Today, 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.