Ghost in the Shell

Bones’ Forgotten Film Saga – Towa No Quon, Part 1

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After watching Star Driver, I didn’t think that Bones could surprise me like this again. I like to think that the studio couldn’t have had any more hidden gems to uncover, partly cause I don’t want to be known as “the blogger who never shuts the fuck up about Bones.” But a short series of films?… How the actual fuck?

Towa no Quon, a six-part series of short films, was previously only known to me by an animation cut by Yutaka Nakamura in a MAD. So obviously I looked into it and, after much delay, am finally giving it a look, since not a ton of people talk about it. Perhaps an omen, as the back of the box claims it has the potential to be remembered as “a classic” and after watching the first two films… I don’t see it.

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Imagining My Perfect Anime

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The “best” anime of all time is different for everyone. Across all media, in fact, you would be hard pressed to find a unanimously agreed upon “best” thing, outside of the agreements found within one’s own tight-knit group. Even then, there will be differences in taste.

“It’s all subjective,” is the point I’m trying to get across, but perfection doesn’t have to be dismissed in critique just because it’s improbable. If the perfect anime is different for everyone, and no consensus can be reached, then perfection is purely personal taste. It is absent of objective standards of quality and instead panders to the greatest amount of our interests.

I believe most people have not found their perfect movie or TV show, possibly because it doesn’t exist yet. We all have favorites though, so it stands to reason that if I took three of my favorite anime of all time and picked them apart, I could get a sense for what my perfect anime would be. Bear with me, this is going somewhere.

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What the New ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Needs To Accomplish

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It was reported back in August that Production I.G. would be going forward with two new seasons of the acclaimed sci-fi series, Ghost in the Shell. Not only that, directors Kenji Kamiyama, previously responsible for the amazing Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) would be directing one season each.

With this comes excitement but also caution. Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite series and in my view, the best sci-fi franchises of all time. However, it would be an understatement to say I.G. hasn’t made some missteps recently. This year alone, we got B: The Beginning, a show I enjoyed, but that was terribly marketed and is already obscure. Who could forget the FLCL sequels, the first of which was god awful and the second of which I haven’t finished but have heard was decent.

Having directors like these on the projects gives me hope, no doubt, but I can’t help but worry that this will just be a lifeless cash-in like FLCL Progressive. Especially after Arise, the latest animated entry that was met with mixed reception, and a poorly received live-action film (Oh look, I wrote about that). GITS needs to get back to its roots and this new series might just be the chance for that, but this new story needs to be built on a strong foundation.
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A Review of Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue

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At the risk of understating this film’s message, showbusiness sucks. Satoshi Kon’s 1998 thriller by Studio Madhouse, Perfect Blue, was a must-see for me during its re-release in theaters last month. I had always heard about the film and seen glimpses of its iconic moments, but without the full picture, I was still in for a lot of surprises.

Kon’s films have stretched close to the same critical acclaim here in the west from adults as Miyazaki and Ghibli have achieved with… well, everyone. The late and great creator’s films have also inspired many auteurs to take inspiration. Such as the late Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell inspired the Matrix, Perfect Blue inspired Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan from 2010. So it is especially criminal that I had not previously seen any film by the late Mr. Kon before this one. And this was quite the start.
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A Review of B: The Beginning

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For a time, I was concerned about Anime’s place on Netflix. Mainly, big seasonal shows like Fate: Apocrypha and Kakegurui were being licensed, but not released until the entire series was concluded. Granted, I’m not too crazy about Kakegurui now that I have it, but this was still a sign of Netflix’s misunderstanding of how the Anime community consumes the medium. However, as time has passed, my worries are slowly being erased completely.

Viral hits like Musaka Yuuasa’s recent Devilman: Crybaby or any of the many Polygon Pictures shows are being released all at once exclusively on Netflix. There are still hurdles though, like Violet Evergarden apparently being on Netflix in every other country besides America. Regardless, they are producing a ton of new shows and one recent addition to the roster may have been exactly the type of show that I have been waiting a while for.
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The Untapped Potential of Ghost in the Shell 2017

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[This analysis contains spoilers for Ghost in the Shell 2017]

Ghost in the Shell, directed by Rupert Sanders, is not a great movie. That isn’t to say it is terrible. I feel the need to clarify that in a world where sometimes it feels like things are either great or terrible. No, Ghost in the Shell may not be great, but it is an average, entertaining science fiction action flick.

Many will accuse this film of whitewashing, though I would argue many of those people haven’t seen much of the series. The hardcore fans who have seen the series mainly dislike the film for being a dumbed down, poor adaptation. Is it dumbed down? Certainly. Is it a poor adaptation? Well, that depends on your perspective.

Keep in mind that EVERY version of Ghost in the Shell is significantly different from the other. The characters and lore change enough between them that it is easier to think of them as completely separate universes. Even the original manga creator, Shirow Masamune, said there was no definitive Ghost in the Shell. Hell, the original film was an adaptation of the manga and by all merits, it was nothing like the manga.

So in this analysis, I’m not judging GITS 2017 as an adaptation, but simply a new, flawed take on the series. I want to look at how this film fails to capture the essential elements of the series and even look what makes this film unique and the themes and messages that- if executed properly- could have led to a truly different, but all-together great classic.
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My Take on Sexualization in Anime

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Anime is often accused of having way too much sexualization to truly take the medium seriously. So what do I think, having been invested in this medium for so long? Well, I take to this topic the same stance I have on most discussions about representation and content in media. Sexualization itself is not the problem. The problem, if you feel there is one, is in the execution and frequency of said sexualization.

I’m of the mind that sex appeal is a necessary part of media because sex and the wide array of emotions tied to it make it a great emotional appeal in a narrative. Of course, it has other, more obvious uses as well, but I don’t think we should be afraid of sex in media, we should be afraid of not having enough variety in our media to balance out that sex.
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