Ghost in the Shell

Set in the mid-21st century, the manga tells the story of the fictional counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9, led by protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi. The manga contain Shirow's thoughts on design and philosophy, including sociological issues, the consequences of technological advances and themes on the nature of consciousness and identity. Several artbooks have been released to detail the concept art and the world of Ghost in the Shell. All three volumes have received mainly positive reviews. The manga spawned a media franchise of the same name, starting with the 1995 anime feature film Ghost in the Shell. Starting in 2019, a collaborative manga by Junichi Fujisaku (writer) and Yuki Yoshimoto (illustrator), titled Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm, was made as the sequel to GiTS 1.5.

• Portal — yes

• Title — Related • Content —;Feature films • Ghost in the Shell • Innocence • Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie • Ghost in the Shell (live action) • Television series • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex • S.A.C. 2nd GIG • Solid State Society • SAC_2045 • Ghost in the Shell: Arise • Alternative Architecture • The Ghost in the Shell • Video game • Ghost in the Shell

• Type — manga • Title — The Human Algorithm • Author — Junichi Fujisaku • Illustrator — Yuki Yoshimoto • Publisher — Kodansha • Magazine — * Comic Days • Monthly Young Magazine (September 20, 2019 – November 18, 2021) • First — September 16, 2019 • Last — April 21, 2025 • Volumes — 8

• Type — manga • Title — 2: Man-Machine Interface • Author — Masamune Shirow • Publisher — Kodansha • Magazine — Weekly Young Magazine • Published — 1997 • Volumes — 1

• Type — manga • Title — 1.5: Human Error Processor • Author — Masamune Shirow • Publisher — Kodansha • Magazine — Weekly Young Magazine • First — 1991 • Last — 1996 • Volumes — 1

• Type — manga • Author — Masamune Shirow • Publisher — Kodansha • Imprint — Young Magazine KC • Magazine — Young Magazine Zōkan Kaizokuban • First — May 1989 • Last — December 1990 • Volumes — 1

• Name — Ghost in the Shell • Ja Kanji — 攻殻機動隊 • Ja Romaji — Kōkaku Kidōtai • Genre — Cyberpunk

Primarily set in the mid-21st century in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, Niihama Prefecture (新浜県新浜市, Niihama-ken Niihama-shi) otherwise known as New Port City (ニューポートシティ, Nyū Pōto Shiti) the manga and the many anime adaptations follow the members of Public Security Section 9, a special-operations task-force made up of former military officers and police detectives. Political intrigue and counter-terrorism operations are standard fare for Section 9, but the various actions of corrupt officials, companies, and cyber-criminals in each scenario are unique and require the diverse skills of Section 9's staff to prevent a series of incidents from escalating. In this cyberpunk iteration of a possible future, computer technology has advanced to the point that many members of the public possess cyberbrains, technology that allows them to interface their biological brain with various networks. The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma. This can also be combined with various levels of prostheses, with a fully prosthetic body enabling a person to become a cyborg. The heroine of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible accident befall her as a child that ultimately required that she use a full-body prosthesis to house her cyberbrain. This high level of cyberization, however, opens the brain up to attacks from highly skilled hackers, with the most dangerous being those who will hack a person to bend to their whims.

Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊 THE GHOST IN THE SHELL, Kōkaku Kidōtai Za Gōsuto in za Sheru, Mobile Armored Riot Police: The Ghost in the Shell) begins in 2029, and features Section 9, led by Chief Daisuke Aramaki and Major Motoko Kusanagi, as they investigate the Puppeteer, a cyber-criminal wanted for committing a large number of crimes by proxy through "ghost hacking" humans with cyberbrains. As the investigation continues, Section 9 discovers that the Puppet Master is actually an advanced artificial intelligence created by a department of the Japanese government, taking up residence in a robot body. After destroying the latest host of the Puppeteer, Section 9 believes all is well, until the Major discovers the Puppet Master in her own mind. After hearing the Puppeteer's wishes to reach its next step in evolution, Kusanagi allows it to become one with her own ghost. In Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor (攻殻機動隊1.5 HUMAN-ERROR PROCESSER, Kōkaku Kidōtai Itten Go Hyūman Erā Purosessā, Mobile Armored Riot Police: Human-Error Processer) the Major leaves Section 9 to work as a private contractor, with the remaining members of the unit, Batou, Togusa, Ishikawa, Saito, Paz, Borma, and Azuma, continuing their work as covert operatives, occasionally meeting up with the Major only in the chapter "Drive Slave". Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface (攻殻機動隊2 MANMACHINE INTERFACE, Kōkaku Kidōtai Ni Manmashīn Intāfēsu, Mobile Armored Riot Police: Manmachine Interface) is set four years and five months after Motoko Kusanagi fused with a sentient life form and left Public Security Section 9. The fused being of Motoko and the Puppeteer have been traveling the sea of the Net, merging with other ghosts and creating isotopes. Among them, Motoko Aramaki, the head of the Investigative Division at Poseidon Industrial, began investigating an incident involving an attack on a pig clone organ cultivation facility owned by its subsidiary, Meditech. As she delved into the investigation, she found herself making contact with other isotopes when infiltrating Motoko Kusanagi in a secretive club known as the "Sleeping Universe", a facility used for the transfer of consciousness.

While writing the manga, Masamune Shirow struggled to make it neither too complex nor too simple. Two official names exist for the works, the first is and the second is "Ghost in the Shell". Masamune Shirow originally wanted to use the name "Ghost in the Shell" for the publication, as an homage to Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine, from which he drew inspiration. Kōichi Yuri, First Coordinator at Young Magazine, requested a "more flashy" name and Shirow came up with. Shirow requested that "Ghost in the Shell" be included on the title even if it was in small print. Yuri believes that Kōkaku Kidōtai is the mainstream title while "Ghost in the Shell" is the theme. While most Japanese publications use both names, the original publication in Young Magazine used Kōkaku Kidōtai. When developing Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface, Shirow initially wanted to use a new title by changing the last kanji character meaning "military unit" (隊, tai), to the homophonic kanji for "body" (体, tai) so that it would literally translate "Mobile Unit Body Entity" (攻殻機動体, Kōkaku Kidōtai), but eventually he decided not to do so. The production of Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface manga was done digitally, which was difficult for Shirow because of troubles including a hard disk failure which resulted in the loss of 16 gigabytes of data, USB hardware troubles and reading manuals related to new application upgrades. Shirow considers the manga a completely different kind of work and not a true sequel of Ghost in the Shell. The original manga revolved around Public Security Section 9 and Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface follows what happens to the Major after she merges with the Puppeteer. Shirow drew the color pages on computer, in which he states was difficult to do due to technical issues with his computer. In the "short-cut" version of the manga, Masamune Shirow made the color darker and softer, but used more contrasting colors in the "standard" version. In the Japanese "Short-cut" version, further changes can be found, most notably an increase in nudity and explicit scenes.

The removal of a two-page lesbian sex scene in Studio Proteus's localization of Ghost in the Shell was not well received, with readers reacting negatively to the removal of the previously uncensored content that was included in the original Dark Horse release. Toren Smith commented on Studio Proteus's actions claiming that requirement of the "mature readers only" would translate into a 40% loss in sales and likely have caused the immediate cancellation of the series. Shirow, who grew tired of "taking flak" over the pages, opted to remove them and reworked the previous page as necessary. The sequel volume Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface also featured explicit scenes and an increase in nudity in the "Short-cut" version in Japan.

Ghost in the Shell ran in the Kodansha's manga anthology Young Magazine Kaizokuban from the May 1989 to the December 1990 issues, and was released in tankōbon format on October 2, 1991. Dark Horse initially published it in English monthly into eight comic issues from March 1, 1995, to October 1, 1995, with the translation of Studio Proteus. It was collected into a trade paperback volume on December 1, 1995. An uncensored version was released by Dark Horse Comics on October 6, 2004. The censored version was later republished by Kodansha Comics in 2009 and 2017. Masamune Shirow penned the sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface and ran in Weekly Young Magazine in 1997. The chapters were collected into a hardcover volume along with its predecessor in a limited-edition box set titled Kōkaku Kidōtai Solid Box (攻殻機動隊SOLID BOX) on December 1, 2000. The box set also contained a booklet titled ManMachine Interface Inactive Module, a poster, and a Fuchikoma robot action figure. The Solid Box version added over 140 pages of new content. The tankōbon version was released on June 26, 2001, and included more changes, such as 24 color pages and over 20 large modifications to existing pages. The manga was then distributed in English by Dark Horse Comics in 11 comic issues from January 29, 2003, to December 31, 2003. Masamune Shirow manually redrew the manga for the English version so that it could be read from left to right. It was collected into a single volume in trade paperback on January 12, 2005. The manga was republished by Kodansha Comics on August 10, 2010. Four chapters from the sequel's run that were published from 1991 to 1996 and not released in tankōbon format in previous releases were later collected into a single volume titled Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor. The manga was published on July 17, 2003, by Kodansha. It included a booklet and a CD-ROM featuring the full stories, adding music to the manga scenes, and a screen saver. Dark Horse Comics announced an English version at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con. The four chapters were each split into two, and released as eight individual comic issues from November 1, 2006, to June 6, 2007, and was the first of the Ghost in the Shell manga released in the United States to read right-to-left. Dark Horse Comics later released it in a single trade paperback volume on October 10, 2007. The manga was later republished by Kodansha Comics on September 25, 2012. A box set containing the three manga volumes in hardcover and a lithograph by Masamune Shirow was released by Kodansha Comics on December 19, 2017, titled The Ghost in the Shell Deluxe Complete Box Set. Kodansha Comics also compiled the three manga as a single hardcover volume with a new cover art by Masamune Shirow on January 10, 2023, titled The Ghost in the Shell: Fully Compiled. A sequel to 1.5, written by Junichi Fujisaku and illustrated by Yuki Yoshimoto, titled Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm, started in Kodansha's Comic Days digital platform on September 16, 2019; the manga was also published in Monthly Young Magazine from September 20, 2019, to November 18, 2021. The series ended on April 21, 2025, and its chapters were collected in eight volumes. In North America, it is published under Kodansha Comics.

A number of artbooks detailing the concept art and world of Ghost in the Shell have been released. A box set titled Kōkaku Kidōtai Cyberdelics (攻殻機動隊Cyberdelics) was released on July 8, 1997. The box set contains a collection of posters illustrated by Masamune Shirow, a booklet and a puzzle. A guidebook titled The Ghost in the Shell: Mechanical Analysis Reader (攻殻機動隊メカニカル解析読本, Kōkaku Kidōtai Mekanikaru Kaiseki Dokuhon) was published by Kodansha and released on January 16, 1998. An art book titled The Ghost in the Shell: Fuchikoma Papercraft (攻殻機動隊フチコマ立体図鑑, Kōkaku Kidōtai fuchikoma Rittai Zukan) was released by Kodansha on July 24, 2000. The book contains several different artwork and paper cut out figures of the Fuchikoma. The Ghost in the Shell video game was developed by Exact and released for the PlayStation on July 17, 1997, in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is a third-person shooter featuring an original storyline where the character plays a rookie member of Section 9. A VR Noh stage play adaptation was presented in Tokyo's Setagaya Public Theatre on August 22 and 23, 2020, and has since also been performed in Fukuoka and Sapporo. Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, a manga series based on a concept by Shirow, with his editorial contributions in every tankōbon volume, and written and illustrated by Kōshi Rikudō, was published from 2012 to 2024. The series was conceived as an effort to officially merge the already connected universes of Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell, with the long-stalled Glitch Witch envisioned as the second half of that story.