A while back, we told you that the "Ghost in the
Shell" franchise will return with a new television anime series in 2026,
produced by none other than Science SARU. Well, now Bandai Namco Filmworks has
released new information that will excite fans of this sci-fi classic: we now
have a new trailer, a new visual, and the main production team.
To start
off, the anime will be titled " Koukaku Kidoutai THE GHOST IN THE
SHELL ," with the same name for its English version. Interestingly,
this will be the directorial debut of Moko-chan, a talented artist who has
worked as a storyboarder and key animator on series such as "DAN DA
DAN," "The Heike Story," and "Tatami Time Machine
Blues." So, even though this is his first time at the helm, he's
certainly lacking in experience.
Toh
Enjoe , writer
of the novel "The Empire of Corpses" and with credits on series such
as "Space Dandy" and "Godzilla Singular Point," will
be in charge of the script and general story supervision. Character design
will be handled by Shuuhei Handa, who will also serve as chief animation
director. If his name sounds familiar, it's because he worked on
"Little Witch Academia," "Scott Pilgrim Takes Off," and
"Spriggan."
And as the
cherry on top, Masamune Shirow himself, the manga's original creator, left a
few words about this adaptation. Shirow noted that, technically, this
would be the fourth main anime adaptation, following those directed by Mamoru
Oshii, Kenji Kamiyama, and Kazuchika Kise. But if we separate the
different installments (such as Innocence, SAC, ARISE, SAC_2045, etc.), this
would actually be the tenth adaptation in total. Therefore, he
commented that " this series could be considered the beginning of
a second generation " of "Ghost in the Shell." And
although he acknowledges that the original manga is already somewhat old, he
hopes that this new version will once again be an enjoyable viewing experience
for everyone.
With this
team and a studio like Science SARU behind them, expectations are
sky-high. Will this new release make the mark its predecessors did? We'll
have to wait until 2026 to find out, but for now, it looks pretty promising.
- The most recent installment in the franchise was " Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 The Last Human ," a film that recaps the second season of " SAC_2045 ." It premiered in November 2023 in Japanese theaters. Prior to that, the first season was released on Netflix in April 2020. While it maintained the classic cyberpunk style, the 3DCG animation didn't convince many fans.
- "Ghost in the Shell"
is a manga created by Masamune Shirow, first published in 1989. It has had multiple anime
adaptations, most of them produced by Production IG. The most remembered
is the 1995 film directed by Mamoru Oshii, considered one of the best
anime films of all time.
- The story takes place in the
year 2029, in a futuristic city where people can replace body parts with
technology. Public
Security Section 9 is tasked with combating threats such as organized
crime and terrorism. The protagonist is Motoko Kusanagi, an agent pursuing
a hacker known as "Puppet Master," who erases the memories of
his victims. This enemy has an almost entirely robotic body, making him
especially dangerous.
