GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE (Announcement)

• GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE

This might not be movie related news, but Ghost in the Shell, is certainly one of the finest TV & Film productions ever produced albeit anime. I’m a real big Ghost in the Shell fan, I love all the films as well as TV series. Ghost is one of the most sophisticated, entertaining, character driven stories that I have ever come across.

Ghost in the Shell is the inspiration behind the Matrix film, it has also greatly influenced James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino and Steven Spielberg who was so taken with it, that he personally bought the rights to it back in 2009 and has been trying to get a film made. Although it must be said that making a Ghost in the Shell film is quite intimidating to any film maker, including Spielbeg, to make as these series of films and TV shows are greatly praised for being close to flawless, as it flows through political, economical and social issues that impact the world around us.  

Even if you don’t take a great interest in anime, chances are you’ve heard of the most popular titles such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell. Evangelion is already in the middle of a re-release of sorts, albeit it in a new four-part re-edited movie form. Akira keeps popping up in the news due to the potential of a live action movie version. But Ghost in the Shell hasn’t been heard about much since 2005.

Today, that changed as a new anime series has been announced entitled Ghost in the Shell: Arise. Very little is known about the project other than work began this year by acclaimed studio Production I.G. (Patlabor, Blood: The Last Vampire, the Kill Bill Vol. 1 animated sequence, and previous Ghost in the Shell releases).

Full details of the new project are expected to be revealed on February 12 at a press conference in Japan that will be streamed worldwide using YouTube. We can expect clips from the anime to appear the night of the 12th as well, after an event being held at the TOHO Cinemas in Roppongi.

Rest assured the global popularity of the Ghost in the Shell series will mean Arise sees a release in Western markets, we may just have to wait a while to get it.

Either way, I’m excited to see the next chapter in the Ghost in the Shell series, as each new venture seems to be just as entertaining, thought-provoking and just as relevant as the last chapter, leading me to believe that we will be waiting a long time to see Hollywood muster up the big enough balls, to make a film like Ghost in the Shell.