I like anime (isn't there supposed to be an "a" in that word?) but haven't watched it much lately. I am not familiar with this series at all. Japanese animation is certainly taking over in telivision and game medium aren't they. I looked at the link but don't have the time to fully read and appreciate what he's saying, I'll refer to it again when I do. Thanks!

and Oshii's anime version of it, you will probably be really interested in this anime series.

While I thought with a different ending it would have made a good live-action Demi Moore vehicle , I didn't care for it and haven't bothered with any of the further incarnations.

But then, I don't care for anime in general.

anime (isn't there supposed to be an "a" in that word?)

Do you mean "animae"? like the name? I'm having one of those moments when I feel like I am being too literal.

SAC is only on pay per view TV here (in Japan) but you can buy the DVD's now or rent them at the video store.

I think you will probably like the stories. The blurring between humanity and machine is an interesting concept for our time. Not that this is original, but still interesting.

If you haven't seen "Ghost in the Shell" I highly reccomend it. It's amazing. I read that they guys who made "The Matrix" (having brain freeze and can't remember their names at the moment) got a lot of inspiration from this movie and comic.

There's one scene in the beginning that kind of reminds me of Tokyo as it looks now if you ride up this glass elevator in Ebisu Garden Place and look towards Shinjuku.

The story gets a tad convoluted at times, but it is a condensed version of one of the story lines from the comic.

Word of warning, there is some nudity and a lot of violence so I wouldn't watch with younger children. If you like anime, you probably aren't surprised by this, but always good to have a heads up.

IMO, don't bother with the sequel "Innocence" as it is even more convoluted. I've been trying to figure out Japanese movie aesthetics and have to admit, I still don't get them. My friends tell me that often the mood or feeling invoked by the movie is more important than logic or continuity in the story line.

Keeping that in mind, I would say that "Ghost in the Shell" is still worth the effort and "Innocence" is not--unless you want to feel completely bewildered.

ps Thanks for reading my blog!

it would have made a good live-action Demi Moore vehicle

Demi Moore as Kusanagi... hmmmm...

nope can't see it. I know what you mean about the ending though. Most amazing thing for me was the renderings of future Tokyo. Somehow, that first sequence makes the whole movie for me.

I really like the show, but to me they kind of got bogged down in the whole laughing man stuff and lost me for a few episodes.

On a side note, I think GITS: Innocence is perhaps the best feature anime movie ever made. About twice the depth of the first one, and ten times the production value.

Agreed about production value of "Innocence". Twice the depth.... probably. Maybe that's why I was so confused? I'd like to see it in English someday. I definately lost a lot of the meaning by watching it here. The DVD's don't come with English dub or subtitles here.

And yeah, the laughing man stuff can get slow.

"The DVD's don't come with English dub or subtitles here."

The DVD I got had the english subtitles, with the HUGE annoyance of them being close captioning for the deaf. Meaning not only do I get the English translation, it spells out every boom, grunt, explosion, footsteps... =/

it spells out every boom, grunt, explosion, footsteps... =/

must be a lot to read at times