Ever since I discovered Akira back in ’89 or so, I’ve been a big fan of anime. Good anime, that is. I think 98% of it is really terrible, and not worth my attention, but there are a few, maybe half a dozen, that I find incredible. You might say that my fandom makes up in depth what it lacks in breadth. One of the films that always leaves me speechless is Ghost in the Shell. Any words I offer it in praise will do this film a great injustice, so I won’t even try. When Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex came out, I was, once again, exhilirated, though much less, since the series doesn’t come close to the excellence of the movie, but it does give you more information about the world and the characters, which is nice.
For a while now, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence has been out, and I haven’t seen it yet. I don’t know why I haven’t obsessively hunted it down, or drove 4500 miles to be at the nearest pre-premiere, but I think it has something to do with a fear of disappointment. Last week I finally downloaded the film and I watched a part of it last night. It was in Japanese, so I had no clue what was going on, but all I can say is…goddamn. I’m broke at the moment, but this weekend I’m ordering the English version off of Amazon.
Overall Innocence was good but when it was all said and done I found myself sitting there thinking it was missing something. In truth, I just wanted more. Thankfully GitS:SAC has kept me happy with it’s mix of short and long term stories.