Oh look, she’s not wearing much clothes.... Don’t let that distract you from the fact that this robot is suffering through an existential crisis.
Although both movies portray this idea well, one simplifies it to the point where we don’t sympathize with the character and the other leaves you thinking about it, long after the movie’s over and has so much to talk about. Guess which one is better?
The original is the 1995 "Ghost in the shell" anime. Doing a quick google search doesn’t really inspire you to watch this film since it looks like any other slutty anime flick, but it’s not. More of an artsy, thinking kind of film, miss a few scenes and you're left with.... wait, what happened? What is an identity? Or what is human?
It’s a captivating film and whether you prefer reading the subtitles or watching the dub it doesn’t change the film so I enjoyed it, and the quality was way up there among some of the best anime styles out there.
So when I heard that a Live Action feature was being planned. I just had to watch it. By myself because at the time, I didn’t know anyone else who was interested, but it let me focus on certain key points. Such as the main actress, she did a good job for the character, but I did not like this overly simplified confused Major who changed her name like she changed her mind about who she was. I received a special ticket that looked more like a special pass for a concert, IDK maybe they thought this movie was gonna be HUGE. I smiled when I walked in and I was the 5th person in the audience. I felt special.
So unlike the anime, the live action version seemed to focus on... are you still the same person even if your memories are wiped? And are put in a robot? Are you my mommy? Who am I? Doesn’t matter because the anime Major seemed to be focused on what was right and who she was going to become, THAT was much more interesting. But to each his own. I suppose if I had watched them in reverse, I may have enjoyed them more. But even after introducing these films to my wife as we are slowly trying to watch more anime. We both lost interest in the live action version because it was not as compelling as the anime.
Both had very beautiful visuals, backgrounds and the live action had great CGI. But story wise, the anime wins, and that’s what people will remember most about a movie. Story. Unless you’re making Speed Racer but that’s another review. :)
