TV – The Ghost in the Shell Episode 1
This week, the wait finally ended, and the first episode of the new animated Ghost in the Shell series debuted on Prime Video. The new animated series is produced by Science SARU, based on Masamune Shirow’s 1989 manga series, which was first brought to the screen in Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 animated movie. This new animation, written by EnJoe Toh and directed by Mokochan, which is hand drawn, had its North American premiere at Anime Expo, whilst we here in the UK have already had an opportunity to watch the first two episodes at a special cinema event.
This first episode wasted no time in thrusting us into the action, with a scene of police failing to deal appropriately with an international criminal, causing Major Motoko to step in and do what’s necessary. In that two minute opening, we were treated to some striking hand-drawn visuals, with a night vision sequence using a red hue. The Major and her team’s situation was illustrated efficiently, in opposition to the methods of the police, with no compunction about using lethal force when necessary.
The new series is vastly different to the 1995 movie both visually and tonally, as it is a much more faithful adaptation of the original Manga. This Ghost in the Shell adaptation is colourful, wacky, and frenetic. The colours used for the characters are faithful to the original Manga, and the overall visual style has a very 80s/90s look, in keeping with the time period when it was written. This Major is almost a polar opposite to the Major from that first movie. Where she was very serious, and almost robotic in terms of temperament, this Major displays a full range of emotions, going from playful, to angry, to joking all in the same scene. It makes for a fun watch, but might be quite off-putting to anyone that has come into the new series with a love specifically of the 1995 adaptation.
With one episode down already, there’s just nine left, and at only around twenty-four minutes per episode, the series already feels too short. We’re excited for next week’s episode, but glad that they are on a weekly schedule, as binging through them in a session, though enjoyable, would burn through them far too quickly.
You can watch the new Ghost in the Shell series on Prime Video with a valid subscription, and episodes will be released every Tuesday. You can enjoy the episode ending music below.
TV – AD Police Files 4K Remaster
Of course, the first two episodes of The Ghost in the Shell had their North American premiere at last week’s Anime Expo, and one of the reveals at the event really caught our eye. AnimEigo announced a number of anime home video release licenses, including a 4K Blu-ray restoration for the fantastic AD Police Files OVA.
AD Police Files is a 1990 anime miniseries, with three stand-alone episodes telling stories of the elite AD Police. Set in 2027, a prequel to the delightful Bubblegum Crisis, the AD Police force are responsible for the policing of rogue androids referred to, rather hilariously now, as boomers. Living as an android can be psychologically traumatic, and as a result they’re prone to losing their grip on their sanity, and going on a rampage, and that is when the AD Police move in. AD Police Files is a mixture of action, body horror, and a meditation on where the line sits between human and not. The three episodes are very dark, very graphic, and incredibly brutal.
The 4K release is great news, particularly as a few years ago the original materials were thought lost. Currently, it’s very difficult to access many old anime series, and availability differs massively between territories. Currently, AD Police Files is available to watch on Plex, but if you haven’t seen it, we recommend that you hold off, and wait to see it in all its 4K glory.
The AD Police Files 4K Blu-ray is due to be released in January 2027. In the meantime, there is a Bubblegum Crisis Blu-ray collection available.
Trailer – Hot Spot
If you like your cyberpunk visceral and over the top, you might enjoy the first trailer for science fiction thriller Hot Spot was released. Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska, from a script by Robert Bolesto, it is set towards the end of the 21st century, in a world controlled by an artificial intelligence. Andrzej Konopka stars as investigator Djonny, who in the course of investigating a murder comes into contact with maybe a cyber witch, maybe just a witch, in the form of Noomi Rapace’s Rana. Once brought together, will they disrupt the system ruled over by the sentient A.I.?
The trailer is a fantastic introduction to the movie. Visually distinct, the aesthetic appears to be a mixture of future tech, earthy locations, and with an almost retro futurism look to some of the technology. Outlandish styles are on display, and the synth score to the trailer is awesome. The movie looks brutal, bloody, and bonkers, and we can’t wait to see more.
Hot Spot is distributed by Focus Features, and releases in North America on August 21st.
Book – Killswitch Protocol
Being controlled and dictated to by mysterious powers that be is also at the heart of M.J. Kuhn’s cyberpunk thriller Killswitch Protocol. M.J. Kuhn is the internationally bestselling author of fantasy duology Among Thieves and Thick as Thieves, and has now turned her attention to cyberpunk with this anti-capitalist thriller. Told from three viewpoints, it hits many of the big cyberpunk tropes, including rebellion, corporate control, and body augmentation.
Synopsis from the publisher –
In New Avarita, every person is born with a purpose. Once fulfilled, they are eligible for Ascent, a peaceful passing and assumed rebirth on the next plane of existence, celebrated for having left their perfect mark upon the world.
At least, that’s what the powers that be want them to believe.
When Liv Spencer’s husband reaches Ascent under more than suspicious circumstances, she doesn’t feel like celebrating-she wants revenge. Her path takes her deep into the neon-drenched streets of New Avarita’s seedy underbelly, a world filled with black-market cybernetics, synthetic drugs, and people who see Ascent for what it truly is: a killswitch.
Liv is soon embroiled in an anarchist plot to overthrow the ruling body of New Avarita, but the further she sinks into this world, the blurrier the line between “righteous rebellion” and “terrorism” begins to grow. With hundreds of thousands of innocent lives on the line, Liv must find a way to strike back against the fascist rule of the shadowy figures controlling New Avarita without getting flagged for Ascent herself.
Killswitch Protocol releases today, July 7th, in hardback, paperback, and digitally, published by Cade and Camda Press, and also as an audiobook, by Tantor Media. It has a rating of 4.73 stars on Goodreads at time of writing, and we’re looking forward to checking out the book. M.J Kuhn is also a co-host of the excellent SFF Addicts podcast, and you can find out more about her other works at https://www.mjkuhn.com/
Rewind – Escape From New York
Distrust of the regime in power is not a new concept in cyberstopian media. 45 years ago, on 10th July 1981, an unassuming, low budget movie opened in theatres. John Carpenter had made a splash with the wildly successful horror movie Halloween, and was subsequently given a two picture deal. The first, The Fog, was reasonably successful. The second, however, was a massive hit, making four times its budget. Starring Kurt Russell as the ex-military anti-hero Snake Plissken, the movie endures today as a classic sci-fi movie, and has had a massive influence on some media still being developed today. On this date in history, Escape From New York was released.
The president of the United States is due at a meeting with other world leaders for a last ditch attempt at avoiding World War III, but when revolutionaries hijack his plane, he is forced to bail out at the most inopportune time, as he crashlands on Manhattan Island. Whilst today that would just mean ridiculously expensive groceries, in this alternate future, the city has been turned into a prison island. Apparently The Warriors really stirred things up, because crime increased 400%, and by 1997 the US government had no choice but to wall off the island, and dump the worst of the worst there to rot. Snake Plisken has a one-way ticket to the isolated island, but he is offered a lifeline; if he can get the president out within 24 hours, we’ll receive a full pardon. What ensues is a travelogue around the prison island of Manhattan, in a structure almost reminiscent of Homer’s Odyssey.
Escape From New York was released in 1981, but when you watch the movie, it has the 70’s written all over it. New York City in the 1970’s was crime-ridden, it wasn’t a tourist destination like it is now. 70’s cinema was categorised by political thrillers, paranoia, and conspiracy, and though it is ostensibly a sci-fi action movie, Escape From New York bears all those flavours. Much like fellow 70’s movies like Rollerball and Logan’s Run, Escape From New York takes a dim view of the government’s values and honesty. It’s set on a prison island, and the overt threat for Plissken is the inmates, but it’s his distrust of the powers that be that ultimately defines his actions.
On the face of it, Escape From New York shouldn’t work. The one 1980’s element that it does display is how ridiculous and over the top the whole thing is. The island of Manhattan, a centre for commerce, one of the biggest cities in the country, was written off, and used as a prison colony? Look at the hero of the story. Leather jacket, tanktop, and camo trousers. His weapon, an uzi with everything but the kitchen sink attached to it. Clint Eastwood’s voice. That eyepatch! His first name is Snake, for christ’s sake, and his surname, Plissken, even sounds like the reptile’s hiss. The ultimate villain, soul singer Isaac Hayes, playing a character named The Duke, A-Number-1, who travels around in a Cadillac with chandeliers on the bonnet. It should be laughable. Yet, somehow, it does work. Incredibly well. Snake Plissken is cool regardless, because Kurt Russell is cool. Effortlessly. He has an on-screen presence that is undeniable, and great comedic timing. Russell was 30 when Escape From New York was released, but already had almost 20 years’ acting experience under his belt. He was young and brash enough to convincingly play the tough and dangerous Snake, and the pedigree to know exactly how to do it.
The world is so convincingly painted, too. Plissken’s reputation is built up over the course of the film with snippets of smart dialogue peppered throughout the movie. We’re not specifically told about his previous exploits, but he is held in reverence by Lee Van Cleef’s Hauk, even whilst he clearly has disdain for the man Snake has become. Every step along his journey, inmates on the island recognise him, and that respect is clearly visible. And for those who don’t know him, he wins it pretty quickly. The prison island itself also looks authentically lived in. It would have been easy to paint it like some deadly asylum, but there is a society, of sorts, that has developed, as evidenced early on with that bizarre, yet weirdly understandable cabaret performance put on by some of the inhabitants of the prison island. It’s a suitably dark, grimy, crumbling city, with a cast of unique characters that all have understandable roles and motivations. Carpenter could have had the prisoners all be outlandish and threatening, but for a lot of the film, they’re actually very quiet, which is a far more effective choice for unnerving the audience. Clearly a product of Carpenter’s horror movie beginnings.
Escape From New York, an unassuming low-budget thriller, was genre defining, and highly influential. It can be argued that it is the first of its kind – quippy anti-hero, surviving against great odds based on his wit, cunning, and fighting prowess. The movie had a lot of direct imitators, but in many ways it is responsible more broadly for a lot of the action movies that came along for the next two decades. From all those star led Schwarzenegger movies, like Commando and Raw Deal, to Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo and Cobra, Escape From New York kicked off the movement.
So much of what’s good about Escape From New York is down to John Carpenter’s ability to redefine a genre. He did it for horror movies with Halloween, and then for action movies with Escape From New York. The writer director was even responsible for the movie’s fantastic synth score, which was great at the time, and still endures now in a time when synthwave is enjoying a resurgence.
Against a budget of around just $6 million, Escape From New York grossed around $25 million, making it a massive success. Not only was it a financial success, though, it is also an enduring scifi classic, revered today as a bona fide classic, and truly worthy of our celebration. Happy Birthday, Escape From New York.
Short Film – Somnolence
John Carpenter achieved a lot with a limited budget, and the same could be said for Writer Director Patrick Kalyn’s short film Somnolence, which was released on YouTube this week, courtesy of the Dust channel. Somnolence is a short film set in an undefined dystopian future, where, facing some kind of crisis, a soldier is chosen to undergo an experimental procedure in an attempt to seek answers.
Soldier David Canterra is sent into the future via a dangerous scientific technique, in a desperate attempt to gather information about an impending singularity. He successfully returns, but in a somnolent state, and it falls to scientists, with assistance from Canterra’s wife, to extract the memories of his mission.
For a low budget short film, Somnolence has some fantastic looking effects shots, including an imposing battle robot. At around ten minutes long, there isn’t time to hang around, so we’re thrust straight into the story, and the film doesn’t let up from there. The experimental time travelling technique is very interesting, and it’s easy to see it being extended into a feature film. Whilst there is thrilling action, though, the heart of the story is the moral quandary of weighing the well-being of one person against the potential annihilation of the human race.
You can watch Somnolence on YouTube, for free, below, and you can see more from talented writer director Patrick Kalyn here – https://www.youtube.com/patrickkalyn
Trailer – Soulm8te
Another, very different, film is heading for a digital release. The first trailer for Kate Dolan’s Soulm8te was released online this week, Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s erotic M3GAN spin-off. Originally meant for a cinematic release, it is now going to head straight to digital on 1st August.
Starring Lily Sullivan, David Rysdahl, and Claudia Doumit, Soulm8te is the story of a man who buys an AI android in an attempt to replace his late wife, but in the process of attempting to help it reach sentience, instead manages to unleash, we guess, a killer sexbot.
In the current environment of AI chatbots and virtual romantic partners, it should be no surprise that movies based around robotic sex partners have emerged, and there sure seem to be a lot of them. Movies like Companion, Subservience, and Wifelike have already explored the concept in recent years. Which is fine, but the fact that so many of these stories involving AI sexual partners ends in some kind of abuse in one direction or the other is a little more troubling. How about an up to date Mannequin remake, using an artificially intelligent robot android, with fun, frolics, and a happy ending instead?
The trailer for Soulm8te can be seen below –
Trailer – Re:bel Robotica
A trailer for a much more wholesome looking project about AI robot companions was unveiled at Anime Expo last week, in the form of upcoming anime series Re:bel Robotica. The series was first conceived back in 2017 as a self-published work by illustrator Mika Pikazo, and their have previously been a web novel, and some short novels based on it. Now, it is being made into an animated series.
Animation studio Silver Link will be producing the series, with Kōki Onoue directing, based on the designs of Pikazo. Based off of the previous material, Re:bel Robotica is based in a near future Tokyo society, where a technology has developed allowing users to interact with virtual spaces, in a Meta Reality. The series followed a student with a condition that meant they were not able to use this Meta Reality, until a mysterious Robotica appeared and changed everything.
Details on the new series are thin on the ground. On the anime’s beautiful website, https://rebelrobotica-anime.com/, it explains that Robotica were designed to make humans happy, but that a mysterious girl named Lily is destined to fundamentally change things. We’ll keep an eye out for more information, but the series isn’t due until some time in 2027, so there’s a long time to wait. The trailer can be seen below. It’s all INCREDIBLY bright and pretty.
Book – Human Code
Artificially intelligent android companions are a hot topic at the moment in cyberpunk, and so the release of sci-fi author Vee Lozada’s exciting new novel, Human Code, is very timely. The story follows an android trying to find his place in the world, whilst grappling with his tendency towards human motivations. With the rise of AI, and technology developing at an alarming rate, what might once have seemed fantastical now looks like a very real possibility in the future.
From the publisher –
When Javier Morales tragically dies in 2016, his family cannot accept it. During their grief, they sign an advancing deal with Bionics Pharmaceuticals, and Javier is recreated as an android. What was salvageable from his memories was transferred into a new computer. His likeness is unbelievable. But after a while, everyone realizes he cannot be the same.
They refuse to accept him.
Reality sets in.
To protect himself, Javier gravitates to the only person who shows him love, and that is his adopted younger sister, Wendy. He vows to protect her and stay by her side.But the unthinkable happens. Androids break down without reason. Androids attack without cause. And when Wendy is kidnapped by a group of “defective” machines, Javier rushes to find and save her.
He just doesn’t expect to have to save himself, too. Javier is too human for his own good, and there is someone who will do anything to steal a copy of his code…
The themes at the heart of Human Code conjure some important questions. With the proliferation of technology and AI programming, and its increasing integration into our everyday lives, what happens when tech goes wrong? Do we rely too much on it? Is an artificial intelligence capable of human emotion, and of even caring about the value of human life MORE than some humans do? Or is it all just sophisticated programming?
We had the chance to talk to Vee about her latest novel, and her influences –
What led to you becoming a writer?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was a kid. I wanted to write a book that I wanted to read because sometimes I felt like I couldn’t find the right stories that interested me in stores or libraries. When I started writing, I hoped people would enjoy my stories just as much as I did.
The topic of artificial intelligence, and synthetic companions is very timely, was the storyline of your novel inspired by something specific?
The storyline for Human Code was a blended mix of our current reality and advancing technology, the possibilities lingering in our near future and inspiration from my favorite shows and movies. Ideas were everywhere, but I settled on the universe I created. It felt perfect.
What are 5 facts about yourself you’d like your readers to know?
Five facts about myself! I’m Puerto Rican, and as a Latinx indie author, I like putting bits of my culture in my books.
I’m also an anime lover! I’m a Dragon Ball Z fan to my core, and I could talk it forever. Full Metal Alchemist is a close second!
I love videos and could play for hours. Survival horror is my go-to, with Resident Evil and Dead Space being my top favorites, but I could go on forever about the games I like, or the many times I died in Elden Ring, but that would take too long.
I’m also a horror movie fan! My husband and I always look for the best films, preferably indie films, and we could binge them if given the opportunity. Honestly, my favorite horror movie is Pumpkin Head and I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I love cult classics and 80s flicks.
I love drawing and sketching in journals! I’m currently teaching myself digital art and have a goal of one day drawing my own character art and book covers.
What are your Cyberpunk/Dystopian influences?
I’ve always loved Cyberpunk and Dystopian films growing up. I watched Tron, The Matrix, and Akira and just fell in love the stories and atmospheres. I’ll always stop to check out a new movie when I see one and I’m always up for book recommendations!
What are you working on next?
I just finished plotting the second book in The Duplicates series! Human Code is book 1. Duplicate is book 2. It’s a prequel! There will be a third book to wrap up the trilogy but I haven’t started plotting that one yet. My goal is to have the second book completed by the end of this year!
Human Code is available now in paperback, and digital formats. Vee has another cyberpunk novel, tech thriller Double Edge, also available now. You can find out more about Vee and her work at her website, https://authorveelozada.wixsite.com/my-site
Videogame – Echobreaker
Also this week, the release date for Upstream Arcade’s upcoming Cyberpunk videogame was announced. Published by Weekend Games, Echobreaker is a speedrunning game set in a futuristic environment, is scheduled for a 6th August release for PC via Steam.
Speedrunning is a popular category on videogame streaming sites, with gamers racing through popular games both new and old, whilst viewers marvel at their skill and precision in navigating the game. Not surprising, then, that speedrunning is becoming a genre of game in and of itself. Echobreaker sees you controlling a mechsuit, along with time-altering abilities to enable you to better tackle the obstacles in your way.
The game looks great, with a number of neon-soaked environments, the perfect cyberpunk aesthetic, and a variety of obstacles. If the developers have managed to get the controls right, and the gameplay fluid, it looks like it could be a really fun time.
There is a demo available for Echobreaker on the Steam page, and of course you can wishlist it, here – https://store.steampowered.com/app/4383700/Echobreaker/
Whilst you wait for the release date, you can enjoy the trailer here –
PODCAST – HOST IN THE SHELL EPISODE 59 I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
The latest episode of Hosts in the Shell is available now. This week, hosts Jon Richter and Matt Adcock discuss Harlan Ellison’s influential short story from 1967, and its 1995 videogame adaptation.
The Hosts in the Shell podcast is a cyberpunk podcast where Jon and Matt discuss the genre’s greatest work, often alongside a notable guest, and they have over 50 episodes available. You can find the Hosts in the Shell podcast at the link below, and all good podcast platforms.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1930485/episodes/19442671
As well as being podcasters, Jon and Matt are also authors with cyberpunk related titles amongst their novels.
You can find out more about Jon’s work here –
You can find out more about Matt’s work here – www.completedarknessnovel.com/
CYBERSTOPIA
For more of the latest news on cyberpunk and dystopia media, stay tuned to Cyberstopia here on Substack, and across social media. If you have a Cyberstopian project or release, or there’s something you think we should be covering, please let us know here in the comments, on your social media platform of choice, or at our website www.cyberstopia.com
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