About
Ghost in The Shell is a Japanese multimedia franchise, spanning over movies, TV anime and manga, first originating as a seinen manga series written by Masamune Shirow. The series has garnered much popularity, especially in the west, where it is credited as one of the original causes of the anime fandom, spawning a number of parodies and fan works.
Premise
The setting of Ghost in the Shell is a post-World War IV Japan where mankind and machines have reached a convergence, a time when man will be indistinguishable from machine. These cyborg bodies that hold a person’s mind are called their “shells”, while the mind and the person’s state of self are referred to as the “ghost”. The plot focuses around Lt. Makoto Kusanagi and the Public Security Section 9 as they work to take down cyber-terrorists that could potentially lead to the downfall of Japan or even the world.
History
Ghost in The Shell first began as a seinen manga series, written by mangaka Masamune Shirow, and circulated in Kodansha’s Young Magazine from April 1989 to November 1990. A sequel manga, titled Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface was also created,running from September 1991 to August 1997. This was later adapted into a successful 1995 anime movie, directed by Mamoru Oshii and animated by by Production IG, also known for their work on series such as Psycho-Pass and Guilty Crown. A sequel movie, titled Ghost in The Shell 2: Innocence premiered on September 17, 2004
As well as movies, a number of TV shows were also made based off the Ghost in The Shell franchise. The first of these shows, titled Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex first aired from 1 October 2002 to 1 October 2003, running for 26 episodes, followed by a sequel series titled Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG which ran from 1 January 2004 to 8 January 2005 for 26 episodes also. A second adaptation, titled Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Alternative Architecture was also created, first running for 5 50 minute OVAs from July 22, 2013 to August 26, 2015 before being compiled into a 10 episode TV anime from April 5 to June 14, 2015.
Online Relevance
On Tumblr the franchise is tagged under several tags. [1][2][3][4] The Facebook the page for the first movie has over 218,000 likes. [5] On YouTube the official trailer for the original film, released by Starz Media and uploaded to their YouTube channel on October 31, 2006, has over 1.5 million views as of July 2015 (shown below).
The full versions of the opening themes for both Stand Alone Complex and Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig have been uploaded numerous times. The most viewed versions of each song have over 12.6 million views and and over 2.3 million views respectively (both shown below).
Fandom
The franchise has a large following online both in and outside of the larger anime community. On Tumblr there are various blogs dedicated to the franchise, such as Fuck Yeah Kusanagi, [6] G I T S, [7] Ghost on the Net [8] as well as many others. [9] On Reddit the Ghost in the Shell subreddit has over 3,000 readers. [10] The franchise also has followings on sites such as DeviantArt[11] and Fanpop [12].
On April 20, 2006 YouTuber lawala uploaded a mashup of clips from Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix, the Animatrix as well as an original edit by fellow YouTuber Alpha Omega Productions (shown below).
Fanart
On December 15, 2013 YouTuber CreativeStation uploaded a speed art creation of Ghost in the Shell protagonist Makoto Kusanagi (shown below).
On DeviantArt there are around 19,500 posts tagged under “Ghost in the Shell” and around 23,200 for “GitS”. [13][14]
Notable Sub-Memes
Ghost In The Shell Opening Parodies
Ghost in the Shell Opening Parodies refer to a series of parody videos for the opening movie of a Japanese TV anime series Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. In addition to the video the term also encompasses the edits of an iconic pose that the charcters take near the beginning of the opening known as the “GitS Pose”.
The Laughing Man
The Laughing Man is the main antagonist of Stand Alone Complex, inspired by the short story of the same name by J. D. Salinger. The character, especially his signature logo has come to be used by others online as a symbol of defying authority in a similar vein to the Guy Fawkes mask.
Search Interest
External References
[1]Tumblr – Posts tagged ‘Ghost in the Shell’
[2]Tumblr – Posts tagged ‘Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’
[3]Tumblr – Posts tagged ‘GitS’
[4]Tumblr – Posts tagged ‘Ghost in the Shell Arise’
fn5 . Facebook – Ghost in the Shell
[6]Tumblr – Fuck Yeah Kusanagi
[8]Tumblr – Ghost on the Net
[9]Tumblr – Search results for ‘Ghost in the Shell’
[10]Reddit – Ghost in the Shell
[11]DeviantArt – Ghost in the Shell
[12]Fanpop – Ghost in the Shell
[13]DeviantArt – Search results for ‘Ghost in the Shell’
[14]DeviantArt – Search results for ‘GitS’