people: Masamune Shirow

When so much cyberpunk dates badly, the futurology of the first 'Ghost In The Shell' TV series remains thrillingly relevant almost twenty years later

Four teams of writers and artists from Western comics deep-dive into the 'Ghost In The Shell'-verse, and arise with four divergent and arresting visions

Whatever my own readings of the film, the 2017 'Ghost In The Shell' is still problematic in ways that are potentially a bad model for other live-action anime

The most fascinating thing about the Western remake of 'Ghost In The Shell' is how what seemed most problematic about it -- Scarlett Johansson in the lead role -- is leveraged as a thematic element in the film itself

If you're a first-time reader of Masamune Shirow's manga, progenitor of a whole name-brand cyberpunk franchise, the original will be as striking for its slapstick and satirical jabs as it is for its vision of a future still coming true today

Everything that was both grand and frustrating about Oshii's original 'Ghost In The Shell' film is redoubled in its follow-up, a visionary work that neglects to give its characters their own voices

Massive reissues of 'Ghost in the Shell' and 'AKIRA' manga for 2017, 'Bleach' finally set to conclude; 'Macross' shows up on Amazon Prime.

In the end, all the 'Ghost in the Shell: ARISE' continuity has done is lead us right back where we started

With all four installments of 'ARISE' in place, the whole of it adds up to a breathless but superficial ride, lacking the soul and personality that dignified its predecessors

Twenty-five years on, one of anime's seminal groundbreakers remains as alluring, intriguing, confounding, and problematic as ever

Part three of 'ARISE' is an improvement on the first two installments, but the ineffable alchemy we saw before in the franchise still hasn't quite manifested itself

The second installment in the 'Ghost in the Shell: ARISE' series eschews insight and thematic complexity for straight-up action

Even if 'ARISE' falls short of the heights of 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex', it's still a model of ambition and vision for anime