Travelling cross-country and back without children for a three-day weekend gave me more than a chance to catch up on my reading. I also brought along my current Netflix choice, Ghost in the Shell , or, in the original Japanese, “Kôkaku kidôtai.” This anime version (apparently there is a live-action one) was entirely dubbed in English, fortunately, and quite short (maybe 80 minutes). I suppose I can understand this purist’s quote, from the first review at the IMDB link above:
I find it terribly unfortunate that the only American viewers familiar with Ghost in the Shell are anime fans, many of whom overlook the film’s complexity and see only its nudity and violence.
It was violent, and the movie’s cyborgs do spend a lot of time naked. This feels like entertaining pulp sci-fi, despite the grander claims made for the film. Maybe, as the same individual says, it’s better in the original Japanese…I’ll never know. A small airport diversion, but I won’t rush to see the sequel.