User reviews

I'll start off by saying, I LOVE everything Ghost in the Shell, up to this point... Even the 2017 movie was kind of alright in its own way. But this was frustrating. I'll get to why in a second.

Firstly, I love the character design and think Ilya did a fantastic job. The characters all look great but I really wish they had stayed away from the CG though. I don't hate CG, I just don't think they did that great of a job here... The look is kind of ok, but then the motion and facial expressions are meh... kind of reminds me of the old Reboot cartoon which was over 20 years ago... Is this really as good as it could have been?

But what was most frustrating though was that it takes half the episodes to actually get to something worth watching. It finally starts to deliver what seems like an interesting story and then just as it peaks, times up. That's 12 episodes done... Ok sure, there'll be another season, which is awesome. I get more GitS. But this story should have been told properly and finished so the next season could be something new rather than just finishing up from this season.

I want Netflix to release an American/Japanese co-production of a live action GitS, similar in style to Altered Carbon... Now that'd be crazy.

The animation does not work for me. It looks creepy and rushed. Other than that the characters and writing are as good as always. Missed the magical Yoko Kanno soundtrack as well. 10 for the content 4 for animation style and quality. 7/10 at best

I can only assume this was an attempt at capitalizing on the good reputation of prior Ghost in the Shell content. This is sooooo disappointing, story REALLY sucked and I wish they'd not used 3D animation. 3D is OK for some things but not for this.

I watched this in one go during vacation. The series does have high and low points, but it is annoyingly repetitive in regard to older series and generally stereotypical in regard to other anime. They recycled the standard model to death, and good part of the series is sort of fan service that I really don't see any point to. The main protagonists are effectively promoted to demigods: they always survive, always triumph, etc. It is just annoying. And they always carry their set of emotional baggage that is kind of ridiculous. They are trained killers that have killed gazillion of other people. If anything, they would have a serious cases of PTSD. To endure that, they would have to have serious walls around their psyche to cope with that.

As for the animation goes, it is passable, but not "good". It certainly doesn't have that magic of earlier series, and as the animation is 3D, walk and general movement and behavior is awkward. You can even track repetitive errors in movement.

All in all, you can watch this as a light entertainment. Don't expect anything close to the original series.

Yes, the CG animation and weird beer drinking, care-free attitude of the characters in the first 10-15 minutes of the first episode is extremely off-putting. I can't really explain the behavior and I don't think this animation style works in bright Palm Springs desert lighting without feeling cheap. I've read several reviews of folks who stopped here. That would be a mistake. It does settle into a much more familiar GitS SAC story and style by the end of the episode and all those that follow. Once things get a bit darker (both story and lightning) there are times it feels very much like the original. The character models can be quite good and sometimes the CG animation allows them to do some very creative things. The only time it continues to annoy me is when the camera needlessly swoops around everyone while they're talking to each other in their private network.

It takes a while to settle into the main story, but it's an interesting one, and I look forward to more. They've got new quarry to keep them busy and as always most of the characters live in a gray area.

The CGI art style just looks weird and cheap. Major looks like a doll. CGI anime can be done well too (I liked the Appleseed movies). Story is mostly okay, although it takes a while to get started. There is potential, if they could improve the art style and develop the story further.

Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex is one of my favourite animes of all time, drawing me in with its cyberpunk setting, great atmosphere, powerful emotive music, strong animation and of course, the allure of the mysterious Major. It was a complete package that truly immersed you in its deep detective-style narrative.

SAC 2045 has almost none of this and falls apart from both the top-down and the bottom-up, it's a completely different show, despite featuring the same voice actors and directors as the original series.

If like me you watched the trailer and were concerned over the animation style, whatever your expectation, the reality was likely worse. Facial animation is almost non-existent and the concept of lip-sync appears to have long since been forgotten in the year 2045. Character animations are equally awkward, feeling rigid and unnatural with poor timing and there's a notable lack of detail in the world as a whole. Even the characters themselves feel unfamiliar, Bato appears to have had a nose job and features a new, slimmer facial structure, whilst the Major looks as though this is just her 2nd-gig (pardon the pun) for when she's not dancing and singing on stage as a member of AKB48, instantly losing that hint of maturity and mystery that had previously surrounded her. In a nutshell, the show's animation is what you might expect if you were to produce a B-rate clone of a Borderlands game, a similar look and feel, with vastly inferior level and animation detail, with character designs not dissimilar to 1997's Tekken 3 CG cut-scenes.

Sound is present and not particularly lacking musically, but it feels out-of-place (again think Borderlands) and lacks the same emotive and narrative telling properties of the original series.

The story itself has shifted from the detective or law & order and cyberpunk genres to one more of a post apocalyptic action something or other, I can't quite place a finger on it. This alone I could forgive as an effort to progress the world of SAC but the additional focus on action, at the cost of realism, and the short-run of the series leaves both the narrative and sociopolitical undertones intrinsic to SAC all too shallow in depth. The Californian setting also does little to backup the futuristic and cyberpunk elements of the show and further hinders attempts at creating a convincing atmosphere.

What makes SAC 2045 so utterly terrible is that were it in any other media, my imagination could be used to fill in the blanks, the acting, the lip syncing, I could even apply some creative licence to the atmosphere as a whole, however, instead I'm force fed a world that is just about as unconvincing, uncompelling and bland as it gets, there's no room for an immersive atmosphere to form, no overall experience to draw me in. This isn't the same as an anime where the animation style doesn't quite work for you but a few episodes in you learn to love its nuances and are taken away by the story, SAC 2045 just doesn't grow on you.

Sharing the thoughts of other reviewers, I dreamily wonder if this show was somehow powered by advanced Netflix Cartoon Creation AI and that the parallels between this and Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama's vision of GitS was the lure that hooked them into working on this show, because that thought is much more comforting than the likely reality that they simply sold out their creative integrity to Netflix.

Don't watch this.

I've watched the old Ghost in the Shell and saw this gem pop up on Netflix and I wasn't disappointed. I honestly don't know why everyone's rating it a one, that's a dishonor to the show even if the art style isn't to their liking. The story in my opinion was fantastic and left me wanting more. I say give it a shot and don't let the other reviews swade you into missing this.

Watched the first episode (will update after the seasons is finished) Now I am a very big fan of the GITS franchise and this was not what I wat hoping for. The CGI cartoons feel very, very cheep and lazy. The thick black outlines makes it even worse. Body movement used to be a visual "ballet", now it looks weird. They probably used a lot of motion capture to make it look "more real" when in fact it doesn't with cartoons. Only a great story can save this show a little bit but the visuals so are very disappointing and hard to watch. For some reason they shrunk down the tachikoma's as well for some reason. Like they miscalculated the dimensions because the rest of the design is not upgraded. Very sloppy.

A lot of people complained about the animation style of season one, and to be fair, it WAS a little clunky, but the characters' look was more true to the original manga than even the first movie. The second season fixes this by giving it a more cell-shaded look.

The story has been ramped up to eleven, with much more drama, intrigue, and finally showing off the detective skills of Section Nine.

No longer are they just 'thugs for hire', but genuinely clever people who act as a unit, and pool their knowledge towards finding a solution, and it's this working together dynamic that makes the series.

Oh, and the 'will they, won't they' love interest between Batou and Prin is priceless, and a breath of fresh air for the whole of the show.

A much improved 9/10 all round... 🍄

In the past 25 years many Ghost in the Shell adaptations arose from Shirow Masamune's original Manga series.

The first episode gave me more an Appleseed feeling. (also a cyberpunk manga, also from Shirow Masamune and it's movie adaptations are) (Appleseed, - Ex Machina, - Alpha) some things really felt pretty Deunan and Briarieos to me

Only later it was giving me any hint of Ghost in the Shell (GitS), mostly due to character recognition. While the computer graphics are not particular impressive compared to full CGI movies I saw before the images are well rounded and recognizable and even somewhat original within it's own context. The suspense and typical dark cyberpunk feel from the movies or the original stand alone complex is absent. It feels very light, and almost comic like, but the core feeling I had with the other movies is not here. It feels more like a sequel to the live action movie GitS then a successor of the original Anime. However all Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex main characters return. And it's 12 episodes watching section 9 doing something somewhere and as such I'll watch it, even if it is only to trigger memories to the many series and movies I cherish.

It is enjoyable, and if you like a light adventure I'd certainly watch it, but it doesn't feel connected, which is becoming the rule in the GitS franchise. Video is good, The characters sound recognizable, Music is not what I expected.

I'm not a perfect judge, but I saw GitS, GitS 2.0, GitS 2 Innocence, GitS The New Movie, GitS Sac Solid State Society, GitS (live action) GitS SAC, Gits Sac 2nd Gig, GitS Arise.

And I saw the 3 Appleseed movies. And own and read the Ghost in the Shell, 1, 2 and 1.5 manga, and Appleseed 1,2,3,4...

I have watched the anime movies and the TV anime series for more than a hundred times, literally. I can tolerate the animation, it's fine.

It is the characters.

For example, the opening: When I saw Motoko Kusanagi driving with Tachikoma in Palm Spring, I could still understand. But when I saw Kusanagi took out a Budweiser beer, drank it, and let out a satisfying sigh. My heart dropped. If you are a super fan like me, you know why. Kusanagi would never let out that sigh... 5 minutes in and my heart had dropped already.

I haven't finished the whole thing yet. So I'm still giving it a 3. Might change it later. I don't usually give a 1 star review because I don't take things personally. However, this is extremely personal hahaha. So I might give it 1 star after I finish the whole thing haha

And I'm talking about the plot, not the animation.

You get to the end of episode 12, and it feels like there's supposed to be at least eight more episodes, going by the pacing and the way the story just stops, incomplete. There's too many unfinished investigations that have been ignored, leaving plot holes that will need to be resolved if a coherent story is to be completed.

As for the animation, yeah, there's some sections that should have been redone, stuff like "The" Major's movement - sometimes it's fluid and graceful, other times it looks like off the shelf walk cycles for popular free software, almost like the movements haven't be tuned to match the characters. Same goes with backgrounds in the first few episodes, there are places where it looks like background details were intended to be dropped in, but never got done. The artistic style is consistent, but not as well finished as the 3D of the previous two S.A.C. series.

But at least it's a significant step forward from the debacle of the live action film.

The amount of negativity on this anime is downright disgusting, unreasonable, & unfair. So many 2D purists out there that rate it 1/10 just because the anime is 3D CGI style. The story & aesthetic actually great, one of the best CGI animation so far.

Story: 7 Art: 8 sound:8 character: 8 enjoyment: 8 overall: 8

In any case, this is recommended for GiTS fans or overall Cyberpunk fandom. The full CGI aesthetic might be something new, but it's not hard to get into like other anime & the animation actually pretty superb.

the story basically the continuation of GiTS SAC & Arise, with both series has its own easter eggs scenes if anyone look it hard enough. Major & friends basically now hired as a mercenary unit, the former members of Japan's elite Section 9 are faced with the sudden appearance of "Post-Human," a being with tremendous intelligence and physical capabilities. Plenty of intrigues in the new US territory.

Wraps up in strange way that suggests a coda. I have no issue with the animation and graphics, some of the fight scenes are well done, there's the curvy anime fembots and mechawarriors. The future tech in 2045 lacks some creativity and physics is largely ignored. The main characters are Togusa, Batou and the new girl Esaki. The antagonist is similar to the Laughing Man storyline, the American Empire is more central to the plot. The Major does little except bark out orders. The voice actors are the same as 2nd Gig which was welcome.

Like many Netflix anime (e.g. Kengan Ashura) the character animations are kinda laggy.

It feels so weird watching - take the beginning scene for example.

Military Cars are driving very fast on a highway. The animations are smooth and fast and the camera is following them smoothly. Next scene - the Major and other characters are visible in the scene and their movements look like it's been recorded with 10 frames per second.

It hurts watching, so I couldn't finish the complete series. It wasn't good anyway. You better stay with "Stand Alone Complex", if you want to enjoy Ghost in The Shell.

Despite some other reviews, this series is entertaining and a nice shot of something different (and yet familiar). I watched the original GHOST SAC ages ago and forget basically all of it, so am coming at this without any nostalgia or planted expectations.

It was kind of meh until episode 5, but held my attention building the world and political situation. During and after episode 5 it quickly escalated into what I can only describe as a "hacked cyber brain", in that it feels a bit like you're tripping on some sort of future brain drug. If you're looking for a roller coaster of bite sized emotions it's a good source.

Ghost in the Shell seems to be taking a different direction with Arise, and now SAC 2045. Production I.G. obviously wants to try some new things. The original SAC is the embodiment of what we know and love about the Major and Section 9, the world of Ghost in the Shell, and the animation of the original series is simply gorgeous.

This new series will not be to everyone's liking, and others have very strong opinions - most against or for it. Ghost in the Shell is a beloved franchise. There are many things to pick at about SAC 2045, and even I was personally disappointed with the 3D approach - I normally don't like 3D anime. I gave this one a shot, because Shinji and Aramaki are at the helm.

I bordered on rating SAC 2045 as a 5 or 6, because I was actually entertained by the story, and the original English cast for SAC reprising their roles brought back a sense of satisfaction amidst disappointments. I went with 6 to say Production I.G. has the story capabilities, but they need to pause and consider what people loved about the story of Stand Alone Complex. SAC allowed us to see characters from different viewpoints and try to understand their motives in different circumstances and environments. Each episode was like a story of its own. At times it was paced slowly, and gave us many brief moments of thought for a reason.

I don't want to harp too much on the animation aspect, since others already have - but animation style also defines a series. It can make or break it, and I've seen flaws throughout this series. Particularly during action shooting scenes, the animation slows down and it's quite noticeable.

Feels like a cash grab. Don't give them incentive to make more cheap garbage like this.

It's not good enough.

Having watched the previous seasons of Ghost in the Shell multiple times, I was very put off by the animation style. The style is probably worse in the arid war torn scenes early on, but by episode 4 it seems to start to fit. The story also starts off feeling off, it seems to fast at the start, but this is only because the viewer doesn't know of the actual case yet. As the story of Post Humans starts to emerge it begins to real grab the viewer. There are also the fun world building episodes that don't directly effect the main story but show you how the world has changed sense that last season. It is different from the previous installments but its probably because the beginning of the SAC_2045 had the difficult task of bring everyone back together after such a long time

Trust me i am a fan of 2D anime since the beginning and i also believe that 3D is bad for anime. Don't know why netflix keeps doing this all the time. But anyways this series story slaps hard and its ok animation i am giving 7 for story that's all and its also missing yoko kanno san music so yeah i deducted one point for that too. Overall its higher than arise but lower than laughing man or individual eleven.

I have loved the entire Ghost in the Shell franchise since the start (manga).

Purchasing not only GitS material but also work from Masamune Shirow.

To say I was excited for this series is an understatement at best.When the trailers appeared I became worried of what they will do considering the CG. Sadly this series is about what you think it will be.

Gun combat appears fine if you get past the CG while any hand to hand scenes are awkward and goofy feeling.

The only plus I give is the spoken audio, they did a wonderful job getting I believe the entire GitS SAC voice cast to return. While the video of them speaking is cringy at best if you close your eye's and listen, great experience.

Overall this series makes me very sad, I was able to give Arise a somewhat of a pass but this. . . this has gone to far. Had this series been animated in the traditional more grungy style it would have been great.

First, thank you very much Netflix. Great storyline, flowed really well. Animation I took off 1 Star. Background animation was excellent, but as some have mentioned, the characters animation is a bit old and 'stiff'. Maybe that is what they wanted, but it made the characters a bit fake. It was great that the english voice-overs were from actors in previous GitS series.

If you are a GitS fan, you should really enjoy this series, well worth watching and can't wait for the next season. But remember, every GitS remake is going to be different in some way, so take that into consideration. Nothing will be as good as the original GitS. Thank you again Netflix.

Thank you for your time.

Let's do this by department.

1: Visual

I have nothing against 3D animation. Not in Anime, not in general. That doesn't change the fact that the first 3D-animated Applessed movie from 15 years ago looks about as good, mostly better than, this. Especially in daylight settings, the low detailed character models and awkward, limited facial animation range from barely passable to 'I've seen PS2 cutscenes that looked far better than this'. (This is not an exaggeration. Go watch some Final Fantasy cutscenes from the PS2 era...)

This improves considerably in action scenes, especially when placed in a darker or even night environments. Animation really shines there.

I don't know if this was an issue of limited budget or an artistic choice, but it's inexcusable in any case.

Knights of Sidonia, Blame, the recent 'Altered Carbon' tie in, Netflix Godzilla animes, hell, some of the original SAC series 3D animation looked better than this, not even to mention the 3D sequences in GitS: Innocence.

Then there's the issue of the world. It feels decidedly empty and without a style to call its own. Gone are the Honkong inspired visuals of the 95 movie or what came after. Gone are east asian inspired weird ass creepy cyborgs. Gone are the stylish clothes. Even the 2017 movie at least nailed an original look. There's nothing here. It looks like nowadays Tokyo with nowadays Tokyo people dressed in nowadays Tokyo people clothes. The sets, outside and inside, with few exceptions seem weirdly empty, barren even, lifeless as the characters inhabiting them. Textures, if there are any follow the same bland style throughout. Flat shaders, black comic outlines done better so often before. Not enough money for decent asset production?

Furthermore, aside from designs mostly taken from earlier iterations, there's barely anything visually stimulating or even original brought to the table by this version. Maybe the robo guarddogs? I liked them. Everything else is 'borrowed' wholesale. Tachikomas, the Section 9 headquarters, etc. Even the net/ hacking visuals look boring. Seen a thousand times before and better at that.

The character designs themselves seem mostly fine to me, just brought low by the mentioned limited animation, details and shading efforts.

Really, the only redeeming visual factor here are a few of the action sequences. They're good. Not all, but some. Standout being the almost episode length sequence in episode 5.

2: Sound

An annoying Opener, a decent Closer, inbetween nothing much except a really enjoyable, appropriately tense 'Bwaaaam' theme going on in the action sequences of the middle episodes. Soundeffects for the weapons are decent as is the voice work. Still, the soundtrack lacks good original pieces. Mostly there's elevator level none music just plunking along or nothing. Ambient sound? What's that? Far cry from earlier iterations.

3: Characters

Mostly fine and recognizable once the first episode is out of the way. Not much to complain here except for the one new addition to the team and I don't mean the american guy from the first half, though he's garbage as well. No. Purin. Purin has nothing to do with this world. She's the amalgamation of every annoying anime girl ever. Whoever thought that was a good idea to add to an otherwise mostly serious anime should be fired. Tachikomas were and are more than enough for comedic relief, as is the team dynamic. (While some might find the Tachikomas annoying as well, I at least always liked the excuse that they're basically curious, easily excitable children. They reamin as adorable (or annoying depending on your view), as ever.)

4: Story and Pacing

OK, the story DOES really pick up shortly before the mid-point, I'll give them that. There actually are a few episodes that feel like the real deal. But then it fizzles out again after 4 ok episodes, ending on a cliffhanger this season really doesn't deserve. It very much feels like half a season (probably because it is) and an unsatisfying one at that.

There's even a Batou filler episode that, while enjoyable and quite funny, this short season really didn't have the time for. This short season needed to hook an audience not putz around. It fails almost spectacularly at that.

Now as I said, there are a few episodes in here that feel really close to the original SACs. There are also a few interesting ideas brought to the table. Sustainable war is a fascinating concept, as are the Spoiler-humans, so there's hope at least, but the twelve available episodes simply don't do that much with it, rather liking to waste the viewers time. Seriously. The first three episodes would have been one in the old series, as would the last two (an as of now boring, clichee, emo arc that actually DARES to end on a cliffhanger).

5: Conclusion

I'm not annoyed enough to drop it, that's the one truly positive thing I can say. There are good ideas here, there's a spark of something with potential, its just very hidden. I do want to know where this leads. I AM absolutely prepared to be disappointed, because good, this is not. Passable fits it better. The characters are recognizable and mostly as likable as ever, as well, but that doesn't change the fact that from a technical side this series is 80% below mediocre garbage. Garbage that almost offensively distracts from the actually good parts. If this would have been visually on par with what came before this still would be a far cry from the old SACs but at least the difference wouldn't scream in my face as much.