My all time favorite Freeman role is him going full ham as Albedo in Xenosaga. The only bad performance he has ever given was NOT his fault since no mortal could save Virgin Fleet. That series is beyond redemption.
In my case it was the original manga that made Batou my favourite character, and him sometimes making goofy faces wasn't bad at all, it did fit the style of the manga, which wasn't as overly serious as the movies.
I still think it's hillarious the fact that Ghost of the Shell is remembered for being a high concept and philosophical heavy story instead of the scifi smut that was the manga.
The manga wasn't smut though, Shirows smut phase began after the original Ghost in the shell. Ghost in the Shell 1.5 marks his shift of his style to smut, in Man Machine Interface he had completely arrived. Ghost in the Shell is a typical Scifi comic in the late 80s early 90s kinda style.
I haven't checked either, I'm mostly basing myself on Sage's comments and what little Sensor Kaiser allows him to show, it's ridiculously hard to find GITS manga, especially for an Ecuadorian like myself
TheSlayFer Ch. T. The first 14 chapters can be found on the internet, I just bought the manga back in the 90s when it was still largely available. His old manga were quite good, though I've only read Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell. Orion and Tank police Dominion are older and weren't printed in the same numbers.
@AT Productions Umm, Treasure Planet, and Beauty and the Beast just end up with perspective shift problems, and are using CGI mainly to meet deadlines, or to show off their fancy new electronic toy. Every time the camera does a panning shot, the characters look like cardboard cutouts in a 3D environment. A lot of the stuff they used their CGI for was something they couldn't have managed with hand drawn animation, and made it look way better while doing it. In my opinion the best integration of CGI and hand drawn animation was done in Memories. They used it only when it could do a job they (the animators) couldn't.
My grade ten animation teacher showed us this film. I was in the class mostly because 'cause I figured it was one of the least boring electives but I did the bare minimum for most of the class. This film however sincerely captured my attention and is the primary reason I got into anime at all as I wanted to see more stuff like this. I wanted to see more stuff I didn't necessarily "get" but that I felt wanted to make a bigger point then most other things I was watching at that time. Also helped that the film was really fucking pretty.
Fun Fact: a lot of the CG for this movie was actually done by a studio called Polygon Pictures, the same studio who is currently working on the upcoming Godzilla Anime.
Regardless of the reception from the target audiences, Polygon Pictures knows how to do CG, and I'm glad they're getting into more anime. Gonzo tried, but couldn't get it for some reason.
Yeah - Ghost in the Shell, despite having so many tough guys bulletstorming their way through the plot, has some amazingly tender and well developed moments of real connection. Batou and Motoko's friendship is downright inspiring - though there are some times when those silly Tachikomas had me crying buckets in SAC and 2nd Gig, too (Dang those self-sacrificing buckets o'bolts... they get me every time...)
Thank god FUNimation snagged this not long after this video came out and put out a proper Blu-ray release. I just finished watching it for the first time myself, and while I'll need time to put it in context (I screened the original for like the sixth time before I popped this one in, just to refresh), I almost think I like this one better than the first. I think the additional mood of horror really adds something, as does the better direction and the Standalone Complex cast for the dub.
The only reason a friend and I love this movie is because the french VA for Batou is the same as Arnold Schwarzenegger's french VA, and we find it hilarious hearing the Terminator saying long pretentious philosophical quotes.
This movie is a visual masterpiece. I prefer it to the original. I actually owned the rarer DVD copy with the English dub. That’s how I first watched it. And I love the English dub.
+TheRezro As others have pointed out it's very easy to get a copy of the movie with the dub in the U.K (as the Manga Entertainment release has both the English and Japanese audio tracks). In fact the DVD is so common to find over here (both brand new and second hand), that I find the licensing issue told in this video to be utterly bizarre!
Well, funny thing. The first part of highly anticipated fan film Lord Inquisitor released a couple of days ago. The funny part is that the opening scene resembles the parade scene in GItS II with glorious co scenery and spiritual/religious sounding music and chants. Kudos to one of the most memorable scene from the film.
Remember the Major's final words in GITS: "The web is vast and infinite..." So why not a sequel? Definitely a case of "the same, only different". We the fans had been graduated from high school to a Masters level seminar, even if both movies were rooted in the very same manga. BTW: the quote @ 15:40 is IIRC a quote from the Dhammapada, one of the first collections of the words of the Buddha. (In fact, I stopped and found the cite: verses 329-330...)
Honestly, Ghost in the Shell 2: Manmachine Interface was really interesting. _That's_ where you go after GitS1. Also, despite Shirow being a pervert and me too, I found the omitted lesbian sex pages absolutely informative. Yes. In the manga, Motoko also had a boyfriend in Section 6 (the actual chapter featuring the spider tank, or "think tank"), and she never actually had physical lesbian sex... those were her two friends, and they were taking cyberdrugs. It shows the Major in a far more human light than Oshii's film did. Although the movie was a complete masterpiece, it made Motoko seem more robotic and detached than she really is. Sure, the atmosphere worked, but upon reading a bunch of Shirow's manga beforehand, his version is the REAL version. She's hyper-competent, but not infallible. She gets fucked up all the time when she needs to go solo without camo... this is a world in which cyborgs and weapons come in all shapes and sizes. Hell, even a transport submarine is actually alive with a cyberbrain in it. Ultimately, the sex scene is both titillating *and* humanizing. The major likes to hang out and blow off steam like any other normie. She's a paramilitary tactical genius, but she also likes going on dates, meeting girlfriends for lunch, and getting high on vacation. Almost NOBODY ever seems to see or acknowledge this, and it does make me sad that most commentary is so hung up on the surface level as a sort of virtue-signaling or holier-than-thou argument.
I prefer Innocense to the first. Never saw this dubbed version, which sounds as terrible as Kusanagi's accent in the dub of the original. It takes away alot of the meaning of why everyone talks like that, being plugged into the internet at all times, constantly referencing and reciting quotes that said the words they're looking for. Batou's story feels more tragic than The Major's since he's not willingly on the metaphysical journey she was on but, rather, finding himself more and more on that road as he becomes increasingly less human, and not always by his own choice. Section 9 can be compared to Locus Sol in this respect, only held in a more justifiable light. They are transforming agents into superbeings for "the greater good". Stylistically, the CG never bugged me. It looks like a dream and is perfectly fitting in that regard. Also, the Kenji Kawaii soundtrack is superior to the first film. The new themes are excellent, but what really stands out are the amazing progressions to the original themes.
Some dispute that innocence is non canon to the first. I can see where they are coming from. There's an inconsistency between the 2. The first says that the brain remains the host for the "ghost" (or the spirit) but the "ghost" is temporiraly transferable through the "cloud". Innocence says otherwise. The brain is not needed. But the ghost is hosted somewhere in the "cloud" in case of the major. But I see how the movies influenced the Watchowskis in the making of the Matrix. Anyways I thought the visual artistry worked in both movies. You can tell that 3D animation was used in Innocence.
No way man, this film's use of metaphors is leagues ahead of anything Tarsem could do. I'm not saying it's on the same level as David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowski, but it's certainly a lot closer to those guys than tarsem
The last rendition of Innocence’s theme - the one where Batou jumps into the ship - is hands down some of Kenji Kawai’s best musical work. I will accept no substitutes.
Another good example of visual storytelling in anime I've seen comes from Tokyo Godfathers. There's this one scene where Miyuki is staying at this Hispanic family's house, and the mother doesn't speak a word of English. But you can tell everything she's saying even if you don't speak it due to how Miyuki responds and the visuals that correspond with her speech.
1: Awesome review as always. 2: Why Gabe? Just, why? lol 3: I've been a fan since 2012, that's also how long I've been waiting for you to review Virus Buster Serge. I'm so happy my wait is almost over!! XD
hey yo, I've seen all the ghost in the shells and when I saw this review I had to watch it, your reviews are da bomb and pretty insightful. Cheers mate
Wow - I have the Bondai version. It was all that was released back in the UK back in the day. o0 I never knew it suffered such a fate, and that is a crime as I loved this film. (Looks like a trip to my mum's attic to save this from the DVD box of doom.)
You usually put a lot of thought into your reviews, but I've got the feeling your opinion was baking in an oven for years at a time before you put this one out. Good, thoughtful stuff
This film actually pokes fun at its own pretentiousness. Everybody's quoting sources famous and obscure just because they can, because they have massive libraries directly connected to their brains and Batou especially likes to exploit the hell out of that feature just because he can.
2:41 That bit in the manga blew my freaking mind. And bonus, one of the few COLORED pages on the whole thing. 4:25 tanked SO hard, this is the first I'm hearing of them. 16:54 I still laugh at NC's review of "The Cell", turning Tarsem into Daffy Duck. 18:06 Joke's on you; I'm an insomniac! 20:56 Oh snap, that's Mary McGlynn! The superior Major VA!
The Innocence was the first GitS anime that I watched almost eight years ago and it struck me like a lightning bolt. Especially Kenji Kawai’s superb music, almost non-dialog scenes and even those philosophical quotes. Maybe because I watched in Japanese and it doesn’t come as ‘in your face’ as with the English dub, but I always liked over the top parables. The thing I can completely agree is the washed color scheme with general sepia filter, early 2000s CGI and also the overuse of 20th century cars. I liked more how the first movie’s cold and rugged look but not this mishmash of old and new. And silly Gabe, you should have used HDMI instead of that old VGA cable.
Well I better get to bed with work here in a few... oh never mind; Sage uploaded one of my favorite animated film (it was actually my first introduction to Ghost in the Shell)
I maintain that Stand Alone Complex is still the best and most cohesive version of Ghost in the Shell that manages to marriage the philosophy of the movies but with a stronger overall narrative.
The novel prequel to the movie would of made a better movie. It had a great number of scenes where actors can really showcase their talent. It was even written more like a movie, with its references to music. I would love to see the scene with the random tank rolling down the street and have a Drive esque tension moment as Batou figures out what to do about it.
Wow. I've always seen the box-art cover of GitS2 but actually after seeing this review...even aesthetically, I'd probably love this film...despite film noir dialogue and a hollow-as-fuck ending.
Wow, didn't know that the US variant of this DVD was such a pain. Over here in mainland Europe, there was only series of the DVD available, released back in 2006, with both the Japanese audio and the English dub provided by GoFish (and the French dub, because without France there would be no anime distribution in mainland Europe).
Point on the availability of the movie: In the UK the film was distributed and is still available care of Manga Corps. UK. This includes a redone accurate sub as well as the Bandai dubbed version. If you can't find the Bandai version in the US and have a region free DVD or Blu Ray player, importing is a fairly solid option especially as the film can be purchased for less than £5.
Great review. GitS2 reminds me a lot of Metal Gear Solid 2 in that both explore the concept of sequels and "character creation" though one is deliberately referencing video game tropes while the former with more cyberpunk themes (but both still having dialogue way up its own ass). It's a shame the dubbed DVD is so expensive because I would like to own this. By the way, did you change your lighting? This video looks a lot darker than your other videos. I'm just curious.
Personally for me most CGI just looks out of place because they make it look out of place. I have seen CGI where you wouldn't know its CGI but most of the time it's rather rare to see. That being said I have full respect for those that do work in CGI since neither that or old fashion animation is easy (Trust me im working with animators currently). I really was curious about this movie and im curious if Paramount might do something more with it once the new live action (ugh) movie is released. Strike the iron when its hot and all that.
In defense of the film, the issue with the dub in pacing is much less noticeable in the sub. The dialogue especially during the philosophical points is pretty quick but at least for me it was noticeably slower and easier to take in when I was reading the subtitles and bits and pieces of course were translated differently for the dub which probably affected a few scenes. In truth I probably liked Innocence more than the orginal if not for the tone and story telling then just for having a more fleshed out protagonist. As much as I love Motoko, in the original movie she was a lot more flat and didn't have any where enough fleshing out character wise like she did in the series or manga.
Huh this is kind of weird, but the dub on the Blu-ray sounded somewhat different and a bit less cryptic at points than what you were playing in this review. It was definitely the same voice actors, but there was more nuance to the lines in some of the scenes like the one where Batou meets Mokoto as a Gynoid. The holy spirit line was replaced with "What took you so long" Though the "It's been a long time Major" line afterwards sounds the same in both versions, guess they did some cleaning up with dub in the Blu-ray release. From what I can tell the Blu Ray isn't available, or is very rare, in the US. I imported a region free copy of it from the UK a couple years back, but it seems all the import versions Amazon is selling are all region locked. Definitely would have been frustrating if I didn't already have it in my collection.
I imagine it's because this movie has 2 dubs. One made for the UK and another for the US. There's surprisingly little discussion about it considering its a fucking Ghost in the Shell movie so I don't really know which one is supposed to be superior
Why do we have compassion for human girls but not for robot girls? This is the main point of Innocence. This is the primary philosophical question that it asks. It's Japanese animism. You completely missed the main reason for this film's existence. "Blessed are those who have voices".
I saw this movie about ten years ago, my local video store had a copy of the good version, and I remember being confused by the navel gazing of it. it was good but I never rented it a second time, the original on the other hand I've seen multiple times. I just wish I'd bought it when they had their closing down sale.
7:55 - Yeah, but that would be answered later, they were not supposed to reveal it in he beginning, like you would guess something from 2 - without having watched both or the three movies, I digress...
5:39 funnily enough, I have a copy of the dub from during Madman's 10 anniversary that I got for Christmas. Still have it... though I honestly haven't watched it in years. Guess I'm saying I'm unable to sympathize with you on the difficulties of finding a good copy with the dub, especially since I didn't even know about the movies until I got them. P.s. I loved the live action version, mainly because I could pick out scenes based on the animated movie
3:25 - 5:40 So basically, unless by some miracle I come across the dub release at a reasonable price, I'm stuck with the subtitled version I bought from a thrift store not knowing it didn't have the dub until I stuck it into my DVD player (because I hadn't yet made it a habit to read the back of the covers much more closely). Shit. Doesn't hurt the film for me, personally, but I'd _love_ to be able to own the dub copy as well.
I cold have stated this a year ago, but the Bluray release was worth the wait for someone who only saw the Go Fish release. Hopefully Millennium Princess will also get a release before its 20th, GKids.
I think you hit the nail on the head with that one yet ghost the shell 2.0 is the Star Wars special edition of anime that was the second animated film I remember watching roughly around the same age first one was cashing robot Hunter I think it was because of the chick being crucified as the reason why I remember that one.
I love the GITS Innocence animation it is gorgeous and the music is amazing, though i have to say, that despite being a superb movie it is confusing as fuck, i had to watch it 3 times before i finally understood the story, but in a world where you are only aloud to see 2 movies / series of GITS, these would be the ones i would chose, the 1995 HORIGINAL GITS and GITS Innocence.
Well enjoy your vacation Bennett! And as for Gabe.... "Who said that?" We can rebuild him! "Show yourself!" Faster....STRONGER......more pirate-y! *Crash!* And if there's any money left over we'll throw in an extra eye patch too. :P
12:01 - 12:12 Methinks it's rare because of production values. Limited animation is cheaper than full animation, and one of the most common limited animation techniques is the "keyframe with a panning shot with vocal dialog/exposition". It has its uses, but I'd be lying through every orifice if I said it were limited to said uses. In fact, I can't stand watching most anime because of over reliance on stuff like this and my reasoning for why is quit esimple: When you have media defined by animation, and then throw it away for the sake of cheap and easy short cuts, it defeats the purpose of me watching. So I'll back Sage on this one: Ghost in the Shell is certifiably beautiful in its animation, and it if more companies aimed for little scenes like this instead of taking a massive expository shit in my ears while panning over crap, I'd give anime far more respect.
Yeah, whoever thought making a sequel to Blade Runner was a good idea must've been high off their ass…so it's kinda weird that I like it a lot more than the first one…
***** We were wrong, BtS: "While the fable was and is about Elijah Ba'al Shem, a rabbi, I was talking about WHERE the folk tale, not who began it, and it began in Chelm, Poland." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem#The_Golem_of_Che.C5.82m ;)
brawa dla Bennetta za wskazanie polskich korzeni legendy o Golemie. Popularna jest wersja legendy umiejscowiona w Pradze, aktualnie stolicy Republiki Czeskiej , ale szukając głębiej okazuje się, że wersja ta jest prawdopodobnie modyfikacją opowieści, której akcja miała rzekomo wydarzyć się w zaściankowym Chełmie.
![[TO THE POINT] - The Citadel (PC)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MwPqQOgt-5o/mqdefault.jpg)
Still like the line "We weep for the cry of a bird, but not the blood of a fish. Blessed are those who have a voice."
Oh Crispin Freeman, you could read the phone book and I'd listen for hours
Especially in the voice of Alucard. |3
+falloutghoul1 Or Shizuo or Itachi or Kyon. I'm not fussy
My all time favorite Freeman role is him going full ham as Albedo in Xenosaga. The only bad performance he has ever given was NOT his fault since no mortal could save Virgin Fleet. That series is beyond redemption.
Oh so true. That series was dead from the ground up
I agree.
I greatly enjoyed Innocence, mostly because it was my gateway film into the Ghost in the Shell universe, and it made Batou my favorite character.
In my case it was the original manga that made Batou my favourite character, and him sometimes making goofy faces wasn't bad at all, it did fit the style of the manga, which wasn't as overly serious as the movies.
it gateway film into the Ghost in the Shell universe too!
Gabe... that's a fucking VGA cable.. yes you'll get high resolutions, but its an analog signal. dammit Gabe..
HDMI
Chupa-thingy! What were we talking about?
Analog is better.
Well, either that, or all those vinyl-loving hipsters are wrong.
Pick one.
:P
I still think it's hillarious the fact that Ghost of the Shell is remembered for being a high concept and philosophical heavy story instead of the scifi smut that was the manga.
The manga wasn't smut though, Shirows smut phase began after the original Ghost in the shell.
Ghost in the Shell 1.5 marks his shift of his style to smut, in Man Machine Interface he had completely arrived.
Ghost in the Shell is a typical Scifi comic in the late 80s early 90s kinda style.
Although stylistically rather smutty, Man Machine Interface still has plenty of substance and story, albeit very obtusely served.
I haven't checked either, I'm mostly basing myself on Sage's comments and what little Sensor Kaiser allows him to show, it's ridiculously hard to find GITS manga, especially for an Ecuadorian like myself
TheSlayFer Ch. T. The first 14 chapters can be found on the internet, I just bought the manga back in the 90s when it was still largely available.
His old manga were quite good, though I've only read Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell. Orion and Tank police Dominion are older and weren't printed in the same numbers.
So the manga doesn't worths reading?
I had no idea my copy of Ghost in the Shell 2 was so rare. Thanks Sage!
The Dreamworks DVD is so bad someone gave it to me for free over the internet. They payed to ship the dvd just so they could get rid of it.
"Yooou have... to car-ry... this burden... now."
I hate that I saw that version in book off and almost bought it until I read the back
Gabe, wrong cable. You're ment to use HDMI.
Compared to the cable he did use a HDMI cable doesn't look as painful.
Gabe, wrong socket too!
no, HDMI is crap. use display port. HD+ resolutions with higher refresh rate support.
He did use RGB what is basically best cable available but it don't transfer sound as it isn't TV cable.
so dose this mean that he will have an eye patch on both eyes or are they going to jokingly going to give him cybernetic implants?
I feel the best implementation of CGI and traditional animation was in Metropolis, Sage better be reviewing that hidden gem!
+AT Productions There is an anime movie called Metropolis.
@AT Productions Umm, Treasure Planet, and Beauty and the Beast just end up with perspective shift problems, and are using CGI mainly to meet deadlines, or to show off their fancy new electronic toy. Every time the camera does a panning shot, the characters look like cardboard cutouts in a 3D environment. A lot of the stuff they used their CGI for was something they couldn't have managed with hand drawn animation, and made it look way better while doing it. In my opinion the best integration of CGI and hand drawn animation was done in Memories. They used it only when it could do a job they (the animators) couldn't.
My grade ten animation teacher showed us this film. I was in the class mostly because 'cause I figured it was one of the least boring electives but I did the bare minimum for most of the class. This film however sincerely captured my attention and is the primary reason I got into anime at all as I wanted to see more stuff like this. I wanted to see more stuff I didn't necessarily "get" but that I felt wanted to make a bigger point then most other things I was watching at that time. Also helped that the film was really fucking pretty.
Fun Fact: a lot of the CG for this movie was actually done by a studio called Polygon Pictures, the same studio who is currently working on the upcoming Godzilla Anime.
so Itll be hype
Regardless of the reception from the target audiences, Polygon Pictures knows how to do CG, and I'm glad they're getting into more anime. Gonzo tried, but couldn't get it for some reason.
Athavan Rajasingham They also did Knights of Sidonia and Ajiin. They're one of the best CG studios in Japan right now,along with Orange and Sanzigen.
Yeah - Ghost in the Shell, despite having so many tough guys bulletstorming their way through the plot, has some amazingly tender and well developed moments of real connection. Batou and Motoko's friendship is downright inspiring - though there are some times when those silly Tachikomas had me crying buckets in SAC and 2nd Gig, too (Dang those self-sacrificing buckets o'bolts... they get me every time...)
Thank god FUNimation snagged this not long after this video came out and put out a proper Blu-ray release. I just finished watching it for the first time myself, and while I'll need time to put it in context (I screened the original for like the sixth time before I popped this one in, just to refresh), I almost think I like this one better than the first. I think the additional mood of horror really adds something, as does the better direction and the Standalone Complex cast for the dub.
The GITS Sequel works way more than the other newly made GITS Sequel made more recently
The only reason a friend and I love this movie is because the french VA for Batou is the same as Arnold Schwarzenegger's french VA, and we find it hilarious hearing the Terminator saying long pretentious philosophical quotes.
This movie is a visual masterpiece. I prefer it to the original.
I actually owned the rarer DVD copy with the English dub. That’s how I first watched it. And I love the English dub.
Wow that sucks, in the UK you can get the DVD AND Blu-Ray, cheap, and with the dub.
Yeah, I got GiTS: Innocence a few weeks ago at my local HMV store. It's pretty easy to come across.
He clearly point out that issue is to get Dub version, not get it overall.
+TheRezro And the comment clearly pointed out it is the dub that is easily available to get
+TheRezro As others have pointed out it's very easy to get a copy of the movie with the dub in the U.K (as the Manga Entertainment release has both the English and Japanese audio tracks).
In fact the DVD is so common to find over here (both brand new and second hand), that I find the licensing issue told in this video to be utterly bizarre!
it wouldn't be a problem to get the UK version of the film if it wasn't for the fucking region locking.
I actually saw this movie before you're review. You're but about how this deserves to be more available was well done. Great video
Thankyou for bringing me so much joy, Bennett. I truly appreciate it.
Well, funny thing. The first part of highly anticipated fan film Lord Inquisitor released a couple of days ago. The funny part is that the opening scene resembles the parade scene in GItS II with glorious co scenery and spiritual/religious sounding music and chants. Kudos to one of the most memorable scene from the film.
Yeah this film was a great addition to my childhood. I'm glad you're finally reviewing it. Yeah that gynoid scene disturbed the fuck out of me, too.
Man, I am so glad I got to see this in theaters. This explains why I could never find a copy on DVD though.
Remember the Major's final words in GITS: "The web is vast and infinite..." So why not a sequel? Definitely a case of "the same, only different". We the fans had been graduated from high school to a Masters level seminar, even if both movies were rooted in the very same manga. BTW: the quote @ 15:40 is IIRC a quote from the Dhammapada, one of the first collections of the words of the Buddha. (In fact, I stopped and found the cite: verses 329-330...)
I'm taking a break from my amusement park for this sage, you're that good
Honestly, Ghost in the Shell 2: Manmachine Interface was really interesting. _That's_ where you go after GitS1.
Also, despite Shirow being a pervert and me too, I found the omitted lesbian sex pages absolutely informative. Yes. In the manga, Motoko also had a boyfriend in Section 6 (the actual chapter featuring the spider tank, or "think tank"), and she never actually had physical lesbian sex... those were her two friends, and they were taking cyberdrugs.
It shows the Major in a far more human light than Oshii's film did. Although the movie was a complete masterpiece, it made Motoko seem more robotic and detached than she really is. Sure, the atmosphere worked, but upon reading a bunch of Shirow's manga beforehand, his version is the REAL version.
She's hyper-competent, but not infallible. She gets fucked up all the time when she needs to go solo without camo... this is a world in which cyborgs and weapons come in all shapes and sizes. Hell, even a transport submarine is actually alive with a cyberbrain in it.
Ultimately, the sex scene is both titillating *and* humanizing. The major likes to hang out and blow off steam like any other normie. She's a paramilitary tactical genius, but she also likes going on dates, meeting girlfriends for lunch, and getting high on vacation.
Almost NOBODY ever seems to see or acknowledge this, and it does make me sad that most commentary is so hung up on the surface level as a sort of virtue-signaling or holier-than-thou argument.
good. finally a setup for Gabe to get new eyes. no more eyepatch bullshit.
I'm surprised they've been so consistent, what review again was it that Sage did that? I know it was one of his bad ones Sins of the Sisters maybe
Or a chance for Daredevil jokes.
+Itsnodawayitustabe jungle de ikou
+Alex Macpherson
Ah yes, I think Violence Jack is the only other one he refused to finish
Cyborg implants! Go get them! Get them Batou eyes!
I prefer Innocense to the first. Never saw this dubbed version, which sounds as terrible as Kusanagi's accent in the dub of the original. It takes away alot of the meaning of why everyone talks like that, being plugged into the internet at all times, constantly referencing and reciting quotes that said the words they're looking for. Batou's story feels more tragic than The Major's since he's not willingly on the metaphysical journey she was on but, rather, finding himself more and more on that road as he becomes increasingly less human, and not always by his own choice. Section 9 can be compared to Locus Sol in this respect, only held in a more justifiable light. They are transforming agents into superbeings for "the greater good".
Stylistically, the CG never bugged me. It looks like a dream and is perfectly fitting in that regard. Also, the Kenji Kawaii soundtrack is superior to the first film. The new themes are excellent, but what really stands out are the amazing progressions to the original themes.
2:53 I think you have accidentally said Mamoru Oshii, when you really talked about Masamune
Arsenii Brylov Can you give me the link of that
Some dispute that innocence is non canon to the first. I can see where they are coming from. There's an inconsistency between the 2. The first says that the brain remains the host for the "ghost" (or the spirit) but the "ghost" is temporiraly transferable through the "cloud". Innocence says otherwise. The brain is not needed. But the ghost is hosted somewhere in the "cloud" in case of the major. But I see how the movies influenced the Watchowskis in the making of the Matrix. Anyways I thought the visual artistry worked in both movies. You can tell that 3D animation was used in Innocence.
Woot, new episode! I binged too much and ran out of content x..x
THAT KMFDM opening never gets old bud. Hell yes.
Sorry for being 4 years late but I may need the source of the image in 2:33 please thanks. I like all the Ghost In The Shell.
In the words of Tarsem,
"Ask me what it means!
Ask me what it means!"
and "Be Disturbed!"
No way man, this film's use of metaphors is leagues ahead of anything Tarsem could do. I'm not saying it's on the same level as David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowski, but it's certainly a lot closer to those guys than tarsem
Wait, Tarsem? Is that Hideaki Anno's new nickname?
I may be the only person on Earth who preferred Innocence over GITS
I hope one day Toonami would do a full out marathon of the Ghost in the Shell movies, and I mean ALL the movies.
The last rendition of Innocence’s theme - the one where Batou jumps into the ship - is hands down some of Kenji Kawai’s best musical work. I will accept no substitutes.
Another good example of visual storytelling in anime I've seen comes from Tokyo Godfathers. There's this one scene where Miyuki is staying at this Hispanic family's house, and the mother doesn't speak a word of English. But you can tell everything she's saying even if you don't speak it due to how Miyuki responds and the visuals that correspond with her speech.
I lost it at the "... just a bit" part, nicely done.
1: Awesome review as always.
2: Why Gabe? Just, why? lol
3: I've been a fan since 2012, that's also how long I've been waiting for you to review Virus Buster Serge. I'm so happy my wait is almost over!! XD
The Australian dub by Madman Entertainment is actually amazingly well-done.
hey yo, I've seen all the ghost in the shells and when I saw this review I had to watch it, your reviews are da bomb and pretty insightful. Cheers mate
That Roder rabbit placement was sooooo perfect it made my night!
Dude the sequel was amazing!!!!!! Its was a WAAAAAY smarter movie than the first!!! Both movies were dope!
more like pretentious
Wow - I have the Bondai version. It was all that was released back in the UK back in the day. o0
I never knew it suffered such a fate, and that is a crime as I loved this film. (Looks like a trip to my mum's attic to save this from the DVD box of doom.)
I still remember watching this movie in the theater with my sister way back in 2004. It is probably the only anime film I've seen in theaters.
You usually put a lot of thought into your reviews, but I've got the feeling your opinion was baking in an oven for years at a time before you put this one out. Good, thoughtful stuff
This film actually pokes fun at its own pretentiousness. Everybody's quoting sources famous and obscure just because they can, because they have massive libraries directly connected to their brains and Batou especially likes to exploit the hell out of that feature just because he can.
7:02
Knowing who the gynoids really are at the end of the film makes this whispered line way more depressing than it already was. :(
The sequel was really good.
I recall that in the theatrical release they didn't overlay the scene at 19:43 that with footage from the first movie.
I'd definitely prefer that. More subtle that way, even if it means I'll miss a reference prefer subtlety every time.
I believe Sage did that himself to illustrate the point, as it's not in the DVD version.
It did cross my mind. I only saw innocence once in the theater when it came out so don't remember :)
100% Confirmed by Sage. He edit it himself
2:41 That bit in the manga blew my freaking mind. And bonus, one of the few COLORED pages on the whole thing.
4:25 tanked SO hard, this is the first I'm hearing of them.
16:54 I still laugh at NC's review of "The Cell", turning Tarsem into Daffy Duck.
18:06 Joke's on you; I'm an insomniac!
20:56 Oh snap, that's Mary McGlynn! The superior Major VA!
Jin-Roh is my favorite animated feature of all time. Ghost in the Shell is great, but Jin-Roh was goosebump inducing.
Patlabor 2 is superior to both.
Y'know, as great as your new stuff is, I really missed the old intro.
Gabe should get Batou style eyes for when you guys return next month XD. Have a great vacation Sage!
Really liked it aside from the color pallet. I get the Bronze/oranges were diff: but i'm a shades of night Blue fan myself. But worth watching.
The Innocence was the first GitS anime that I watched almost eight years ago and it struck me like a lightning bolt. Especially Kenji Kawai’s superb music, almost non-dialog scenes and even those philosophical quotes. Maybe because I watched in Japanese and it doesn’t come as ‘in your face’ as with the English dub, but I always liked over the top parables.
The thing I can completely agree is the washed color scheme with general sepia filter, early 2000s CGI and also the overuse of 20th century cars. I liked more how the first movie’s cold and rugged look but not this mishmash of old and new.
And silly Gabe, you should have used HDMI instead of that old VGA cable.
Well I better get to bed with work here in a few... oh never mind; Sage uploaded one of my favorite animated film (it was actually my first introduction to Ghost in the Shell)
great episode! odd note: I got to meet Mr. Epcar a few years back, first thing he said to me was that I look EXACTLY like bauto in this movie.
You know Harrison Ford said that the script is the best he's ever read, right? And he has starred in a ton of movies.
I'm excited. Can't wait.
I still have my 1996 VHS copy of Ghost in the Shell on my shelf!
I maintain that Stand Alone Complex is still the best and most cohesive version of Ghost in the Shell that manages to marriage the philosophy of the movies but with a stronger overall narrative.
When you compared 2.0 to the Star Wars Special Editions, you had me sold.
The novel prequel to the movie would of made a better movie. It had a great number of scenes where actors can really showcase their talent. It was even written more like a movie, with its references to music. I would love to see the scene with the random tank rolling down the street and have a Drive esque tension moment as Batou figures out what to do about it.
You do realise that FUNimation licensed it for a Blu/Ray and DVD release just recently, right?
It was recently so he might not of heard while making the video
+Andrew Lowery yet he mentioned the borma test images for the live action film which came out later than the announcement that Funination had it
Wow. I've always seen the box-art cover of GitS2 but actually after seeing this review...even aesthetically, I'd probably love this film...despite film noir dialogue and a hollow-as-fuck ending.
I got this feeling he'll review my favorite anime movie Dead Leaves this September.
Or maybe November or December.
i waited so Long for this :.o
Wow, didn't know that the US variant of this DVD was such a pain.
Over here in mainland Europe, there was only series of the DVD available, released back in 2006, with both the Japanese audio and the English dub provided by GoFish (and the French dub, because without France there would be no anime distribution in mainland Europe).
Managed to find a double, both first and second GOTS, £4.00, dubbed versions too. Thanks for bring them to my attention.
Point on the availability of the movie: In the UK the film was distributed and is still available care of Manga Corps. UK. This includes a redone accurate sub as well as the Bandai dubbed version.
If you can't find the Bandai version in the US and have a region free DVD or Blu Ray player, importing is a fairly solid option especially as the film can be purchased for less than £5.
7:20 So that's where the inspiration for Sister Location came from...
Great review. GitS2 reminds me a lot of Metal Gear Solid 2 in that both explore the concept of sequels and "character creation" though one is deliberately referencing video game tropes while the former with more cyberpunk themes (but both still having dialogue way up its own ass). It's a shame the dubbed DVD is so expensive because I would like to own this. By the way, did you change your lighting? This video looks a lot darker than your other videos. I'm just curious.
Personally for me most CGI just looks out of place because they make it look out of place. I have seen CGI where you wouldn't know its CGI but most of the time it's rather rare to see. That being said I have full respect for those that do work in CGI since neither that or old fashion animation is easy (Trust me im working with animators currently). I really was curious about this movie and im curious if Paramount might do something more with it once the new live action (ugh) movie is released. Strike the iron when its hot and all that.
In defense of the film, the issue with the dub in pacing is much less noticeable in the sub. The dialogue especially during the philosophical points is pretty quick but at least for me it was noticeably slower and easier to take in when I was reading the subtitles and bits and pieces of course were translated differently for the dub which probably affected a few scenes. In truth I probably liked Innocence more than the orginal if not for the tone and story telling then just for having a more fleshed out protagonist. As much as I love Motoko, in the original movie she was a lot more flat and didn't have any where enough fleshing out character wise like she did in the series or manga.
I remember watching this as a tween and not understanding any of this and this was my introduction to the series. 😂
Huh this is kind of weird, but the dub on the Blu-ray sounded somewhat different and a bit less cryptic at points than what you were playing in this review. It was definitely the same voice actors, but there was more nuance to the lines in some of the scenes like the one where Batou meets Mokoto as a Gynoid. The holy spirit line was replaced with "What took you so long" Though the "It's been a long time Major" line afterwards sounds the same in both versions, guess they did some cleaning up with dub in the Blu-ray release.
From what I can tell the Blu Ray isn't available, or is very rare, in the US. I imported a region free copy of it from the UK a couple years back, but it seems all the import versions Amazon is selling are all region locked. Definitely would have been frustrating if I didn't already have it in my collection.
I imagine it's because this movie has 2 dubs. One made for the UK and another for the US. There's surprisingly little discussion about it considering its a fucking Ghost in the Shell movie so I don't really know which one is supposed to be superior
This one made me fall asleep. It didn't have english dubbing when I rented it.
As funny as Bennett is I absolutely love the parts with Gabe, I always crack up when he is on screen
are you gonna put him in a blindfold just to make sure you dont put the eyepatch on the wrong way again?
Why do we have compassion for human girls but not for robot girls? This is the main point of Innocence. This is the primary philosophical question that it asks. It's Japanese animism. You completely missed the main reason for this film's existence. "Blessed are those who have voices".
I saw this movie about ten years ago, my local video store had a copy of the good version, and I remember being confused by the navel gazing of it. it was good but I never rented it a second time, the original on the other hand I've seen multiple times. I just wish I'd bought it when they had their closing down sale.
Dang, that review was on the money.
the face split jump scares got me i have to say.
10:51 My god hes more mutton chops than man...
I found a version of this movie recently and I honestly couldn't tell which version it was but it was a new dvd so I was really confused.
7:55 - Yeah, but that would be answered later, they were not supposed to reveal it in he beginning, like you would guess something from 2 - without having watched both or the three movies, I digress...
5:39 funnily enough, I have a copy of the dub from during Madman's 10 anniversary that I got for Christmas.
Still have it... though I honestly haven't watched it in years.
Guess I'm saying I'm unable to sympathize with you on the difficulties of finding a good copy with the dub, especially since I didn't even know about the movies until I got them.
P.s. I loved the live action version, mainly because I could pick out scenes based on the animated movie
3:25 - 5:40
So basically, unless by some miracle I come across the dub release at a reasonable price, I'm stuck with the subtitled version I bought from a thrift store not knowing it didn't have the dub until I stuck it into my DVD player (because I hadn't yet made it a habit to read the back of the covers much more closely).
Shit.
Doesn't hurt the film for me, personally, but I'd _love_ to be able to own the dub copy as well.
Good News, Funimation now holds the rights. When it will get a release is in the air.
I cold have stated this a year ago, but the Bluray release was worth the wait for someone who only saw the Go Fish release. Hopefully Millennium Princess will also get a release before its 20th, GKids.
I think you hit the nail on the head with that one yet ghost the shell 2.0 is the Star Wars special edition of anime that was the second animated film I remember watching roughly around the same age first one was cashing robot Hunter I think it was because of the chick being crucified as the reason why I remember that one.
I actually laughed at that leaked image of boma mainly because I knew the audio clip you used.
I love the GITS Innocence animation it is gorgeous and the music is amazing, though i have to say, that despite being a superb movie it is confusing as fuck, i had to watch it 3 times before i finally understood the story, but in a world where you are only aloud to see 2 movies / series of GITS, these would be the ones i would chose, the 1995 HORIGINAL GITS and GITS Innocence.
I thought this movie was better then the first Ghost in the Shell, the only problem is you need to see the first movie to watch this one.
You're concluding statements reminded me of Metal Gear Solid 2.
I've never understood people obsessed with dubs, do you prefer to watch foreign live action films dubbed too?
17:56 - Ah, there we go. Was startin' to feel a little naked without a reference to that
Looking forward to more Oobari madness
Well enjoy your vacation Bennett!
And as for Gabe....
"Who said that?"
We can rebuild him!
"Show yourself!"
Faster....STRONGER......more pirate-y!
*Crash!*
And if there's any money left over we'll throw in an extra eye patch too.
:P
12:01 - 12:12
Methinks it's rare because of production values. Limited animation is cheaper than full animation, and one of the most common limited animation techniques is the "keyframe with a panning shot with vocal dialog/exposition".
It has its uses, but I'd be lying through every orifice if I said it were limited to said uses. In fact, I can't stand watching most anime because of over reliance on stuff like this and my reasoning for why is quit esimple: When you have media defined by animation, and then throw it away for the sake of cheap and easy short cuts, it defeats the purpose of me watching.
So I'll back Sage on this one: Ghost in the Shell is certifiably beautiful in its animation, and it if more companies aimed for little scenes like this instead of taking a massive expository shit in my ears while panning over crap, I'd give anime far more respect.
Yeah, whoever thought making a sequel to Blade Runner was a good idea must've been high off their ass…so it's kinda weird that I like it a lot more than the first one…
16th century Polish folklore? I as Pole/Polish can only tell WTF I never heard about it?
this is Jewish folklore. :P
Yes I am glad some one else pointed that out. I don't know what he read that made him think it was Polish.
*****
We were wrong, BtS: "While the fable was and is about Elijah Ba'al Shem, a rabbi, I was talking about WHERE the folk tale, not who began it, and it began in Chelm, Poland." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem#The_Golem_of_Che.C5.82m ;)
brawa dla Bennetta za wskazanie polskich korzeni legendy o Golemie. Popularna jest wersja legendy umiejscowiona w Pradze, aktualnie stolicy Republiki Czeskiej , ale szukając głębiej okazuje się, że wersja ta jest prawdopodobnie modyfikacją opowieści, której akcja miała rzekomo wydarzyć się w zaściankowym Chełmie.