Episode 29 of Key Frames: Inbetweens, a mini-podcast about anime. We just did a tween on Mobile Suit Gundam, one of the defining franchises of anime, so why not another? Jeff and Duncan drink deeply of the original Ghost in the Shell movie, which they praise for asking questions more than giving answers, and they ponder how it pointed the way forward (and, in a handful of cases, backward) for cyberpunk as a genre, anime as a medium, and cyborgs as a lens through which to view alienation from one's own body and society. It's not quite what it could be, since Ben couldn't be there, but maybe he'll be back in the next episode to give everyone what for.
Discussed:
Ghost in the Shell (1995) (0:30)
Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (48:37)
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (52:09)
Ghost in the Shell: Arise (54:15)
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Season 2 (55:17)
Related Links:
On the nature of bodies in Ghost in the Shell (which subsequent adaptations often miss)
On Ghost in the Shell and the complexity of gender identity
On the career of the Wachowski siblings and allegories of transness
I also found this Substack post summarizing all of the above. Happy, Jeff?
