Ghost in the Shell 2.0 anyone seen this?

[ReadyAndWilling]

hey all, i've never seen any of these movies before but apparently they have a big following so i was hoping someone could help me out.

i just found a DVD of Ghost in the Shell 2.0 which is in english, but i'm not sure if this is the right movie to start with in the series? i found this on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell_2:_Innocence

it says it cost $30 million to make so i'd love to watch it but is there an english version?

like i said, i haven't seen japanese anime in a decade so i'd appreciate any feedback on if i'm making the right decision.

thanks

 

[Whofan]

It's all crap.

 

[Admiral2]

It's all crap.

...and Whofan is an idiot.

To answer the question, I recently picked up the Innocence DVD. It contains both a new movie, Innocence, with both english dubbing and subtitles available, and the original Ghost In the Shell animated movie, with only subtitles. If you want, you can find the original movie on DVD with english dubbing, and that's always the best place in the series to start.

 

[Set Harth]

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (Inosensu: Kôkaku Kidôtai) is not the same thing as Ghost in the Shell 2.0.

Innocence is the sequel to the original Ghost in the Shell film. ( In my version there's no English dub; one is forced to watch it in Japanese. )

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is an "updated" rerelease of the original film with certain scenes redone in 3-D computer animation and a color scheme revised to more closely match the one used in Innocence.

If you get into the series, Stand Alone Complex, keep in mind that even though it involves the same primary cast of characters it is a completely different continuity/universe than the films.

 

[CorporalClegg]

And here I thought Ghost in the Shell 2.0 was called "The Matrix" in some circles.

 

[Neroon]

It's all crap.

Infraction for spamming. Comments to PM

 

[Neroon]

It's all crap.

...and Whofan is an idiot.

Doesn't really help, so no more of this, alright? You're better than this.

 

[Brikar99]

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is an "updated" rerelease of the original film with certain scenes redone in 3-D computer animation and a color scheme revised to match the one used in Innocence.

I didn't care for it, to be honest. I felt a good amount of the CGI didn't mesh all that well. I haven't seen the original in a long time, but I recall the animation being pretty superb and not really needing anything in the way of 'updates'.

 

[Set Harth]

I enjoyed it well enough, in the sense that some of the additions were visually interesting, but like you I find the update unnecessary and the original version more than sufficient. The recoloring, while often pretty to look at, was similarly unnecessary; I can accept the two films as being in the same continuity even if they use somewhat different color palettes as an artistic choice for the sequel.

 

[Christopher]

When it comes to the original Otomo GitS movie, I emphatically recommend the original Japanese soundtrack with subtitles over the English dub, which is awful. When I first saw the movie, I watched the English dub first, and I didn't enjoy it much because the main character's motivations didn't make any sense to me. Then I watched it again with the original Japanese soundtrack, and it worked so much better, because the voice actress actually emoted and I could grasp what was important to her and why it drove her choices. The lead actress in the English dub, Mimi Woods, gave such a flat and lifeless delivery that the lines that were supposed to spell out the deep concerns and fears that drove the character's whole arc in the story just came off as casual, unconcerned musings. And without that understanding of her motivations, the story makes little sense.

The English dub on Innocence uses the same cast as Stand Alone Complex, and it works much better, although Innocence isn't nearly as good a movie as the first.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

It's all crap.

...and Whofan is an idiot.

Doesn't really help, so no more of this, alright? You're better than this.

Right. Whofan has to get his point across somewhere, after his threads get closed.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (Inosensu: Kôkaku Kidôtai) is not the same thing as Ghost in the Shell 2.0.

Innocence is the sequel to the original Ghost in the Shell film. ( In my version there's no English dub; one is forced to watch it in Japanese. )

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is an "updated" rerelease of the original film with certain scenes redone in 3-D computer animation and a color scheme revised to more closely match the one used in Innocence.

If you get into the series, Stand Alone Complex, keep in mind that even though it involves the same primary cast of characters it is a completely different continuity/universe than the films.

Wait isn't the show a prequel to the movies?

 

[Set Harth]

When it comes to the original Otomo GitS movie

I think you mean the original Oshii GitS movie.

I emphatically recommend the original Japanese soundtrack with subtitles over the English dub, which is awful. When I first saw the movie, I watched the English dub first, and I didn't enjoy it much because the main character's motivations didn't make any sense to me. Then I watched it again with the original Japanese soundtrack, and it worked so much better, because the voice actress actually emoted and I could grasp what was important to her and why it drove her choices.

My experience was pretty much the same, and since then I've almost exclusively watched these with the Japanese cast. After listening to the English dub in 2.0, I feel like certain parts of it are ok, but they alternate with the weaker parts.

Wait isn't the show a prequel to the movies?

No, they are in separate "universes". The first film is set in 2029. The series takes place in the 2030s of its own continuity.

 

[Christopher]

^Yeah, Oshii, sorry. D'oh!

The voice cast from Stand Alone Complex/Innocence is fairly good, though they've got a fair degree of the stiltedness that's rather common in anime dubbing. I'm rather fond of Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's voice (she plays the Major), and the Tachikoma voices are fun.


Hound of Ulster, Ghost In the Shell was originally a manga (comic) by Masamune Shirow.* The movies directed by Mamoru Oshii are one reinterpretation of the manga, and the TV series written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama are another reinterpretation. Kinda like how we got the Tim Burton Batman films followed by the Bruce Timm Batman animated series, both adapted from the Batman comics, but both independent of each other and depicting alternate versions of the universe and characters. There are a number of differences between the two GitS adaptations. Notably, the films are set in Hong Kong instead of using the Japanese setting of the manga and TV series.

*Well, actually it's called Mobile Armored Riot Police (Kokaku Kidotai), but the first movie was called Ghost in the Shell when it was released in the English-speaking world, and that has subsequently and retroactively become the preferred English-language title for all incarnations of the franchise.

 

[zakkrusz]

Basically Ghost in the Shell is divided into two distinct universes. The original Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence comprise the first universe. The second is the Stand Alone Complex universe, which consists of two television series (Season 1, Season 2), two recap movies that compress said TV series called The Laughing Man and The Individual Eleven (I wouldn't recommend this route, watch the series instead), and a film called Solid State Society which is a sequel film that takes place after the two TV series.

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 as stated above is just a revamp of the original movie.

Personally, I would go with the Television series first, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I personally, liked it better than the original film and it's sequel, because the characterization was better and it drastically expanded on the universe. That's not to the say the original movie and it's sequel aren't worth watching either, they were also pretty good.

 

[Set Harth]

Notably, the films are set in Hong Kong instead of using the Japanese setting of the manga and TV series.

Interestingly, in both the series and Innocence some of the action takes place in Etorofu, which is in the Kuril Islands northeast of Japan in territory historically claimed by both Japan and Russia, and in Innocence it is referred to as the "Northern Frontier".

 

[Christopher]

Basically Ghost in the Shell is divided into two distinct universes.

Three. Don't forget the original manga.

 

[zakkrusz]

I haven't read it, so I wouldn't know. I'm not much of a manga reader. By the time I became interested in reading the manga it was long out of print.

 

[Set Harth]

Amazon has it for sale right now ( though it appears the uncensored version is indeed out of print ).

 

[Brikar99]

When it comes to the original Otomo GitS movie, I emphatically recommend the original Japanese soundtrack with subtitles over the English dub, which is awful. When I first saw the movie, I watched the English dub first, and I didn't enjoy it much because the main character's motivations didn't make any sense to me. Then I watched it again with the original Japanese soundtrack, and it worked so much better, because the voice actress actually emoted and I could grasp what was important to her and why it drove her choices. The lead actress in the English dub, Mimi Woods, gave such a flat and lifeless delivery that the lines that were supposed to spell out the deep concerns and fears that drove the character's whole arc in the story just came off as casual, unconcerned musings. And without that understanding of her motivations, the story makes little sense.

This is essentially how I feel about watching pretty much any movie that is dubbed. Losing the original actor's performance just robs the movie of so much. My friends always say they "want to watch the movie, not read it" but dubbing actors voices pulls me right out of a movie faster than any subtitle.