Ghost in the Shell Arise – Border 1: Ghost Pain

Was quite exciting to watch the first movie of the new “Ghost in the Shell Arise” series. Titled “Border: 1 Ghost Pain”, it tells the story of how Motoko meets future Section 9 members Aramaki, Batou, Togusa and Paz.

Unsurprisingly, many of character background stories are different from what was shown in “Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex”, which is a bit of a shame as it makes them harder to integrate with each other.

Just under an hour long, the movie’s pace is rather high, requiring the viewer’s full attention to process everything. Especially considering it isn’t merely about Motoko’s quest to uncover the truth behind a murder plot, but her struggle to determine what is real and what is not.

If I were to fault “Ghost in the Shell Arise”, it would be for its animation style and quality, considering the character’s facial animation is shockingly simple, even mediocre. Where Production IG has in years past brought terrific animation in the various “Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex” series and OVA, “Ghost in the Shell Arise” falls visibly short of that level.

Luckily, Sakamoto Maaya delivers a terrific performance as Motoko Kusanagi, she does a perfect job at voicing the major and sounds very much like Tanaka Atsuko’s original voice work as Motoko.

Am looking forward to the next movie, “Border: 2 Ghost Whispers”.