History Anime / GhostInTheShell

* ConspicuousCG:
** In ''Innocence'', while the CGI and animated elements meld together, the transition between a fully CG landscape and one containing a mix of animation and CG is very apparent. According to Oshii, the CG sequences were supposed to tap into the UncannyValley.
** ''Ghost in the Shell 2.0'' likewise contains somewhat jarring bits of CGI. Far more jarring, since it constantly flips between early 90's style animation and 21st century CGI. They don't fit together very well, especially when occasionally even the characters are turned into CG.

* SymbolicSereneSubmerssion: The diving scene. The Major comments to Batou that that the ballast tanks keeping her heavy cyborg body from sinking into the depths provides her with a calmness that tells her that she's still a human inside.

** Batou is also turned a quiet, bitter man with his own philosophical doubts, instead of the goofy, happy dumbass he was in the manga. His role in the movies is clearly associated to the more contemplative moments, while in the manga he is instead used as ComicRelief all the time.

* AdaptedOut: The Fuchikomas are notoriously absent from the movies, making it a case of ArtifactTitle given that the original one, ''Mobile Armored Riot Police'', referenced directly the wide usage of Fuchikomas as mobile mechs by the Section 9.

* AdaptationalWimp: Partially justified by the absence of Fuchikomas, but this version of Kusanagi, despite being more thoughtful than her manga version, is considerably less effective at fighting. In the movie, Kusanagi goes around only lightly armed, struggles in hand-to-hand against regular people like the garbage man, and seems not to know her own body limits (or to be boneheaded enough to ignore them). In the manga, she is basically a female Rambo who fights military cyborgs in even terms.

** The biggest change is Major Kusanagi herself. In the manga, she is an immature, juvenile hustler with a wild personal life and a great rapport with her underlings, while the movie makes her a depressive, introverted philosopher of few words who only seems to trust Batou (and not to a large degree). This resembles the CharacterDevelopment she receives later in the manga after her encounter with the Puppet Master, only that here it is shown to be her natural state, possibly caused by the experience of her cybernetization. Ironically enough, the first movie briefly reverses this evolution, as she behaves a bit more similar to her initial manga version when she is [[spoiler:given a child body]] after the encounter with the Puppet Master (though ''Innocence'' shows she has otherwise retained her stoic new personaliy).
** Batou is also turned a quiet, bitter man with his own philosophical doubts, instead of the goofy, happy dumbass he was in the manga. His role in the movies is clearly associated to the more contemplative moments, while in the manga he is instead used as ComedicRelief all the time.
** Togusa in the manga is cockier and more energetic than his movie self, as he is somewhat of a self-conscious ButtMonkey and whines sometimes about it. In stark contrast, even if Togusa retains his role as the team rookie in the movies, they play it dead serious and make sure to give him a professional, collected demeanor.

* AdaptationalWimp: Partially justified by the absence of Fuchikomas, but this version of Kusanagi, despite being more thoughtful than her manga version, is considerably less effective at fighting. In the film, Kusanagi goes around lightly armed in comparison, struggles in hand-to-hand against regular people like the garbage man, and seems to ignore her own body limita (or to be boneheaded enough to ignore them). In the manga, she is basically a female Rambo who fights military cyborgs in even terms.

[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gits_1676.jpg]]

[[folder:Tropes Common to Both Movies]]

* AdaptationalModesty: Inverted with the thermoptic camouflage suit used by Kusanagi. The film makes it skintight and flesh-colored, making the Major look naked while wearing it, whereas in the manga it was blue and bulky and didn't really differ from her usual combat uniform.

** The biggest change is Major Kusanagi herself. In the manga, she is an immature, juvenile hustler with a wild personal life and a great rapport with her underlings, while the movie makes her a depressive, introverted philosopher of few words who only seems to trust Batou (and not to a large degree). This resembles the CharacterDevelopment she receives later in the manga after her encounter with the Puppeteer, only that here it is shown to be her natural state, possibly caused by the experience of her cybernetization. Ironically enough, the first movie briefly reverses this evolution, as she behaves a bit more similar to her initial manga version when she is [[spoiler:given a child body]] after the encounter with the Puppeteer (though ''Innocence'' shows she has otherwise retained her stoic new personaliy).
** Batou is also turned a quiet, bitter man with his own philosophical doubts, instead of the goofy, happily grounded bruiser he was in the manga. His role in the movies is clearly associated to the more contemplative moments, while in the manga he is instead used as ComedicRelief all the time.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to the [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex series]] and to a lesser extent, the manga. Most of the comic relief is dropped, and what little remains is much [[BlackComedy darker in nature]]. The characters, all of whom are quite talkative in the manga, become morose and introspective. The visuals are very dark as well, with most outdoor scenes taking place either at night or under [[CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain overcast skies]].

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Kusanagi is still called "Major" despite not holding that rank at the time of the film, out of respect.

''Ghost in the Shell'', Creator/MamoruOshii's 1995 animated film adaption of Creator/ShirowMasamune's [[Manga/GhostInTheShell classic manga]] about a cyborg policewoman in PostCyberpunk Japan, condenses the original manga's plot by focusing entirely on the "Puppet Master" story; it also takes a much more serious tone than the manga. The film's visuals, action sequences, and large amount of both [[ContemplateOurNavels philosophical ponderings]] and {{technobabble}} all but defined Western conceptions of {{anime}} for the better part of a decade.

--> "Ghost in the Shell opens with what might be the most technically impressive rendition of an exploding head in the history of Japanese animation, and if you know your Japanese cartoons, you know that's a hell of an accolade."

* PetTheDog: Batou has an entire scene dedicated to this, quite literally. Doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}.

This film has no relation to the TV/OVA series ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' or ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise ''other than their shared source material.

* TheCityNarrows: [[UrbanSegregation Rundown ghettos exist alongside gleaming office towers]].

** Overlaps with TechnologyMarchesOn.

** "With an automatic, you could have buried two trackers."

* AdaptationExpansion: The movie is a ''very'' loose adaptation of the chapter "Robot Rondo" from the original manga.

[[folder:Tropes Common to Both Movies]]
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: A lot, as this is an Oshii staple.
* ActionGirl: The Major.
* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: The Major is is a lot more downbeat and existential about her situation than she is in the manga.
* AdaptationDistillation: Both films combine elements from multiple arcs of the manga.
* ArcWords: "A whisper from my ghost" and its variants.
* [[ArtificialLimbs Artificial Bodies]]
* AsTheGoodBookSays: Quite a few times, especially in ''Innocence'' which uses a lot of Christian symbolism. The original movie quotes an entire passage from Literature/TheBible (''1 Corinthians'', specifically) [[ChekhovsGun which comes up twice]].
* AuthorAppeal: Mamoru Oshii is very fond of basset hounds, even expressing a desire to be reincarnated as one. During the SceneryPorn scene in the first movie, a basset hound is shown. In ''Innocence'', Batou has one as a pet.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Arguably much of the technology falls under this, but some of the less-justified examples are the androids at Section 6 with branching fingers for [[RapidFireTyping efficient data input]].
* {{BFG}}: Probably not the only occurrence, but in the climax of the first movie, Batou shows up with what amounts to a cross between an oversized shotgun loaded with (appropriately oversized) deer slugs and a shoulder-mounted ''artillery cannon''.
-->'''Major:''' "What'd you use?"\\
'''Batou:''' "Your standard-issue big gun."
* BottomlessMagazines: Averted. The characters are clearly shown stopping to reload frequently, and in the first movie, a thug being chased by Section 9 checks how many bullets he has left in his magazine. Motoko's strategy against the SpiderTank at the film's climax even involves waiting for its gun attachments to run out of ammo. Continued in ''Innocence'', with Batou frequently reloading during shootouts and almost running out of ammo [[spoiler:to hold off the rampaging gynoids while Kusanagi's borrowed body is immobilized]].
* BrainComputerInterface: The plug-ins that the characters have on the back of their necks, which directly inspired the similar technology in ''Film/TheMatrix''.
* ConspicuousCG:
** In ''Innocence'', while the CGI and animated elements meld together, the transition between a fully CG landscape and one containing a mix of animation and CG is very apparent. According to Oshii, the CG sequences were supposed to tap into the UncannyValley.
** ''Ghost in the Shell 2.0'' likewise contains somewhat jarring bits of CGI. Far more jarring, since it constantly flips between early 90's style animation and 21st century CGI. They don't fit together very well, especially when occasionally even the characters are turned into CG.
* ContemplateOurNavels: In both films, usually lead by Motoko and/or Batou.
* CowboyCop: In both films (''Innocence'' in particular) Batou is unafraid to ignore orders and take the law into his own hands. In ''Innocence'' this puts him (oftentimes humorously) at odds with cautious straight-man Togusa.
* {{Cyberpunk}} / PostCyberpunk
* CyberpunkIsTechno: Significantly averted; the soundtracks to both films (especially the first) consist of moody, haunting pieces featuring traditional chants and instruments.
* CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain: Even when it's not actually raining, the skies are always overcast.
* DeadpanSnarker: Batou. Togusa picks up a little bit of it too by the end of ''Innocence'' - as he says, "I learn from the best."
* DependingOnTheWriter: In the original manga the Major starts out as a wisecracking, [[SociopathicHero violence loving]], HardDrinkingPartyGirl but becomes more introspective after her encounter with the Puppet Master, whereas here she's like that from the beginning.
* ElectronicEyes: Batou has them.
* FanDisservice: In the first film, [[spoiler: Kusanagi's naked body being disintegrated]]. In the second, the host of nude, blank-faced, murderous gynoids.
* TheFutureIsNoir
* GirlsWithGuns
* GunPorn: Oh yeah. The movie's guns are so [[ShownTheirWork detailed and realistic]] that "Firearms consultant" even gets its own place in the credits. For a trip down that rabbit hole, look into the [[http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell_(1995) IMFBD page on the first film]] and [[http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell_2:_Innocence the second one]].
* JustAMachine: Questioned in both films.
* LaserSight: The snipers' targeting lasers are invisible except when viewed through Batou's eyes, presumably because his cybernetic eyes can see special frequencies and/or can intelligently amplify faint straight-line scatter. [[note]]Real snipers do not use laser sights.[[/note]]
* MatrixRainingCode: The inspiration. Used prominently in the title sequence and conspicuously replaced in ''2.0''.
* MindScrew: Both movies, but especially ''Innocence''.
* MsFanservice: The Major. Her "Thermoptic camouflage" suit in the first movie is basically a nude-colored skintight bodysuit that leaves very little to the imagination.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous
** Section 9 is named after real-life German counter-terrorism unit GSG 9 (Border Guard, Unit 9).
** Despite the barrage of literary and philosophical references in ''Innocence'', the only character who actually falls under this trope is the forensics inspector Haraway, named after scholar Donna Haraway.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: A person's consciousness, or their "ghost", is unique and impossible to replicate. It's also thought that machines cannot spontaneously generate one – until the Puppet Master proves this wrong.
* ReferenceOverdosed: While the first film doesn't slack in making references, ''Innocence'' goes above and beyond in being a highly intertextual work chock full of direct quotations from other works, casually dropped names, and visual references. Its characters having external memory devices certainly helps.
* RoboticAssemblyLines: The title sequence of the original movie shows Kusanagi's body being assembled in a factory. This is repeated in the opening of ''Innocence'' with the construction of a Locus Solus gynoid.
* SceneryGorn: There are montages of polluted rivers, rundown buildings and garbage heaps. Could double as GaiasLament in this case.
* SceneryPorn: ''At least'' one scene in each of Mamoru Oshii's films exists for this purpose and this purpose alone. ''Ghost in the Shell'' is no different.
* SherlockScan: Batou does this in several scenes with his [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual cybernetic eyes]]. In the first movie, they allow him to scan a crowded marketplace and instantly pick out the criminal he's pursuing.
* ShoutOut:
** The film contains numerous homages to ''Film/BladeRunner'', the franchise's primary visual and thematic inspiration. In one scene in ''Innocence'', for example, Togusa asks Batou if his dog is "real" or a clone, since "originals are expensive".
** The thermoptic camouflage also resembles the scramble suits seen in ''Literature/AScannerDarkly'' by Creator/PhilipKDick, who also wrote the novel that ''Blade Runner'' is based on.
** ''Innocence'' opens with a quote from ''Literature/TheFutureEve''. "Hadaly" was also the name of the android in this book.
* ShownTheirWork: Batou's weapons handling is just what the military teaches -- weapon at the shoulder and fire short, controlled bursts. He does hold the trigger down on his SAW in ''Innocence,'' but presumably the enhanced strength of his cybernetic body allows him to better control the recoil (which was confirmed in the manga); he certainly succeeds at clearing the room with it.
* SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence
* StraightMan: Togusa, particularly to Motoko and Batou's [[CowboyCop eccentric methods]] and [[DeadpanSnarker sense of humor]].
* TechnologyPorn: Both films have lots of it. The gynoid assembly sequences at the beginning of both films, for example.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The setting is around 2030.
* UncannyValley: Both films play with this InUniverse.
** The original tapped into this with the Major, as she never blinks, and especially with the Puppet Master's male voice coming from a female body. Fans weren't happy when a female voice was used in ''2.0''.
** ''Innocence'' goes even further, with those eerie geisha robots, [[spoiler:Haraway the forensics scientist]], [[spoiler:Kim]] and the [[spoiler:really creepy-looking doll Togusa brings home to his daughter at the end]]. The trope is even {{discussed|Trope}} at one point:
--->It's the uncertainty that perhaps something that appears to be alive actually isn't. On the other hand, it might be the uncertainty that what doesn't appear to be alive actually ''is''.
* UnusualUserInterface: The jacks used to access the network and the keyboards so complex they require artificial hands with numerous telescopable digits to use.
* UsedFuture: Cities are crowded, dirty and run-down, and high technology doesn't stop people from polluting or spraying graffiti everywhere.
* VagueAge: In the movies, at least. But Kusanagi especially. She suggests that if she were to retire from the service, she would have to give back her cybernetic body parts. "Which wouldn't leave much", in her case. This could mean that she has had a long career, she is chronologically older than she looks, or both. In any normal case, the rank of Major in an outfit like Section 9, seems like a rather high rank for a young woman who appears not much older than thirty.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: Most of the themes, allegories and nods will fly over the head of most viewers.
* YourHeadASplode: The animation crew seemed to have liked these quite a bit; there's a head asploding in some form or fashion at the beginning and end of each movie. It also quite handily shows audiences that [[RRatedOpening this ain't no kid's show they're dealing with here]]. To quote IGN:
--> "Ghost in the Shell opens with what might be the most technically impressive rendition of an exploding head in the history of Japanese animation, and if you know your Japanese cartoons, you know that's a hell of an accolade."
[[/folder]]

* BriefcaseBlaster:
** The bodyguards in the opening scene who pull hidden submachine guns out of their briefcases.
** Later in the film, Kusanagi [[IKEAWeaponry assembles a gun from parts inside a briefcase]].

* FastRoping

* KubrickStare: Kusanagi fixes her gaze on Batou in that manner while talking to him on the boat. Accentuated by a [[VertigoEffect dolly zoom effect]]. Project 2501 breaks one out when they request political asylum.

* NoPeriodsPeriod: Motoko grumping about being on her period was censored out of the English dub.

* KubrickStare: Kusanagi fixes her gaze on Batou in that manner while talking to him on the boat. Accentuated by a [[VertigoEffect dolly zoom effect]].

* ReferenceOverdosed: While the first film doesn't slack in making references, ''Innocence'' goes above and beyond in being a highly intertextual work chock full of direct quotations from other works, casually dropped names, and visual references. Its characters having external memory devices certainly helps.

* OurSoulsAreDifferent: A person's consciousness, or their "ghost", is unique and impossible to replicate. It's also thought that machines cannot spontaneously generate one -- until the Puppet Master proves this wrong.

* FalseCameraEffects: There are a lot of horizontal LensFlare effects, especially from red warning lights.

* BottomlessMagazines: Averted. The characters are clearly shown stopping to reload frequently, and in the first movie, a thug being chased by Section 9 checks how many bullets he has left in his magazine. Motoko's strategy against the SpiderTank at the film's climax even involves waiting for its gun attachments to run out of ammo. Continued in Innocence, with Batou frequently reloading during shootouts and almost running out of ammo [[spoiler:to hold off the rampaging gynoids while Kusanagi's borrowed body is immobilized]].

* RoboticAssemblyLines: The title sequence of the original movie shows Kusanagi's body being assembled in a factory. This is repeated in the opening of Innocence with the construction of a Locus Solus gynoid.

** ''Innocence'' opens with a quote from Literature/TheFutureEve. "Hadaly" was also the name of the android in this book.

* YourHeadASplode: The animation crew seemed to have liked these quite a bit; there's a head asploding in some form or fashion at the beginning and end of each movie. To quote IGN:

** It also quite handily shows audiences that [[RRatedOpening this ain't no kid's show they're dealing with here]].

** SceneryGorn: There are also montages of polluted rivers, rundown buildings and garbage heaps. Could double as GaiasLament in this case.

* BottomlessMagazines: Averted. The characters are clearly shown stopping to reload frequently, and in the first movie, a thug being chased by Section 9 checks how many bullets he has left in his magazine. Motoko's strategy against the SpiderTank at the film's climax even involves waiting for its gun attachments to run out of ammo. Continued in Innocence with Batou frequently reloading during shootouts and almost running out of ammo [[spoiler:to hold off the rampaging gynoids while Kusanagi's borrowed body is immobilized]].

* ZettaiRyouiki: The Major in the beginning of the movie wears thigh-high stockings under her cloak.

* HeroTrackingFailure: In the original (1995) movie the SpiderTank keeps firing behind Major Kusanagi as she runs along a wall and backflips up a flight of stairs.

A remastered version of the first film, ''Ghost in the Shell 2.0'', saw the light of day in 2009; among other changes to the film, this version mixed in modern-day CGI with the original animation (in the vein of ''Innocence''), all under the supervision of Oshii. A high-definition transfer of the original version came with the Blu-ray version of ''2.0'', and a separate high-definition "remaster" release of the original version showed up a few years later. A [[Film/GhostInTheShell live action American adaptation]] was released in 2017.

This film has no relation to the TV/OVA series ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' or ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise ''other than the shared source material.

A remastered version of the first film, ''Ghost in the Shell 2.0'', saw the light of day in 2009; among other changes to the film, this version mixed in modern-day CGI with the original animation (in the vein of ''Innocence''), all under the supervision of Oshii. A high-definition transfer of the original version came with the Blu-ray version of ''2.0'', and a separate high-definition "remaster" release of the original version showed up a few years later.

* ActionPrologue

* GunPorn: Oh yeah. The movie's guns are so [[ShownTheirWork detailed and realistic]] that "Firearms consultant" even gets its own place in the credits. For a trip down that rabbit hole, look into the IMFDB[[superscript:[[http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell_(1995)]]]] page on it.

** During a conversation with Ishikawa, Batou remarks that "I liked you better when you were the quiet type", a humorous LampshadeHanging on the fact that Ishikawa only had a few lines of dialogue (most of them exposition) in movie #1.