Ghost in the Shell fans are getting a taste of what it feels like to be replaced by a machine in SAC_2045, the latest series from Production I.G. and co-directors Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama. The sequel to Stand Alone Complex arrived on Netflix in April and has split audiences regarding the use of computer animation, which many fans have deemed soulless. Criticism of CGI is not unique to the series, however, and creators' usage of the technology has been rather hit-or-miss over the years.
The original 1995 film adaptation of Shirow Masamune's manga is considered one of the greatest animated films of all time, paving the way for further exploration of the cyberpunk world Major Motoko Kusanagi and her Section 9 crew thrive in. The animated series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex further delved into the mind-warping techno thriller, introducing radical new concepts and collecting fans along the way.
SAC_2045 is set 15 years following the events of Stand Alone Complex. News of the sequel came as a delight for fans who had been waiting for even more from the futuristic series, perhaps as a palate cleanser following the troubled western adaptation starring Scarlett Johansson. But with the teaser came an entirely new reality for Motoko -- computer animation. Now that fans have had time to digest the series, audiences remain as split as they were in October 2019 when the first glimpse of Motoko's revamp made its debut.
Irony rears its head when discussing the soulless nature of SAC_2045's animation given that the series itself features body and soul rendered asunder, but criticism of CGI isn't unique to the series. In 2016, the choice to produce Berserk using computer animation was outright panned by audiences for being clunky and out-of-place given the series' content. Knights of Sidonia wasn't without its critics, either, who questioned whether or not traditional animation directors even knew how to utilize the technology. Fans have often criticized directors for using computer animation even in small doses, such as the meme-worthy out-of-place bear in Golden Kamuy.
SAC_2045 isn't even Ghost in the Shell's first foray into animation controversy. In 2008, Ghost in the Shell 2.0 was released featuring updated scenes from the 1995 original rendered in CGI. Fans either like to ignore its very existence or question its necessity. In 2009, writer D.F. Smith wrote in his IGN review that it “brings to mind the old Star Wars special editions in that it feels like an answer to a question that nobody asked.”
There have been instances of CGI anime success stories. Final Fantasy: Advent Children was praised for its achievements, while the popularity of Netflix's Beastars has proven that there is a niche for computer animation. For Ghost in the Shell, computer animation seemed like a natural step forward given its technological hook. However, fans on Facebook and Twitter have expressed their displeasure with the execution of SAC_2045's animation.
Michael Doane, replying to a post by the Anime News Network, claimed that “it burns [his] eyes just to look in the general direction of this cgi crap,” while others say that the animation puts them off from being able to focus on the story itself, calling it poorly executed. Exasperated Reddit user iamhao, replying to the Ghost in the Shell subreddit's release-day thread, wrote that “after [Motoko] drinks the beer and starts the car, the car starts moving forward BEFORE the tires starts rotating...?? HELLO?”
Others tend to focus on the evolution -- or devolution -- of Motoko herself, as did Twitter user Maaria who noted that her image has shifted since 1995 when she was “like a beast.”
I only care about Ghost in the Shell if the Major looks like a beast which hasn't really been the case since 1995 pic.twitter.com/kRZnXmR9zQ
— Maaria (@maariamph) April 28, 2020
Ultimately, SAC_2045 is but one more attempt to bring CGI anime into the mainstream, alongside Beastars, Knights of Sidonia, RWBY and others. The technical and artistic quality of these series vary wildly, and for anime fans this new frontier can either be a blessing or a curse. It seems a rather strong majority of fans are placing SAC_2045 firmly into the latter category.
