Ghost in the Shell (2017) Rupert Sanders , with Scarlett Johansson and Takeshi Kitano, presents itself as the adaptation of the manga by Masamune Shirow(1989). In reality, it mainly reproduces the 1995 animated film— and the original manga is much more dense, talkative and playful than its reputation would suggest. Here is the detailed comparison.
Adaptation of an adaptation, this film asks a question rarely addressed: when a work is known worldwide through its animated film, what remains of the manga that it claims to bring to the screen? Source-by-source decryption.
As in each article in this series, only verified information (creators, distribution, dates, publishers) is stated; the comparative analysis is ours, without reproducing dialogue or protected images.
Title : Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Director: Rupert Sanders
Actors: Scarlett Johansson (the Major), Takeshi Kitano (Aramaki), Pilou Asbæk (Batou), Juliette Binoche
Exit : 2017
Studio: Paramount/DreamWorks
Ghost in the Shell(1989) — Masamune Shirow
Young Magazine— pre-publication at Kodansha
The animated film(1995) — Mamoru Oshii
Two distinct works— the manga is much denser
- Le major, a cyborg with a human mind, and the Section 9.
- Batou , Togusa and the chef Aramaki.
- The question of “ghost”: what remains of yourself in a machine.
- Le optical camouflage and cyber dives.
- Several recreated plans from the 1995 animated film.
- A search for personal identity absent from both sources.
- The manga is talkative, funny and technical— the film, melancholic.
- La philosophical reflection becomes an action thriller.
- Un unique antagonist replaces crossover storylines.
- The casting sparked a controversial major.
Shirow's manga (1989): more talkative than you think
Ghost in the Shell is first a manga by Masamune Shirow, pre-published from 1989 in Young Magazine at Kodansha. His universe: a Japan of the mid-21st centuryecentury where the cybernetization of bodies is commonplace, where brains are connected to the network and therefore hackable, and where Section 9, a government intervention unit, deals with technological crimes. She is led in the field by Major Motoko Kusanagi, whose body is entirely artificial - only her "ghost", the spark of consciousness that makes her a person, is still of human origin.
What surprises readers who come through the cinema is the tone. Shirow's manga is dense, technical and willingly funny: the characters joke, the pages overflow with footnotes where the author explains his technological hypotheses, and the action alternates with long political digressions on rivalries between services. Shirow, passionate about engineering and design, draws extremely detailed machines and does not hesitate to interrupt his story to comment on how they work. The work is much more abundant, playful and sometimes ribald than the frozen melancholy with which we associate it today.
The 1995 film: the adaptation that has become a reference
This melancholy comes from elsewhere: from the animated film directed by Mamoru Oshii in 1995. Oshii carries out a radical sorting in the manga - he removes the humor, the technical notes and a good part of the political intrigues, slows down the pace considerably, and concentrates everything on one question: what is left of human in an entirely manufactured body? The result, with its long contemplative sequences on a rainy city and its now legendary soundtrack, established itself worldwide as one of the pinnacles of animation and had a lasting influence on Western science fiction.
It is this film, not the manga, that is known to global popular culture as Ghost in the Shell. And it is him that the 2017 feature film takes as a model: several shots are recreated almost identically - the dive from a building under optical camouflage, the fight in shallow water, the sequence of manufacturing the cybernetic body in the opening. The 2017 film is therefore, more than an adaptation of the manga, a live-action revival of an animated film which was itself a very free adaptation. This genealogy explains part of his difficulties: he inherits the atmosphere of Oshii without having the rhythm, and summons the manga without having the density.
What the film adds, and the controversy
The main addition to the scenario is a quest for personal identity: the Major searches for who she was before her cybernetization, through fragmentary memories and a plot of manipulation by the company that built her. This arc does not exist in the manga or in the 1995 film. With Shirow as with Oshii, Motoko does not seek her past - she questions her nature, which is a philosophical question and not a mystery to be solved. The 2017 film converts a question into an investigation, a classic transformation in this corpus: it is the same mechanism aswe saw elsewhere, where a question becomes a “who” to be clarified.
This rewriting fueled the controversy that dominated the film's reception. Casting Scarlett Johansson in the role of a Japanese character had already provoked strong criticism upon announcement, amid a broader debate over representation in Hollywood. The scriptwriting choice to make the Major's past an element of intrigue was perceived by part of the public as a clumsy attempt to justify this casting a posteriori. The film was largely ignored in theaters, far from covering its budget, despite real visual qualities - the reconstruction of the city, one of the rare aspects unanimously praised. For the reader, the lesson is clear: an adaptation that must solve a production problem in its own scenario risks that problem becoming its subject.
The characters, from paper to screen
- Major Motoko Kusanagi— Cyborg with a human ghost, the heart of the three works.
- Batou— His second with artificial eyes, faithful to the manga.
- Aramaki— The head of Section 9, played by Takeshi Kitano.
- Togusa—The only almost entirely human member of the unit.
- The Tachikoma— The talkative spider tanks, absent from the 2017 film.
What adaptations always leave out
One element allows us to measure at once the gap between the manga and its descendants: the Tachikoma. These little AI-enabled spider tanks, who chatter among themselves, naively question their own consciousness, and provide much of the show's humor, are one of Shirow's most beloved creations. They are largely absent from Oshii's film, which favors gravity, and do not appear in the 2017 film. However, they are the ones who most explicitly pose the central question of the work - a machine which wonders if it has a soul -, with a lightness that the adaptations systematically refuse.
It's not a detail. This reveals that every adaptation of Ghost in the Shell has chosen the same path: keep the question, throw away the tone. The manga treats it in a mixture of jokes, technical diagrams and shootouts; the animation treats it in contemplation; the 2017 film in the thriller. For the reader who discovers the series through the cinema, the warning is useful: the manga is not a longer version of the film, it is a work of a different nature, of which humor and technicality are constituents. The animated series Stand Alone Complex, produced in the early 2000s, captures its spirit much better – including Tachikoma – than any feature film.
Where to start reading
To discover the source, the first volume of Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow, available in French, can be read with its footnotes — they are part of the work. Expect a dense, technical story that is much funnier than its reputation. To find the atmosphere that the 2017 film seeks to reproduce, it is towards the 1995 animated feature film that we must turn.
Timeline to know
- 1989— Ghost in the Shell begins in Young Magazine at Kodansha.
- 1995— Mamoru Oshii's animated film requires melancholy reading.
- 2000s— The Stand Alone Complex series restores the spirit of the manga.
- 2017— The live-action film mainly uses the 1995 animation.
Collection side: what to aim for after the film
As with any manga, the logic differs from that of American comics. The reference object is the first bound volume of Ghost in the Shell, in the original Japanese edition or in the first French edition - the latter having a turbulent publishing history, with several successive publishers and varied formats which interest French-speaking collectors. Deluxe editions and film-related reissues are plentiful and accessible. The market is that of readers and fans of editions, not of speculation on first appearances. As always, condition determines value; relying on real recent sales is strongly recommended.
Its place in the saga and for the collector
Ghost in the Shell 2017 will remain as an adaptation of an adaptation: a film which reproduces the images of the 1995 feature film while believing it is bringing the 1989 manga to the screen, while the two works have neither the same tone nor the same density. Its casting controversy permanently overshadowed the rest of its reception, and its commercial failure dampened similar projects. For the collector, it refers to a bibliography of bound volumes with a rich French editorial history. For the reader, it constitutes above all a misleading gateway: the real Ghost in the Shell is talkative, technical and funny - three qualities that none of his adaptations has ever wanted to keep.
The verdict: the 1995 images, not the 1989 manga
- Loyalty: the Major and Section 9, Batou, Togusa and Aramaki, the question of the “ghost”, the optical camouflage and several recreated shots come from the corpus – especially from the animated film.
- Freedoms: the quest for personal identity does not exist in either source, the technical density and humor of the manga disappear, the reflection becomes a thriller, and the Tachikoma are absent.
- To collect: the first bound volume of Ghost in the Shell, in original edition or first French edition.
Ghost in the Shell 2017 above all recreates images from the 1995 animated film – itself a very free adaptation – and transforms the philosophical questioning of the manga into an investigation into a lost past. Masamune Shirow's manga, much denser, technical and funny, remains largely unknown to those who think they know it. For both the reader and the collector, it is an invitation to really open it up.
Frequently asked questions
Especially the animated film by Mamoru Oshii (1995), several shots of which are recreated almost identically. Masamune Shirow's manga (1989) is much more dense, technical and funny - Oshii had already removed the humor and digressions and kept only the seriousness.
No. Shirow multiplies the jokes, the footnotes explaining his technological hypotheses and the political digressions. The icy melancholy associated with the work comes from the 1995 animated film, not the original comic.
The spark of consciousness that makes a being a person, in a world where bodies are entirely replaceable. Major Motoko Kusanagi has an entirely artificial body: only her ghost is of human origin, which forms the basis of the entire reflection of the work.
Casting Scarlett Johansson in the role of a Japanese character sparked heavy criticism upon announcement, amid a broader debate over representation in Hollywood. The choice to add a plot about the Major's past was seen as a clumsy justification for this casting.
The first bound volume of Ghost in the Shell, in the original Japanese edition or first French edition - the latter having a turbulent publishing history, with several successive publishers and formats which are of interest to French-speaking collectors.
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