Koukaku Kidoutai THE GHOST IN THE SHELL – 02

I really want to like Ghost in the Shell, honestly. But I think the best I can do is kind of admire it. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s faithful to the manga or not, it just doesn’t click with me. The Kamiyama Kenji versions are sort of sterile because they take themselves too seriously, and the Shirow Masamune version is sort of sterile because it’s fixated on its own cleverness. I like the work of both these men in other venues – Ghost Hound is one of my favorite anime of the 2000’s, and Seirei no Moribito is my favorite anime of all-time. It’s the franchise that seems to be the problem.

It’s no big loss, really – GitS certainly doesn’t need any more hype and my schedule is plenty crowded enough. I felt it only right to give it one more shot, though. This version certainly looks cool in a retro way, and there are moments when the fast-moving narrative dexterity genuinely impresses. But it never crosses into being remotely believable for me – I never lose myself in the moment or the characters. It’s just a well-orchestrated visual and verbal ballet that at best I can find interesting as a spectacle.

Is one style of Koukau Kidoutai “better” than the other? Again, I’m probably the worst person to weight in on that. The irreverence of this iteration has a sort of appeal, and it’s a relief not to have the sometimes-oppressive seriousness of most of the I.G. material. But that side does have a genuine coolness to it, as remote as it is – a kind of austere elegance that’s pretty well punctured by the broad comedy we get here. Whatever serious fans say they like better, I could get it – to me it’s kind of a wash.

Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori – 02

I have to admit I sort of enjoyed that, but boy, is this series ridiculous. It’s ridiculously over the top, and at least in this incarnation the pacing is pretty crazy. I’ll take the word of those who say Yuri is a badass heroine (eventually) but at this point she’s just sort of loopy. And not very smart if we’re honest. She saves Tito from being executed and then very likely gets him killed by going off on a suicide mission? Woof.

Between all the screaming and the licking and the metaphorical mustache-twirling there are amusing moments, mostly in the dynamic between Yuri and Kai. He’s actually doing his best to help her but she just won’t have it, though to be fair if he were more open about his motives Yuri might be a little more agreeable. He’s mostly kind of fun, and just how much of a dirtbag he is at heart is one of the more interesting questions Red River has dangled out there in the first two episodes.

I think it’s pretty unlikely I would cover Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori – to be honest it’s just not my cup of tea. That said I do wish it were at least getting a more stylish adaptation if they were going to bother doing one after all these years. But going on the cheap seems to be the standard for these old shoujo revivals, unfortunately. Hopefully the ones coming up later in the year fare better, though I wouldn’t hold out much hope.