Interest
Mamoru Oshii Open to Returning to Ghost in the Shell Franchise
posted on by Eric Stimson
At an event at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku, Tokyo, on June 19 to promote Ghost in the Shell: New Movie, Mamoru Oshii, Kenji Kamiyama, Kazuchika Kise, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, and Tow Ubukata looked back on 26 years of the Ghost in the Shell franchise.
From left to right: Major Motoko Kusanagi, Kamiyama, Oshii, Kise, Ubukata, Ishikawa, and Batou
Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, said, "It's a work that's continued for 25 years, and perhaps there's more to it. Maybe I'll go back to the beginning again. That wouldn't be bad." Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, president of Production I.G, producer of the Ghost in the Shell movies and planner of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series, concurred: "It took five years to get from plans to premiere, but instead of reaching our goal, I have the sense that a new seed has been born. I'd like you all to warmly cherish this seed and nurture it."
Oshii also shared his recollections of adapting the original manga: "When I read the manga, I thought it would get turned into an anime sometime... What is the Internet? Or computers? Or cyborgs? I didn't even understand the terminology or setting, and made Ghost in the Shell with only delusions." When asked about how close society has come to the world of Ghost in the Shell, Oshii reflected, "What have I done these past 25 years? I may have lost my hair, but I feel like I haven't changed on the inside. It's just that smartphones have spread this much. I've even had one for three years." Kamiyama, director of Stand Alone Complex, recalled that he made SAC with the image of cell phones buried inside our heads.
Oshii also praised the new Ghost in the Shell movie, saying it was "more interesting than I'd expected." He was especially pleased to see Motoko without her bangs in the Ghost in the Shell Arise series. Kise, who directed both the Arise OAV series and the new film, was honored, claiming that he was rarely praised.
Ghost in the Shell: New Movie opens on June 20. Oshii has recently caused a stir for his remarks on drones and bitter attitude toward social networking. His latest film, Tokyo Mukokuseki Shōjo, opens on July 25. He has also recently directed Next Generation Patlabor: Shuto Kessen and Garm Wars: The Last Druid.
[Via Oricon Style and Cinema Today]
