Ghost in the Shell: Arise (2013-14)

Border 1: Ghost Pain (2013)

Dirs. Kazuchika Kise / Masahiko Murata | Length: 58 mins (approx)

A four-episode GitS prequel series set in 2027, which is just two years before the events in Dir. Mamoru Oshii's 1995 Ghost in the Shell movie.

The story revolves around an incident in Newport City, a murder, that's being investigated by two separate organisations: namely Unit 501 — of which series protagonist and "full-body cyborg" Motoko Kusanagi is a member — and Public Security, headed by a man named Aramaki. Section 9's interest extends beyond the obvious, and they enlist the aid of Kusanagi in getting to the truth of the matter.

Despite the changes since the previous TV series (GitS: Stand Alone Complex), there's still much the same. Dirs. Kise and Murata's framing, scenery and even camera movements are similar to SAC's.

Of the two main differences, the first, Motoko, is less upsetting than I'd feared. Because it's a prequel, she's younger and less experienced. She also looks odd, but only for a short time. Her confidence, her movements and her decision making is as normal, so I was able to look beyond the shell very quickly; it's her, there's no doubt of that.

GitS stories are typically complex and intriguing, and I found that to be the case here, too – more so on repeated viewings than on first. It's not been dumbed-down in any way.

What I found harder to accept was the distinct change in music. Composed by Cornelius (Keigo Oyamada), there's an occasional nod to Kenji Kawai that I really liked, but elsewhere the absence of Yoko Kanno's evocative themes was heavily felt.

While, ultimately, I'd have preferred a 3rd GIG of SAC, the events in the first Arise movie kept me hooked and by the end I was completely on board with the new take on a familiar world.

Border 2: Ghost Whispers (2013)

Dirs. Kazuchika Kise /  Atsushi Takeuchi | Length: 56 mins (approx)

Under instruction from Chief Aramaki, ex-501 member Motoko Kusanagi begins to assemble her team, but first she must break through their long-standing prejudices and convince them that Public Security Section 9 really is the good guys.

That part of the story benefits from groundwork laid down in previous incarnations of GitS, but there's a whole other politically-charged story going on at the same time to keep you glued to the screen. An investigation into which provides ample opportunity for Kusanagi to display the kind of daring and improvisation that justifies the trust and faith that Aramaki places in her.

Central to the drama is Kazuya Soga, a military colonel on trial for war crimes committed during the Qhardistani War. We get a flashback to his 'crimes' early in the episode, and thereafter the action revolves around his attempts to prove his innocence and Section 9's attempts to prevent him from disrupting all of Japan in the process.

The primary function of Border 2, however, is to get the key team members into the roles they're best known for. The beginnings of mutual respect are born from the resulting twists and turns.

If you delve into the bonus features on the disc, there's a short three minute episode called Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Another Mission. It's really an advertisement for a Micro$oft product, but what's interesting about the short is the action and how it's directed. No creator names are given at the end, but it's VERY like Peter Chung's work, both in movement and in timing. If it wasn't Chung himself, then it's someone paying a very direct and successful homage to him.

Border 3: Ghost Tears (2014)

Dir. Kazuchika Kise  | Length: 58 mins (approx)

Border 3 grants us a deeper insight into Motoko; through the personal relationships with her Section 9 team members and even outside of work, during her downtime, we're shown some of what lies beneath the Major's guarded public persona. Contrary to what has been inferred about her thus far, it seems she's not all business all the time.

But cyber-crime and terrorism never rest, so, in response, she's forced to put her personal life on hold to focus instead on a difficult case that overlaps with her past and Unit 501.

It's interesting to see Motoko exhibit strong feelings not related to duty and honour. In addition to adding more facets to the character, by making her appear more human it further exposes her reasons for controlling that side of herself, too.

Something that was mentioned previously but left unresolved gets recalled, and a tertiary character haunts the background from time to time, waiting for Border 4 (2014) to reveal her true intentions, no doubt.

A defining feature of GitS, i.e. the questioning of self that arises when the mind and body are perceived as separate, is again explored, offering up food for thought (such as questioning whether prosthetic replacement parts are mere tools or an extension of the body).

When the team are assembled around Aramaki's desk for a mission briefing it feels just like GitS ought to feel. But they aren't the fully-formed Section 9 just yet. They need one more member in order to gain the extra privileges/permissions to help them be the best at what they do.

And let's not forget that brave little Logicoma.

Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014)

Dirs. Kazuchika Kise / Susumu Kudo | Length: 59 mins (approx)

In what was originally the last of the four-part Arise series (see the EDIT note below) an anonymous tip puts the team on the trail of a hacker who has developed a unique cyber-brain infection program that enables memories to be overwritten and changed. They want to stop it spreading and to find out why it was created.

The story is complex and the action is plentiful, but Border 4 isn't as satisfying as the other three. The music didn't fit the visuals a lot of the time and the animation occasionally seemed rushed.

There was potential for dangerous hesitation and second-guessing of thought and actions (had their own memories been altered, and/or could they still trust the 'whispers' from their ghost?) but it went in a different direction - a direction that's still a very recognisable part of the GitS world, but a less dramatic one than I feel it could've been.

Furthermore, the ending, which should've functioned as closure for the episode and, at the very least, a soft pause for the Arise project itself, instead felt somewhat unfinished. I assume the looseness was intended to encourage viewers to draw a line toward the future (of the series) and the past (the previous incarnations), which works in theory, but it wasn't wholly successful.

In addition to the short Logicoma animation, one of which appears on each of the four Blu-rays, and are Arise's version of the Tachikomatic Days shorts on the SAC collections, the Border 4 disc has the five-part Ghost in the Shell Arise Border:less Project short films.

EDIT: as mentioned above, originally promoted as being complete in four-parts, often referred to as four one-hour movies, the Arise concept was expanded; the four features were split into two parts apiece and repackaged as a TV series renamed GitS Arise – Alternative Architecture.

Two new episodes were produced (Eps 9+10) that when combined amount to a fifth one-hour feature. Named Pyrophoric Cult, I've seen the feature referred to by fans as Border 5, but I don't know if that's the official stance.