#kuze ghost in the shell

[gnnbloupthworld]

Kuze Ghost In The Shell Concept Art

"The final look for Kuze plays heavily on how the constant replacing of components, when they lose their bond with his body, affects him. Gradually losing control over his body as his transplanted brain rejects the synthetic shell he's been placed in. This recycling and scavenging of synthetic skin panels and body parts presented some existential questions around how gender and race might play into someone's construction of identity and self, which to us delved into some of the core themes of the original material. As his human likeness falls away, he would preserve and express his humanity through other means; painting, poetry, music... That contrast was always something we tried to come back to. He's broken, ugly, and decrepit; yet somehow also vibrantly beautiful."

[morganhopesmith1996]

Hideo Kuze Voiced By Kirk Thornton in Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig

[sunsetagain]

Love and Deepspace x Ghost in the Shell 2017 headcanon:

Project 2571.

Sylus as Hideo/Kuze.

(main character as Motoko/Major Mira Killian)

I made him wear Japanese hakama like Kuze in concept art instead of in the film.

Edit: added more parallel settings as someone asked on X:

Both LADS MC's and Mira's memories were lost/suppressed.

Aether core experiment - Project 2571 (putting human brains into mechanical bodies). Before they succeeded on Mira, Kuze was one of the failures.

Josephine - Doctor Ouelet.

Xavier - Batou.

Onychinus - Kuze's network.

We are the same. I have been born more than once. So I have more than one name. In this life, my name is... Kuze. I was conscious while they dismembered my body, and discarded me like garbage... and they had to move on... to you. They thought that we would be a part of their EVOLution. But they have created us... to EVOLve alone... beyond them.

[vampyrekorkie]

i drew these forever ago (a couple months at least).

welcome to section 9

[pedroam-bang]

Ghost In The Shell (2017)

[tatianarlove]

Michael Pitt in "Ghost in the Shell". A very touching episode.

[lstr-master-of-unlocking]

He's kind of nonbinary

[tielt]

"Just as water runs downhill, the human heart also tends to revert to its basest instincts." -Hideo Koze

[spirito-libero199]

io li trovo una bella coppia

[alroma1]

One of the most hilariously “right in your face” implication through all three seasons of Gits Sac is that on one (un)marvelous day CIA is going to start eliminate witnesses to operation “Sunset” which of course includes Batou. But apparently none in elite section 9 can put two and two together lol

[fukanouna]

I watched Ghost in the Shell (1995 & 2017)

On a whim, I decided to rewatch the original 1995 film and watch the 2017 live-action with Scarlett for the first time back-to-back.

TL;DR - If you've never watched the original film and enjoy the cyberpunk genre with dystopian themes, the live action was a fun ride and I enjoyed it. Live-action adaptations of anime are usually poorly done, but as a whole, the 2017 film was done well. The world, the music, the fight choreography, and Scarlett's performance as The Major really made the film for me and is worth a watch imo. One of the best live-action anime adaptations for sure.

Now... if you've seen the original, the live-action makes questionable changes to the plot. (I'm not going to add anything to the topic of Scarlett's casting as The Major because it's already been said)

No spoilers.

In both films, the "ghost" refers to the consciousness and the "shell" refers to the body, and that The Major is a cyborg: a being with a human brain and robotic, artificial body.

Given that the original was released in 1995 when technology was still developing field and the concept of AI sounded like an impossible farfetched concept, the film's themes focused on identity and individuality in an advanced technological, digital world. The Major's shell was created from a cyborg manufacturer. She questions her existence, even her memories, arguing that if her shell can be created, why can't everything else? Is she her own person or does she have no freedom because her shell was manufactured? The Major is the main character, but she isn't the main focus: the themes of the movie are, and The Major is a visual metaphor to help express those themes.

Meanwhile, the live-action takes a different route. The Major is still a cyborg, but she's given a backstory. Her real body was destroyed in an accident, and her brain was salvaged and transplanted into an artificial shell, becoming a cyborg. The Major becomes the focus as she begins to question her memories when she begins to have glitches and what really happened to her original self. The themes on identity and individualism are still there, but the movie's focus is more about solving the mystery behind The Major's past.

Then there's the difference in antagonists. Kuze is the live-action's and the Puppet Master is from the 1995 film.

Kuze was never in the original film and the character is actually from the anime series, but he was underwhelming as villain who seeks revenge and is there to serve as a shock value to the live-action's very questionable plot twist towards the end.

The Puppet Master is a rogue AI that becomes self-aware of its existence and argues it has its own individuality because of its self-awareness. It hacks its way into a shell to further emphasize its newfound identity. Together with The Major, the Puppet Master brings in a different perspective on the film's themes.

And the live-action's plot twist... it reminded me of Jordan Peele's Get Out. I could see what they were going for, but because that's not the kind of story the 2017 film was trying to tell, the revelation came off as uncomfortable. Fans of the original say that they dumbed down the plot for Western audiences and that caused the plot to be a trainwreck. I have to agree.

But that doesn't mean I hate the live-action. They did an amazing job at recreating the Ghost in the Shell world with the CG visuals that still gives off that anime feel, costume design, and the fight choreo. The opening scene of The Major's cybernetic body being created is beautiful, and the scene with the robot geishas is always so fun to watch.

I also prefer Scarlett's Major over the original. The Major in the original was emotionless for most of the film and made it difficult to connect to her, but since the live-action was more character driven, Scarlett initially played The Major expressing little to no emotions then gradually becoming more expressive as the story went on. No doubt that playing Natasha helped her get into the role of The Major, as there are some similarities in the characters' personalities.

That being said, I personally can't decide which is better because each film excels in one thing compared to the other, but I'm willing to rewatch both films.

I can say the live-action is more digestible as a whole while the original is one of those movies that makes you think about its narrative. But I think the 1995 film is still well animated for being over 20 years old and that alone is enough to give it a watch.

[nightbringer24]

Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C 2nd GIG is a better show than the the first season, I feel, since the overarching plot was tighter, which worked well with the drama of the Individual Eleven and the whole situation with Kuze.

And again, it's amazing how an anime that aired in 2004 could cover such topics as radicalization via the internet along with the manipulation of data via government and non-government agencies to their own ends, and how people can easily fall pray to such techniques.

Small wonder Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is considered such a great anime series.

[morganhopesmith1996]

Kuze Edited Screencaps by morganhopesmith1996

[hanna-shut-up]

i'm obsessed with how michael pritt "prepared for the role" of kuze in ghost in the shell, unprompted, by locking himself in a cargo container for 6 months. during which time he produced ~300 pages of concept art for the movie. this was not asked of him either, nor was his art used in the production of the film. i would flay my own skin off and then eat it if it meant i could see scans

[lordelmelloi2]

(I just woke up and I am a little hungover so forgive me if this seems incoherent at times/I have mistaken information)

I can only really write about the ones I've seen, but here's some comments on the fascism and how these stories handle fascism as a topic...

Ghost in the Shell is a difficult one. I say this as a longtime fan that got into GitS and was inspired by how it talked about politics, but the bottom line is that it is still somewhat copaganda. You cannot have Section 9 without police, without an institutional framework of violence -- but the thing too, is that especially within 2nd GIG, it explicitly shows how these institutions create and fuel the fire of violence against minorities, refugees, and other groups struggling in post-war society. Section 9 as a funded structure is something of a government corruption investigation group at times but also is at the behest of that same government. There's an episode where the head of S9 decides that it's better to not reveal the truth about a South American revolutionary hero being a clone because the political situation it would arise would damage the situation way too much. So the thing is that S9 shows an extremely strong anti-corruption stance and has a firm moral backbone. The first season is explicitly about police structure corruption tying in with the corruption of the Medical infrastructure because of a disease called Cyberbrain Sclerosis and a lifesaving vaccine being denied a patent because other medical companies who have ties to the government heads want money, and how all of that unfolds upon the scandal being brought back into the public eye. That's the Laughing Man incident. The second season is about the government intelligence agency using propaganda and manufacturing incidents in order to get away with literally genociding refugees from WW4 who are fighting for independence in Dejima. This is where Section 9 also ends up being used to further this by Kazundo Gohda, an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency. That and the leader, Hideo Kuze being someone that the Major personally knows and can trust and isn't just some megalomaniac leads to her becoming so disillusioned that she leaves S9 at the end of the 2nd GIG and becomes an independent.

Then there's SSS, which shows even more government corruption on a mass scale having to do with child abuse/CPS kidnapping scandals; the Major rejoins S9 after this, years and years pass, and then we get whatever the fuck 2045 was and all of the hard work that went into depicting this complex layered political world kind of goes to shit.

I think that Ghost in the Shell overall is written with an antifascist tone and that its political beliefs as a work are meant to encourage investigation of political corruption and to encourage groups to look into and expose these sorts of things. I would say that is its general primary message that it espouses is fairly leftist in nature. But operating with the structure of Public Security also means we have ex-cops, ex-military who are a part of this organization, and so while headed by a man who prides himself on just and fair judgments of situations that aren't dehumanizing, you will also see S9 involved in incidents where they are truly being used as a political tool of violence. So it falls in the line of copaganda as well, even sometimes within that leftist ideology. But I think it brings into view the discussion of the structures that enable it and the human greed that causes it. It talks about the attitudes that enable it, the violence that causes more violence. I think it's a very thorough work in that regard and the writers consistently cite and reference back authors and writers of political ideology, psychology, philosophy that show that they really cared about trying to put together a story that is coherent and digestable.

Revolutionary Girl Utena is another story that is very highly antifascist on a more interpersonal level. It critiques the structures of patriarchy that enable incestuous, pedophilic domestic abuse to continue and also does it with a layered, multifaceted approach to the topic. It shows Anthy as not a "perfect" victim and shows how deeply the incestuous abuse that she has suffered has destroyed her from the inside out, but also shows how her bonds with someone who is also being groomed by the same person enables to her have hope to be able to escape. It clearly shows Akio as an abuser who doesn't discriminate and also shows how he will groom male incestuous abuse victims into being his pawns and furthering the cycles, as shown with Touga and Nanami. Saionji and Miki both also show, albeit without being so directly groomed as Touga, how attitudes of sexism and misogyny in young men further these cycles of abuse towards women; Utena's experience interacting with all of these people all show how young women struggle and suffer but ultimately can find escape and can fight past these cycles and enter a world where they are not suffering anymore. Utena's ability to reject her grooming and clearly see how Anthy is suffering under the abuse also gives Anthy hope that she can leave and escape the constraints of her agony. It doesn't go out of its way to give fanservice, it's pretty straightforward, and it's another great work that also delivers messages that encourage people to be more open about sharing their pain with people they trust so that they can seek help and support and find ways to end these cycles of abuse.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica... isn't... really about fascism like that. It has a fascist structure in place (the manipulation/coercion of young girls into sacrificing their lives for the greater good through some bullshit that Kyuubey made up that isn't at all investigatable or confirmable by these girls) but it's not really About it on a core level I would argue. It's more of an interpersonal story about a girl who loves another girl so deeply that she would sacrifice herself and everything; then when faced with the other girl's return of the favor, she breaks down and tries to find a way to change things so that the other girl is no longer tied down by another System that's in place that keeps her from having a joyful, human life.

Psycho-Pass is about fascism in government structures but it's like the 2010s attempt to be Ghost in the Shell. It is not at all like Ghost in the Shell. It's interesting, it is about government structural fascism, but it fucking sucks, and in the end the structure that enables the fascism, although it's critiqued, doesn't see much change that actually materially changes anything for the people involved that are suffering in the story. The Sybil System still exists even though it's literally structurally ableist and classist and racist, etc....

Ergo Proxy is very nothing IMO... Go watch Texhnolyze instead... I think Texhnolyze has stronger execution and themes of what it's trying to talk about in these same veins.

Also, Code Geass should be higher on this list, according to my mentee who writes a lot about it and the central themes of it; I guess it's just not very popular amongst anime crowds anymore like it was back in the day.

[jchang-art]

Loved weta ghost in the shell. My interpretation of kuze!