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A review by leviathandreamer
Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface by Masamune Shirow
2.0
I feel like this instalment should have never happened. While I do think the series is a bit overrated overall, the first volume had an interesting premise, it did a nice job of posing complex questions and stretching the topics of technology further to identity, personal freedom, individuality etc. It was dynamic, modern and I could understand its 'cult' status and the impact it had on the cyberpunk genre.
This second volume is, however, hopelessly flat. The only redeeming factor is the art, which is unorthodox and the 3D aspect might not be everyone's favourite, but I liked it quite a bit - it's something new and it works well with the series' overall tone. There are issues too, though - one of them being the fact that it switches between black and white pages and full colour, completely haphazardly (and if there was a symbolic meaning hidden somewhere, I missed it and in that case, enlighten me, please).
The story is very difficult to grasp because it's buried under tons and tons of technical blabber and in the end you're smacked by a 'wtf' moment which was supposed to be a big revelation but it just seemed silly and random and lazy, since the author's notes literally say: ''There's no point in explaining what it all means... I know it's similar to Shinto but actually it's not.'' Well, thanks for fucking nothing, maybe explain it next time instead of 100 pages of neuromancer-like nonsense and Motoko's boobs.
Which brings me to my last point - the fanservice. I couldn't care less about it if it's done tastefully and when it's not overdone (in a medium which is not marketed as hentai/ecchi), which is not the case of GiTS II, at all. It's. In. Every. Panel. It's very difficult to take the main character seriously. How am I supposed to believe Motoko is the badass all-knowing cyborg and mastermind when she's flashing her underwear every few seconds? She can literally hack people but can't get her sizing right. Not to mention the fact that it makes the action scenes look awkward, not cool.
I might just forget this exists, and I recommend others to do the same. It really isn't worth it and adds nothing to the series.
This second volume is, however, hopelessly flat. The only redeeming factor is the art, which is unorthodox and the 3D aspect might not be everyone's favourite, but I liked it quite a bit - it's something new and it works well with the series' overall tone. There are issues too, though - one of them being the fact that it switches between black and white pages and full colour, completely haphazardly (and if there was a symbolic meaning hidden somewhere, I missed it and in that case, enlighten me, please).
The story is very difficult to grasp because it's buried under tons and tons of technical blabber and in the end you're smacked by a 'wtf' moment which was supposed to be a big revelation but it just seemed silly and random and lazy, since the author's notes literally say: ''There's no point in explaining what it all means... I know it's similar to Shinto but actually it's not.'' Well, thanks for fucking nothing, maybe explain it next time instead of 100 pages of neuromancer-like nonsense and Motoko's boobs.
Which brings me to my last point - the fanservice. I couldn't care less about it if it's done tastefully and when it's not overdone (in a medium which is not marketed as hentai/ecchi), which is not the case of GiTS II, at all. It's. In. Every. Panel. It's very difficult to take the main character seriously. How am I supposed to believe Motoko is the badass all-knowing cyborg and mastermind when she's flashing her underwear every few seconds? She can literally hack people but can't get her sizing right. Not to mention the fact that it makes the action scenes look awkward, not cool.
I might just forget this exists, and I recommend others to do the same. It really isn't worth it and adds nothing to the series.