Yesterday, the 2nd episode of the new animated Ghost in the Shell series released on Prime Video. The new animated series is produced by Science SARU, based on Masamune Shirow’s 1989 manga series. Episode 2 had its North American premiere at Anime Expo, whilst we here in the UK have already had an opportunity to watch it at a special cinema event.

Whilst the first episode wasted no time in thrusting us into the action, episode two was a lot slower. We joined the team at a low moment, thinking their unit was being shut down, and that they had failed. However Chief Aramaki turned up to reveal the news that he had been working behind the scenes, and in fact the unit would go ahead, fully funded, under a new guise. Hence we finally saw the formation of what will be Public Security Sector 9, with an internal mandate to tackle crime head on.

Whilst Batou and Aramaki were investigating a shady exiled colonel, Major Kusanagi was enjoying some, ahem, downtime. This further established that this Major is VERY different to the cold, robotic Major of the 1995 movie. Where that Major would have been meditating on the nature of her ghost, and what it is to be human, this Major was enjoying pleasures of the flesh, and we later see more of her playful side, as well as her tormenting of the unit’s rookie, Togusa.

The team were tasked with backtracking a virus that has been implanted in the cyberbrain of the Foreign Minister’s interpreter. As the episode drew to its conclusion, the team were closing in on the garbage man accessing the interpreter’s cyberbrain, who believes he is actually ‘spying’ on his wife. Fans of both the original Manga and the 1995 movie will recognise this as the beginnings of the Puppet Master plotline.

The issue with such short episodes was clear here, as there was not enough time to explore any of the plot elements in any real depth. The plot was furthered, but with so many different elements at play, on the political side, and the investigation into the hacker, there was only a little additional time left for some character development for Motoko. The animation continues to be beautiful, and the music used in the episode was delightfully eclectic. How much you are enjoying the series so far will depend very much on whether you like the whacky, breezy side of anime, or you prefer the meditative, philosophical take of the 90’s adaptation.

What did you think of episode two? Are you enjoying the tone, or do you prefer the darker, contemplative tone of the 1995 movie? Let us know in the comments.

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 show’s opening sequence below –