“The Ghost in the Shell”, by Masamune Shirow

117 pages, Dark Horse Manga, ISBN-13: 978-1569710814

WAIT! DON’T GO ANYWHERE! This is NOT a review of the piece ‘o’ shit movie from 2017, but rather of the original seinen manga (impressed, no?) from back in 1989. Still with me? Good. Right, let’s get this review rollin’…

What makes people human? What is a soul? Are machines capable of authentic emotion? Masamune Shirow’s masterful The Ghost in the Shell addresses these questions and more, often in profound ways, especially the concept of “programming” in that word’s broadest possible meaning: not only the conflict between outside control versus autonomy in computers, networks, robots and other cyber-entities, but also in groups and nations (it’s subtly suggested that laws are a form of programming) and, of course, in individuals in that we’re subject to the “instructions” written into us by culture, psychology and language (deep, right?). Standing apart from this mechanistic view is Shirow’s construct of the “ghost”, a term that roughly translates to “psyche” or even “soul”. That’s not to say that ghosts can’t be infiltrated or manipulated by criminal elements like any other part of an apparatus, but rather that this distinction between soul and mecha is central to nearly everything that takes place. But don’t worry: the action in The Ghost in the Shell isn’t abstract or presented as a token nod at genre conventions; it is vigorous, unapologetic and often thrilling. As Kusanagi leads her small squad of government commandoes against terrorists, hackers and corporate criminals, the dynamic page layouts and effortlessly fluid storytelling draw us into the battles and chase sequences like few other manga works.

However, on a scale that may be unparalleled in graphic fiction, there’s also a tremendous density of ideas. Sometimes, as if realizing the challenge of delivering on both tracks, Shirow includes footnote-like clarifications in the margins so as not to slow things down with expository dialogue or caption boxes. Then, as a bonus treat, there’s a 14-page section of author’s notes that’s keyed to specific pages with the creator providing annotations on his work that make for fascinating reading in their own right. It’s this combination of brain and brawn that makes The Ghost in the Shell so appealing to both the head and the heart…but wait! There’s more: as the work concludes, Shirow takes things in a wholly different direction, for while the story has been rubbing up against the metaphysical throughout, in the final chapter it breaks all the way through and goes for the out-and-out mystical (there’s not much I can say that won’t ruin things for newcomers to the book, so I’ll leave it at that). In short, The Ghost in the Shell is hard sci-fi of the best possible sort: the type that’s so full of both undiluted artfulness and philosophy that it’s arguably a must-read even for those who don’t usually take to the genre.