Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)

Dir. Mamoru Oshii

Loosely based on a story from the same Masamune Shirow manga as the first Ghost in the Shell film, Innocence is nevertheless very different to its predecessor.

I'm limited in what I can say because it'll be mostly spoiler, so I'll stick to basics: Section 9 members Batou and Togusa are assigned to investigate a series of 'gruesome murders' perpetrated by gynoids who thereafter end their own existence. The investigation opens doors to a great deal of spiralling philosophy and musings on the nature of humanity.

The animation and character movement are superb, and backgrounds are even more detailed than before, with exquisite lighting - although the latter has a deep brown / coppery tint that won't be to everyone's liking. The plot is at times mind-bending and at other times simple and understatedly heartfelt. It's certainly not passive viewing, so you'll need to engage and question what you're given if you want to get the most from it.

A second viewing will add additional layers of understanding, but I can't elaborate on why that is because that's very much spoiler territory.

Personally, I enjoy it, but that's in part due to repeated viewings softening my initial response to the tonal shift. The first film's philosophical ruminations were discussed by the characters, functioning as characterisation proper, but Innocence feels more like a vehicle for director Oshii's personal exploration of various philosophies, with primary and secondary characters either sat on the periphery or forced to yield and be pushed around inside of it. I adore its use of reflections, representations, models, etc, as commentary on the underlying concepts, but must stress that you need to watch it to the very end to fully appreciate that aspect of it.

Music is again by Kenji Kawai. Alongside the new stuff are some reused / rescored themes from the first film, but it remains as perfectly suited as it was before.

As with the first film, both subs and dub have individual merits and will give a slightly different interpretation of a scene. At least, that's true for the UK and Australian versions. The internet tells me that Bandai (under license from Paramount and DreamWorks) created a new dub for the North American market, but I don't know how different it is to the UK / AU one.