Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
This is the second Ghost in the Shell movie, circa 2004. It focuses mainly on two of The Major’s investigator/partners from Section 9 – Batou and Togusa, and a wide-ranging crime investigation that spans yakuza battles and pleasure robots killing their masters.
While I liked this movie, it has some similar plot elements (albeit more complex given it’s a self-contained movie/story) to a later S.A.C. episode from the TV series. And the absence of The Major means they have to flesh out the two male characters much more – which is a good thing, but I’m not sure they are completely successful. I think they paint a more sympathetic portrait of both Batou and Togusa in the later S.A.C. tv anime than here, but I may be biased, having seen that first.
One other interesting thing – I felt a strong Blade Runner influence on this film – from the noir-esque atmosphere, some of the things that happen to Batou during the investigation, and some of the philosophical commentary both Batou and Togusa make at points throughout the story (odd coming from hard-bitten cyberpunk cops, but that’s the noir element, definitely).
Still definitely worth watching, but if you haven’t seen S.A.C. – watch this first, THEN watch the first series. 🙂