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Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell
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Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell

1995
Sci-fi, Fantasy
1h 23m
A female cyborg cop and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master (imdb)

Ghost in the Shell

1995
Sci-fi, Fantasy
1h 23m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 66.79% from 5793 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(5853)
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Rated 29 Mar 2007
96
99th
(After the uncounted rewatch) Now I know I'll never get over the amazement from this 80 minutes piece of animation. I don't care about it bridging Blade Runner to Matrix, it's complete and compact on its own. So complete that 2nd installment is just masturbatory override of the 1st. With the extended time I spent on Shirow's manga and tv series, reading and thinking on it I guess this is the only fandom of my life.
Rated 29 Mar 2011
90
90th
An obvious influence on The Matrix, it's also a critique of the hierarchical structure of the Japanese corporate structure, the collusion of international politics and technological ventures and humanity's flirt with technology. Oshii mixes and matches different religions, but the animistic 'Shinto' is the most important for understanding the film's point of technology as a means to spiritual growth. Also: the first anime to really incorporate CGI, it offers way better animation than say, Akira.
Rated 13 Jul 2015
75
65th
It's like the Matrix but you feel gross watching it. (Pretend the Matrix came out 5 years earlier)
Rated 03 Jul 2009
4
70th
An exciting and thoughtful action/sci-fi hybrid that takes more than a page or two from Blade Runner's playbook while simultaneously paving the way for The Matrix. As with any good cyberpunk anime, the highlight is its immaculately conceived vision of technologically-advanced-yet-dilapidated Tokyo. If there's anything to complain about, it's that its climax is a rather uncinematic monologue on identity and AI. That, and the unnecessary tits.
Rated 23 Apr 2009
100
99th
An almost perfect presentation of the Puppet Master arc from the original manga, with Oshii's trademark confusing plot structure and Kenji Kawaii's appropriately eerie soundtrack. It will probably not make much sense if you're not already familiar with GitS, but it stands cemented as one of the most popular R rated anime, certainly one of the most influential. Yet another example of the quality of animation that Japan is still unrivaled in and it took a year to make this.
Rated 04 Mar 2007
6
99th
The breadth of its ambition, inspiration, and influence has been duly traced. An existential vision of overwhelming technological advent - the future wrought with genetic and social engineering - and solipsist speculations of unapologetic intellectual seriousness, immaculately rendered with architectural and mechanical detail. The only significant flaw is that, despite the material's generally post-gender attitude, there is an unfortunately adolescent male gaze with regard to the female form.
Rated 25 Feb 2021
65
42nd
The atmosphere, rich in image and sound, is superb, but the story is too shallow and quick. The abhorrent English voice cast (which might have been computer generated for all their monotonous intoning) certainly doesn't help the brief attempts at characterization. The concepts and environments make the film easily worth watching, however.
Rated 14 Aug 2017
72
42nd
Beautiful animation and a distinctive soundtrack combine wonderfully to flesh out GitS's dystopian atmosphere, but the narrative moves far too quickly to allow for a proper digestion of its existential navel-gazing. Ultimately, it feels as if it presumes the viewer to already have knowledge of the original manga, instead feeling like an extended episode of its anime series thereafter than a full-fledged film.
Rated 27 Mar 2017
42
17th
82 minutes is too short for a film like this, it easily could have added another 40 to pad out the rushed exposition & introduce the setting and characters properly instead of giving focus to their nipples & awkward, baseless philosophical monologues. What they did get right was stopping to take the time to bathe us in the brilliant cyberpunk, dystopian art direction.
Rated 26 Mar 2017
76
37th
I expected something less slight, but overall I dug it. Liked the themes and the way they were prioritised over the action, which no doubt the remake will change completely. Pacing isn't the best - feels like it speeds up a ton in the last 25 or so minutes. Or more like it's too drawn-out until then. Ending is great.
Rated 28 Oct 2013
52
29th
Never been a fan of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. It just feels like they keep saying the most obvious things in the most convoluted way possible. Music and atmosphere are great though.
Rated 14 May 2012
88
81st
Intellectually stimulating but emotionally dead, Ghost in the Shell is enjoyable, and its influence is undeniable, but it's hard to feel particularly attached to the action when the characters rarely act like anything more than the hollow automatons that they are. A must see for the aspiring otaku, but far from the classic it is often billed as.
Rated 18 Apr 2011
71
76th
This was my first exposure to the Ghost-in-the-Shell-Universe and to be honest, I was pretty confused. (I dunno if this film was intended for newcomers, but there's a surprising lack of exposition for a film about such a complex dystopian world). That being said, it's pretty engaging and has some great animation. (I should also note, it was the dubbed English version I saw; I heard it's not the best version.)
Rated 23 May 2010
25
1st
Awful in virtually all respects: flaccid pacing, wooden voice acting in both Japanese and English soundtracks, and, every ten minutes or so, everything stops so that someone can give a puerile and shallow philosophical lecture.
Rated 18 Aug 2009
5
54th
Interesting themes and beautiful animation, unfortunately most of the time it is a boring convoluted mess.
Rated 20 Apr 2008
74
40th
There are plenty of reasons why I should like it, including the gritty setting the interesting story and the fact that it doesn't shy away from posing philosophical questions. The fact remains, though, that while I enjoyed it well enough I never really got into it.
Rated 17 Feb 2022
60
36th
The animation is still incredible. It's just that asking existential questions without strong (and deep) characters doesn't really make a compelling movie.
Rated 31 Oct 2021
73
65th
Nice imagery, atmosphere and music. I appreciate the film for what it's trying to do and injecting philosophy in it the way that it did. I didn't really connect with it on that level though, it didn't feel very profound or insightful. The plot isn't great either and can be hard to follow. So I do think it's a bit overrated, but clearly it has inspired other, in my opinion better, media and that's worth something. I also think the aesthetics and atmosphere are nailed pretty well.
Rated 07 Aug 2021
60
34th
Meh, some cool visuals, but the plot is garbage.
Rated 03 Aug 2021
40
78th
introspective and quietly haunting. did you see what I did there? I should give up the ghost
Rated 18 Mar 2021
97
94th
I loved it. I guess it never occurred to me that I was missing out on something so influential all of this time. Probably one of the best thinking-persons sci/fi's I've ever seen. The detail to the storytelling, animation, and world-building is incredible. I'm sure I'll grow to appreciate it even more with repeat viewings. Living proof that the world animation in general is most definitely on par with some of the biggest cinematic classics in my opinion. Most definitely worth seeing.
Rated 22 Dec 2020
70
49th
Beautiful action sequences, but quite ironically GITS is missing its "Ghost" - that is, emotion. Characters will espouse philosophy at each other without ever demonstrating it emotionally. The closest we get to something interesting is the idea that hackers can spoof memories, but that's left to one unsettling scene and then forgotten about to continue treating consciousness as a black box system. A lot of style with some great animation, but the substance is a let down.
Rated 17 Apr 2020
69
21st
Considered a classic, the TV series is a much better example of the promise of the premise and what GITS can be. The original movies sometimes odd pacing and random visuals make it a bit more of an experimental film and detract for the overall substance.
Rated 12 Aug 2018
84
84th
Visually stunning. Although the narrative and philosophy brought into it was less appealing to me. My favourite moment by far was the musical interlude with gorgeous slow tracking shots of cityscape and water, which beat the hell out of the long-winded monologues scrambling to contain deep philosophical insights on existence.
Rated 29 Jan 2018
50
21st
I was pretty bored for most of this movie (everything bar the first 30 minutes), it tries to say a lot of things about the nature of humanity but it doesn't feel fleshed out enough. Unsatisfying ending.
Rated 06 May 2017
88
95th
Not every day you get to experience such an excellent worldbuilding as you witness in Ghost In The Shell. Every tiny detail is centered around humanity and existence in the world of tomorrow: a world that is engulfed with technology to the point where we start to adapt our bodies to it.
Rated 21 Sep 2016
60
28th
Not sure what to think. Probably my expectations were too high. The backgrounds, design, atmosphere and music are great, but the story isn't exactly very compelling. It is definitely confusing though! The main character gets naked all the time, which is cool if you don't have internet acces or something, but for now I thought it was kind of weird.
Rated 24 May 2016
66
30th
Didn't like it as much as I though I would. The animation is nice, particularly the backgrounds, but the plot felt rather bland. It's really far too short to cover the ideas it tries to cover. And what's with all the unnecessary nudity?
Rated 12 Sep 2015
6
71st
I know people who worship at the altar of this film - I've never really been one of them. But I do admire and respect its innovation and imagery and imagination and influence on cyberpunk themes/ideas/storytelling. There are individual scenes that stand out as so memorable I've never forgotten them, although the overall narrative strokes always seem to wash away for me quickly after watching the film.
Rated 17 May 2015
80
79th
Like the evolution chart in the museum this movie has an idea of teleology which alludes to different philosophies starting from Herakleitos and ending at Hegel I think. Like the evolution of Lang's Metropolis and preceding the "Matrix", "Ghost in the Shell" asks whether an authentic existence per se is possible at all or it may claim that existence as machine is just the continuation of a dialectical process according to which even the organic existence we know functions like a machine.
Rated 07 Apr 2015
60
43rd
It has some pretty cool concepts and ideas about technology and the future, but that was about it, for me. I didn't really care about the characters or the plot. The animation is pretty nice; I particularly liked the backgrounds. You can easily see the influence the film had on The Matrix. So, yeah, it's decent for what it is, but I prefer something like Paprika or even Akira.
Rated 07 Jan 2015
90
90th
As opposed to its cerebral anime counterpart, Akira, it holds up really well. While its story is not the greatest anime or in general, movie plotline of all time, it does deliver some thought-provoking and interesting stuff. The tone is deeply cerebral and beautiful, but aesthetically, the movie shows off not only fantastic animation but great cinematography, for an animated film. A really well done anime film.
Rated 20 May 2014
74
84th
Visually arresting, thematically intriguing, narratively unsatisfying.
Rated 29 Jan 2014
90
80th
One of the most aesthetically fascinating movies I've ever seen with an abundance of rich themes and ideas that - provided you have no prejudice against anime - will have you returning to its fleshed out cyberpunk nightmare to indulge again.
Rated 28 Dec 2013
70
69th
Anime meets Kierkegaard. Maybe the pace is a bit too fast, though.
Rated 28 Jun 2013
8
86th
What is so distinctive of Ghost in the Shell, so utterly awe-inspiring is the construction of an intriguing and founded atmosphere. The film succeeds as both an action sci-fi movie and an inquisitive pondering; I am sure Mamoru Oshii loved Blade Runner. I do have a complaint with the essentially immortal protagonists because it steals so much of the danger from the otherwise perfect action scenes. Neverthless, Ghost in the Shell is intellectually and aesthetically appealing, memorably so.
Rated 25 Jan 2013
11
25th
Great art, great characters, but too short and not dense enough. I was left wanting for closure. I really liked the soundtrack as well as some of the quiet, meditative shots of the environment. It's a shame we don't get those in Western moviemaking very often.
Rated 04 Mar 2012
65
25th
Some neat ideas, but they don't hit particularly hard in the 21st century, and they're not enough of a payoff for a slow movie that has pretensions of being more than it is.
Rated 29 Aug 2011
40
16th
The wet dream of a pimple-faced Japanese teenage pseudo-intellectual.
Rated 01 Aug 2011
80
84th
Follows in a nice trend of japanese cyperpunk speculations about the nature of the individual and its relation to others, as also masterfully done by Akira and (after repeat viewings) Neon Genesis Evangelion. While all the sepculations may seem too Philosphy 101 to western audiences (especially those that disliked the Matrix for these excact reasons) I find these are excellent for cinema to explore, especially in animation.
Rated 14 Jul 2011
74
48th
It's like "Blade Runner", but anime. Just as slow feeling, but just as enveloping and beautiful at times. The last about ten minutes or so didn't quite sit well with me, it was too intentionally existential and in a shallow, porous fashion.
Rated 27 Apr 2011
90
95th
Do Ghosts Dream Of Electric Babies. Seminal, influential, exquisite art. An interesting note on a rewatch: neither the English dub nor the English sub really get the characters right at all. Maybe there's a good fan sub out there instead? Another for you: it's less philosophical than it is political. The punchlines are on Japan Inc corruption and the crumbling copy-paste machinery of Bubble-jidai corporate governance and fiscal policy.
Rated 11 Dec 2010
1
4th
I knew right from the start that this movie and I were not going to be friends. It comes across like it was written first on a public anime forum by some fourteen year old with only a hard drive full of hentai and a pack of redbull for inspiration.
Rated 25 Sep 2010
65
45th
I am no fan of anime. I can appreciate the stunning artwork and visualization, but the stories usually seem as if they are secondary and this is no exception.
Rated 21 Sep 2010
90
75th
Now here's a movie that creates a believable, fascinating, iconic, influential and gorgeous universe in like 1 hour and 20 minutes. Precision!
Rated 26 Jan 2010
50
28th
Great concept, but the movie's a bit on the shitty side.
Rated 06 Jun 2009
9
90th
I had to look up some info after watching it, for I'd be lying if I said I understood it all. 'Ghost in the Shell' is an enigmatic, thought-provoking sci-fi actioner, maybe overshadowed by a slight wave of self-centeredness, but still wildly imaginative and entertaining. Visually, it seems to have drawn a lot of inspiration from 'Blade Runner' and other dystopian films. Japanese animation will never cease to amaze me. P.S. I watched the dubbed version, which apparently is not recommended...
Rated 01 May 2009
86
87th
Original ideas, mainly great visuals, beautiful score and a thrilling plot. It felt like it assumed the novel to be read, or maybe that's just as disjointed, I don't know.
Rated 22 Mar 2009
75
54th
Boasting the biggest budget ever afforded an anime feature -- a record previously held by the pioneering _Akira_ -- this supplies a sensory feast of dizzying high-tech imagery and exotic music. Ontological explorations aside, most of this is given over to actionful battles between the competing security agencies, along with elaborately animated virtual-reality displays and visual odes to Kusanagi's flawlessly sculpted, frequently naked cyberbody.
Rated 24 Nov 2008
95
95th
One of the great cyberpunk anime films because of it's high philosophy content. This film is more than a story, it is food for thought.
Rated 02 Sep 2008
90
79th
Action packed and has great animation. Stunning.
Rated 13 Apr 2007
94
95th
Short, but densely packed with stylish action, cool technology, and interesting philosophical questions. Many other sci-fi action films could take a page from this playbook (The Island, I'm looking at YOU)
Rated 10 Nov 2024
83
83rd
A bit light on the story side of things but it more than makes up for that in the incredible world-building, ideas, and stylization. It's so easy to see how influential this was in retrospect for things like The Matrix and Metal Gear Solid
Rated 21 Nov 2023
81
77th
An astonishing examination on the nature of sentient life, brought through a hyper stylized sci-fi lens.
Rated 10 Sep 2023
69
73rd
Will need a rewatch. Didn't watch in ideal circumstances. A lot of good things about this film. Pretty groundbreaking for 1995. Some of the ideas too complex to grasp unless you're in an ok place
Rated 31 Aug 2023
68
66th
I came in with extremely high expectations, and I came out generally satisfied. The film certainly didn't blow me away, but it's clear to see how influential it is on so much. Tonally it's like the stopgap between Bladerunner and The Matrix. Worth watching, even if only to further your film education.
Rated 17 Aug 2023
65
36th
Appreciated the Blade Runner vibe at first but this anime couldn’t live up to that standard. I, personally, needed less philosophical dialogue and more paused moments in order to dive deeper into that world and reflect on characters’ feelings.
Rated 11 Aug 2023
68
25th
Its seminal style helps compensate for the thin plot and characterization.
Rated 07 Aug 2023
74
51st
There's a ton to like here, from the world building to the imagination. It's hugely ambitious and very dense. I'm pretty sure I didn't catch everything on first watch.
Rated 12 Jul 2023
63
56th
it's got bursty pace, a confusing, underexplored story and some dated visuals, but also interesting themes of existentialism, a distinctive presentation and i'm a sucker for this flavour of cyberpunk aesthetics. leaves you wanting more, and would certainly benefit from a second watch, even more so from having previous knowledge about the franchise.
Rated 10 Jul 2023
87
76th
Might need to watch it sober to get the nuance of the plot and philosophical waxing about personhood and the like but the animation was beautiful and the details of the world were fleshed out well. A little confusing, but might be some operator error
Rated 12 Jun 2023
83
84th
And know you know where THE MATRIX came from.
Rated 26 Feb 2023
75
37th
what
Rated 08 Jun 2022
85
90th
Has a deceptively convoluted political plot that distracts from the dense sci-fi premise. Watch it as a philosophical mood-piece, not a political thriller, & you're more likely to come away satisfied (if you're like me). GITS is visually iconic, Oshii kills it with the atmosphere & the score is a match made in heaven. Strong world-building, direction & music all rescue it from shortcomings. The plot could fit snugly into a 30-minute ep., but it's everything that accompanies that makes the film.
Rated 24 Apr 2022
80
76th
Visually stunning and the cyborgs and opening are great but that's about it
Rated 14 Oct 2021
81
39th
I opened my laptop in the front row of my class and this was on. The sound didn't play but the image surely seared into my classmates' minds. If everyone was going to find out I (occasionally) watch anime, I wish it could've at least been something cool like Evangelion
Rated 27 Sep 2021
75
69th
Maybe harder to appreciate in 2021 but kind of wild to have all these ideas in 1995. More philosophical than overtly mechanical too which I wish there was more of these days.
Rated 12 Jan 2021
60
69th
Seeing this for the first time in 2021, and not being an anime fan...but I liked it.
Rated 26 Dec 2020
30
9th
The robotic voice acting, and inanimate animation all made this more boring than its premise promises.
Rated 13 Sep 2020
95
86th
One of those unique and interesting films that you have to see more than once.
Rated 10 Sep 2020
70
82nd
An anime classic that stands as possibly one of the most influential animated films of all time, it still holds up over two decades later & is even more relevant in modern context. The worldbuilding sometimes leaves a bit to be desired, but the universe feels lived in & the characters are engaging. The story has a lot to say & does so in a great, unique way, but admittedly I wasn't huge on the ending. Still, it's so fast-paced & so ambitious that it's hard not to enjoy. A definite must-see.
Rated 27 Aug 2020
86
77th
First-rate bit of manga is stunningly well designed and evocative of time and place - thanks to its visuals and terrific use of sound, you feel transported to this place in a powerfully visceral way, so much so that plotting and characterisation can fall by the wayside (overly complicated and confusing elements notwithstanding!) Great fun and certainly more loose and lively than usual sci-fi animation.
Rated 25 May 2020
4
90th
Well animated, beautifully directed, and with an interesting philosophical story about human identity.
Rated 30 Jan 2020
80
81st
Puppet Master: "There isn't one. Why would you wish to? All things change in a dynamic environment. Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you."
Rated 09 Mar 2019
88
94th
Well done plot and beautiful animation. I was forced to see the English dubbed version which I did not like much. Actually i saw this film as a brand new movie on VHS twenty years ago and reviewed it now again. A good job indeed!
Rated 24 Dec 2018
100
57th
Ideas that grow on you.
Rated 20 Nov 2018
60
15th
I really despise when mysterious films try to be vague. It feels like they are compensating their shitty mysterious plot.
Rated 04 Jul 2018
67
52nd
Well animated and raises interesting philosophical questions. I found it pretty lacking though, because I don't think there's much here beyond that
Rated 07 May 2018
3
43rd
doesn't make any sense, but has nice animation
Rated 14 Apr 2018
90
96th
One of the defining sci fi movies and anime movies.
Rated 16 Mar 2018
92
78th
Amazing
Rated 09 Mar 2018
70
52nd
Visually stunning, but the pacing was uneven.
Rated 02 Mar 2018
60
31st
2018/03/01
Rated 20 Feb 2018
68
1st
Great concept and art but very boring, I will give the sequels a shot.
Rated 24 Dec 2017
70
27th
Not a very clever plot, but interesting issues are explored. There's enough action to keep it from being tedious.
Rated 03 Dec 2017
86
45th
Very cool philosophical ideas and aesthetics.
Rated 26 Nov 2017
93
54th
2002 Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex Das hier is eig der Film
Rated 16 Oct 2017
80
57th
I was reluctant to watching this animation film, but I'm glad that I finally had the patience to do it. What struck me the most was the way it lingered in between the action scenes, something I've never seen developed in an animated film to such an extent. Take for example the moment closer to the end when a shooting stops and one suddenly sees and hears raindrops on the tank's canon. But there's plenty of others. Along with its sexuality that's what gives it class. Otherwise, the story is dull.
Rated 26 Sep 2017
16
76th
8/8
Rated 19 Aug 2017
70
26th
The ideas are interesting, the action is great, and Major makes for a fascinating, shadowy protagonist. Ham-fisted dialogue and exposition weigh down this otherwise dazzling film.
Rated 28 Jul 2017
75
44th
This film left me feeling that I was missing a lot of backstory and as if it was trying to shoehorn a expansive world and cast of characters into a feature film. The animation was as good as everyone says, but the plot and (English) voice acting were so so.
Rated 04 Apr 2017
85
90th
öyle ince bir görselliği var ki, anlatı yeterince açık gelmediğinde bile filmin etkileyiciliği değişmiyor.
Rated 29 Mar 2017
43
7th
Sadly I could not get it.
Rated 21 Mar 2017
50
14th
Some decent animation, but an average story that is hurt badly by an extreme lack of exposition leads to an average movie.
Rated 12 Mar 2017
85
92nd
Mamoru Oshii turns the ok manga into a unique animation feature full of gorgeous animation and ethical questions of what it means to be human.
Rated 07 Feb 2017
57
17th
Naked+someonehackingghosts+madeguythinkhadwifekids+OGmemwontbefull-simsstillgonnafuckwith+hervoiceactnotgood+seemshackermadehervoicesaysomething+puppetmasterbodykilled-inghostnow-i'mnotAI-living+guythinksit'satooltheysecretlyusetogetwhattheywant+shebreaksaparttrynaopentank+guysaves+helpsherdiveinpuppetmind+hebeentrynagetintoHER+hewantsdiversereproduction+wantstomerge+convincesher+bothheadsshotoff-guyblockedhers+gotherlilgirlbody+looksoutatcityplanning+somegoodAI/Lifedialogue
Rated 03 Feb 2017
80
89th
Exquisite and philosophical. The scenery is presented exceptionally well.
Rated 22 Jan 2017
65
37th
2017-01-22
Rated 05 Jan 2017
87
96th
Rewatched on may 17th 2024.
Rated 17 Dec 2016
80
60th
Its beautiful, interesting and worth a good hard look. Can feel like they are trying to push the philosophy a bit hard in places, but generally enjoyable all the same.

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