By: Robert Murphy
Never in all my years of watching Ghost in the Shell have I ever really seen the Major get involved with some sort of relationship but in the third Arise title, Ghost Tears, we see a new side to the person we thought we knew. Ghost Tears shows off a little bit of a romance angle this time around, along with the typical cyber crime future that our show is based in but if I've learned anything from the first two Arise chapters it's that things are not all the same anymore. The thing that hasn't changed though is there is always trouble for the Major and her team to route out and now that the team is actually starting to take shape, things may be looking up. Either way I was more than willing to find out for myself what was in store.
Much of the story is center around the Major's love life, no matter where the plot seemed to go, her new lover was somehow being involved but this isn't too much of stretch seeing as the guy is an independent prosthetic maker and can have quite a bit to do for the Major, who hasn't quite gotten a budget for her and her team to spend on their cyborg bodies. Whatever the case though it delves into an aspect of Ghost in the Shell that only gets hinted and touched on in the original show. Sex is far less intimate compared to what you can do in a world where you connect to one another and allow someone to feel what you feel and enter a world virtually created for yourselves. The Major trust her lover, Akira, to a point where she even lets him get close to her cyber brain which is a touchy subject for her as it is. It's an interesting part of this future to get into and one that I'm glad gets delved into a bit more as well as other subjects that came up this time around. At one point, the Major and Akira attend a wedding which on the surface looks normal but in actuality all of the members of the wedding are full cyborgs and their average ages were around seventy. This goes to show what kind of world cybernetics opens up for people especially the elderly who may regret or want to start again with what they've learned.
This new side to the Major though brought me some problems, not the fact that the story has a more romantic angle to it or anything but for the simple fact that the Major doesn't act herself. Yes, I've already stated that Arise has many new concepts and angles working for it but the characters are inherently the same as they've always been but more than ever I saw the differences between the Major of Arise and the Major from the original Ghost in the Shell. She doesn't have the same calm demeanor that I've enjoyed so much in the past anymore, in fact the Major flies of the handle quite a few times in Ghost Tears and proves how much of a novice she is at this point. Her character almost feels like a spoiled brat part of the time and it is not a side that I liked seeing.
What time is actually spent away from the Major's new relationship serves to put some key pieces into motion for the following and last episode of Arise. Faces from the first episode return such as the Major's old C.O. and her old unit who seem to be up to much more than working to serve their country. Then there is Togusa, he is put on an opposite but related case to the Major and her team and once again they collide. Togusa is another favorite of mine and he shows his stuff thoroughly throughout Ghost Tears as he helps different members of the Major's investigation without even realizing. Even though he is a "natural" and in many ways different from everyone else on her team, Togusa makes the case for good old fashion know how and is no slouch compared to the rest of the group. It's no wonder he gets asked to join, even though he answers in the most hilarious of ways ever when it comes up.
Oh right, then there's the actual bad guys, how did I forget about them? Quite easily in fact, most of the action is short and uneventful or really I should say it was non-existent outside of the first confrontation at the beginning and the final concluding fights at the end. There is a mystery force behind the terrorist attack that occurred right off the bat that ends up linking to an old name from the past war. It's an interesting mystery that goes on and further brings up actions that were taken during the war which always stirs up something but everything isn't followed through strongly enough. The overall twist you will most likely see coming, just like the last episode but this time it was more intricate to the plot so it is a bit harder to shrug off this time around. The mystery was good but everything just felt lack luster in the execution.
Ghost Tears had many things going for it such as bringing Togusa into the fold and adding this final member to the Major's team as well as touching on some unique points of the cyber society that we find ourselves in with Ghost in the Shell. Also the setup for future events to come spurred me on to finish off the Arise series and see what the final chapter had in store. However, the plot line just wasn't up to snuff this time around with the lack luster twist and enemy story, the mystery grips you but it all falls rather short by the end of it.
Good:
- Togusa coming back into the fold and his part to play in the case
- Interesting look into some of the aspects of cyber society and intimate relationships between people in it
- Setting up for the final chapter of the Arise series
Bad:
- Some tired cliches and the lack luster enemy plot line, despite the interesting mystery
- The Major's character is proving to be far too novice, yes she younger than her self in the original Ghost in the Shell but her actions are proving to be a bit childish
Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10
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