I Really Hope The New ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Anime Keeps Major’s Manga Goofiness
One of the things that gives me pause is that it’s only been two years since manga creator Masamune Shirow’s super-powered cyberpunk series, Ghost in the Shelltakes place.
In the years since its debut in 1989, we have seen numerous retellings of its story and its leading lady, Motoko Kusanagi, in an animated film adaptation by Mamoru Oshii, in several games, an action film by Scarlett Johansson (which is pretty much forgotten), and soon a new anime by Dan Da Dan the studio Our Science. From what little we have seen of the teas Ghost in the Shelldue out in July, the anime is already different from its predecessor in its aesthetic, lifted from Shirow’s colorful manga.
But my biggest hope is that it will regain its good humor by returning Kusanagi to her artistic roots.
Acting as the first director of Scott Pilgrim Goes episode director and Toma Kimura (aka Mokachan), Ghost in the Shell follows Major Kusanagi, the cyborg leader of an anti-cyberterrorism group called Section 9. In the series, he and his team are tasked with disrupting and eradicating all forms of cybercrime from government and terrorist organizations. Usually, most, if not all, of these scenarios are steeped in philosophical intrigue where the human condition and technology collide in the not-so-distant future of 2029, with tons of cool first-person action.
Ghost in the Shell creator Masamune Shirow said it best when it comes to adapting his works.
It’s no surprise that his favorite GitS movie is Innocence because it has a lot of Mamoru Oshii’s style in it. pic.twitter.com/fbnGGUJd44
– The Longest Day Dream (@Dreamboum) February 4, 2026
As mentioned above, all permissions for Ghost in the Shella sequel to Oshii’s 1995 film, it shaped the rest of the series and, by proxy, Kusanagi, as a series in its own right. There’s goodness here and there, sure, thanks to his right-hand man and best boy, Batou, but aside from a few pithy asides from Kusanagi, almost every time, since. Stand Alone Complex of Netflix wake up, you see him as a shining, stoic hero in line with how the movie bros would view John Wick.
That will not continue in the truth of his original version. Shirow’s Kusanagi is born with a love of laughter and is forced to lock up.
Major in the manga is peak goofiness. He will joke that Section 9 has been given an impossible task from their gorilla-faced host, Daisuke Aramaki. He will get drunk after robbing someone he hired to punch himself in the face. Also, depending on which version of the manga fans are lucky enough to own before Shirow updates them, he will go on trippy braindance sexcapades with his friends while on beach vacation.
In his mind, this Motoko is disintegrating, falling apart, and eating blades in a delightful way—a far cry from the archetype’s highly skilled fans are about to accept as canon. And as Science Saru steps in, the studio has proven that it can move from black meat Devilman Crybaby wild, madcap energy of Dan Da Dan again We increasedthere is both a skill set and an excellent opening to bring this version of Major’s roar back into the mainstream.
CD: Shuhei Handa pic.twitter.com/bVUUh9Jp7h
— 假安全师 (@cjAus101723) April 12, 2025
From the details of the emotive facial expression we found on the character pages from the show’s production designer Shuhei Handa in the previous teaser trailers and a few lost frames included during its big art show in Japan, it looks like Science Saru will bring that Kusanagi to the dance if Ghost in the Shell will premiere later this year. I can’t wait for fans of the other adaptations of the series to meet him for the first time in all his glory.
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