Got a question for a question for all you anime lovers out there, how much did you love “Ghost in the Shell?” If you answered with, “I frickin love Ghost in the Shell,” well be prepared for a special treat because the show is making a return in a whole new way for audiences to enjoy. Anime fans got a nice surprise when Production I.G. announced a new anime for the popular “Ghost in the Shell” series, called “Ghost in the Shell: Arise.” Little is revealed at the time, but further details were promised on February 12 and those details have appeared as promised along with the first trailer you can watch above.
As expected, and based on the on the video as well as images I've seen about the new anime, main character and cyborg, Motoko Kusanagi, will be seen in a younger form. However this isn't because she has moved to a new body from her old one, instead, “Arise” is set in an earlier time frame than the series and movies that have come before. We are most likely looking at the earliest years of the Major, when she first joined her team at “Section 9,” and I don’t know about you guys, but I for one am excited.
Details of when “Arise” will appear in the West have not yet been revealed (sorry American readers) but in Japan the new series will be launched as four 50-minute parts. A manga carrying the same name is also being produced to accompany the series. It will start running as in Monthly Young Magazine from April, and will probably end up in graphic novel from for Western audiences (eventually) although I don’t know when (sorry once again, America).
Although I myself, and other readers outside Japan, may not get to see this new anime or the manga for some time, I am willing to wait for this exciting new expansion into the world of “Ghost in the Shell” in the mean time feel free to enjoy the video and keep your eyes open for more details.
