The concept of a robot developing feelings is seen in a couple mainstream films like Terminator. Throughout the Terminator series, it always seemed as though the robot became attached to a certain individual, protecting them despite being programmed against it. Free will and somewhat of a soul provide a mechanical figure the ability to express such uncommon characteristics. I would have to say that the scene in which Kusanagi was on a boat with Batou (who’s name means boat) and she goes for a dive in the ocean. First of all, diving in water as a machine is pretty crazy, also the pressure of the ocean drives her sensors and modules to become inaccurate so she can never tell if something goes wrong. The interesting thing is that she says she does it to feel emotions such as fear and hope. Those were some pretty deep words coming from a machine if you think about what a machine is composed of. The main antagonist, project 2501, demonstrated another interesting concept that is quite feared among many individuals worldwide. It gives a great demonstration of humans creating a machine that is far too powerful to control. It acts on its on and ascends the normal bounds of human and machine. Project 2501 intrigued me when it stated that with all the power and capabilities it possessed, all it really wanted to do was be like a human and experience life and death.
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Overall, I would like to say that I sufficiently enjoyed this movie for not only its incredible visuals but its music as well seeing as it contained very powerful music to back up incredibly in-depth themes. I highly recommend this movie to anime fans and the general audience.
The only possible downside is that there may actually be too much plot some of the intrigue is so involved that it's easy to get lost, and the philosophical discussions are rather heavy-handed. The main characters are both good and bad for the already complex plot; they are completely humorless and have almost robotic personalities, which works within the story, but makes them difficult to empathize with. On the other hand, although they're probably not people you'd like to know personally, they seem very real and it's interesting trying to pick out what exactly might be going on in their heads. This again shows the director’s careful style; everything seems deliberate, but he never gives us a clear window into the characters, always leaving the viewer to infer what's going on inside. The framework for cyberpunk philosophy to sculpt a movie similar to the later work of the rest of the series. The result won't be to everyone's taste, but is unmistakable and powerful in its own way. Every action, sentence, and shot feels carefully planned, but the viewer is never allowed to get too close, and the production is pervaded by an emotionally detached air.
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