DVD, 2006

Dir: Mamoru Oshii

(Madman, M)

Shevaun O'Neill

Anybody familiar with anime knows that the first Ghost in the Shell movie was revolutionary. It was one of the early anime features to break through to the western market and films like The Matrix have knocked off more elements from it than I can list. 

Despite Innocence being made a decade after the first film, writer/director Mamoru Oshii is back, as are most of both the Japanese and English vocal casts. The same striking visual style is utilised, with highly detailed backgrounds contrasting with the simply animated characters. Also the signature eerie all-female chorus reappears in the soundtrack.

As for the story, it’s the 2030's and Batou is a special agent who has more robot parts than human. A few years have past since the first movie, in which his former partner, the Major, was absorbed into the internet (yep trippy I know). Now, Batou and his new partner are called in to investigate when new model gynoids (robotic sex dolls) malfunction and kill their owners. 

Be warned that there is a lot of graphic violence and disturbing visuals; those robots are really creepy. But as well as being unsettling, the images are often stunningly beautiful, like in the festival scene.

Innocence is superb and challenging; a worthy successor of Ghost in the Shell, extending both the animation and the philosophical explorations of the first film. You don’t have to have seen the original to appreciate Innocence, but when watching the film be prepared for it to be complacently violent and almost frustratingly vague. To enjoy it, it’s best just to go with the flow and not expect anything to make sense. 

There are also quite a few special features, including commentary, a making of, interviews and the first episode of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series.