| Although more people are familiar with the feature version of this manga (see AnimeLink's Ghost in the Shell review), the actual manga is in itself is also sight to behold. The main character, Motoko Kusanagi, is a sexy cyborg that specializes in counter-terrorist activities and eliminating threats to public security and safety. Her opponents include corrupt members of her own government, KGB agents who have turned mercenary, and a spontaneously-generated sentient consciousness called the Puppeteer. In a cyberpunk tour-de-force, Shirow succeeds in creating the type of bleak-yet-hopeful future once visited in the dystopian US film Blade Runner. He also presents us with some fundamental questions on how to define humanity in this time of high-tech and computer science. Well drawn and deeply researched, this may be considered a magnum opus, but then I wouldn't be so hasty (Ghost in the Shell 2: Man Machine Interface, is currently being serialized in Japan and may be out by winter 1998). |