A Ghost of a Chance

With the release of a single photograph, the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie is now pretty much for real. Film has been shot, makeup has been applied, actors have presumably acted; premature death a la that planned Akira movie seems unlikely at this point. And predictably enough, this great news is accompanied by a grand chorus of bitching.

Most of the gripes center around, also predictably, Scarlett Johansson's appearance, both physical and in terms of casting. It should have been an Asian in the role, this is yet another example of Hollywood whitewashing, scream some. That wig looks dumb and fake, complain others. Many seem to think that this property should be left untouched, or only attempted by the Japanese themselves. I however, think a Ghost in the Shell movie is one of the safest bets if we want a profitable film that inspires future anime adaptations and a good flick overall that'll please fans and newcomers alike.

First off, I'll acknowledge that some of the cynicism is justified; anime adaptations have a poor track record in Hollywood. Despite the Wachowskis' drawing much inspiration from the medium, none of their works even approached the success of their Matrix trilogy, and only the first one is remembered fondly today. Even fans are apathetic regarding Speed Racer and Astro Boy, while Dragonball Evolution is a dirty word. Films like Pacific Rim and Edge of Tomorrow kept the spirit of anime alive while doing pretty much their own thing, but saw only middling financial success. And with a list of indefinitely stalled adaptations including the aforementioned Akira, Battle Angel, Monster, and Cowboy Bebop . . . it's actually kinda a miracle we're getting an anime movie at all.

Of those proposed projects, I think Ghost in the Shell makes for the best choice because it can probably handle the inevitable changes better than other properties. The franchise has shown it can do well in multiple formats, be it manga, movie, long-running TV show, or short OVA series. That's a huge plus; as much as I'd love a Cowboy Bebop adaptation, I don't believe a single movie would satisfy fans. You can't capture the dramatic meat of the Spike vs. Vicious storyline without sacrificing other major character arcs and/or the fun, wacky hijinks that make the show enjoyable, even with a solid three-hour runtime. Don't get me started on the subtleties you'd need to gloss over for an Evangelion adaptation. And who the hell would greenlight a full series of films when even one isn't a safe bet?

The selling point of any Masamune Shirow work is always the world it exists in. There's a reason we keep getting more Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed years after shitty art, plot, and characters torpedoed all his original manga. His futuristic worlds are the perfect playgrounds for other artists to work with. As long as there's a utopia where humans are taken care of by the genetically engineered (Appleseed), or the cyborg-ization of society blurs the line between man and machine (Ghost in the Shell), setting and characters can be and have been tweaked as the story demands. That's why Ghost in the Shell is such a great choice for adaptation; they could put almost anything onscreen as long as it fits the mood, and even surprise diehard fans because there's no real canon the writers are bound to. Okay, I'd love to see a spider tank or two, but I'll be happy as long as it's a good movie, period.

There's bound to be major negativity whenever a new adaptation of something popular is announced, and maybe the naysayers will be proven right on this one. But I'm going to be optimistic right up to the end credits. I'll put my faith in the well-regarded cast and crew to take advantage of this idea's potential. Because even if Ghost in the Shell turns out to be a stinker, I don't want anime fans to be seen as a whiny, unappeasable fanbase whose interests will never be mainstream. I want to believe that the awesome stuff we're used to seeing in cartoons can gain Hollywood recognition to benefit everyone.

So, keep an open mind as March 31^st, 2017 approaches. We owe Ghost in the Shell that much.