Netflix released a new teaser trailer for Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Season 2.
The trailer offers a brief look at series protagonist Motoko Kusanagi and her partner, Batou, and offers a few new details about the on-going "post-human" threat they will deal with in the new season of the show. The trailer narrows down the premiere window for Season 2 to sometime during May 2022. The video is set to the song "Secret Ceremony," which is performed by the Japanese musical collective Millenium Parade, whom anime fans may recognize for their contributions to the soundtrack for Mamoru Hosoda's critically acclaimed Belle.
The new season is once again being directed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama, who helmed the first season of the show and also worked together on Blade Runner: Black Lotus, which recently wrapped up its broadcast run on Adult Swim and Crunchyroll. Kamiyama directed 2002's original 2D-animated Stand Alone Complex series, while Aramaki is known for his work on series such as Appleseed and Halo Legends. The duo also teamed up to direct the Ultraman CG anime, which is also being released as a Netflix streaming exclusive.
The series' score will be composed by Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi, who also worked on Netflix's Ultraman. The new season's characters were once again designed by Russian illustrator Ilya Kuvshinov. Most of the first season's voice cast are scheduled to return, including Atsuko Tanaka (Fate/stay Night, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) as Motoko Kusanagi and Akio Otsuka (Metal Gear Solid, Lupin the Third Part 6) as Batou.
Set several years after the events of the critically lauded Stand Alone Complex TV series and movie, SAC_2045 is set in America and takes place during a period where the world economy is reliant on a "Sustainable War," a never-ending conflict managed by AI. Motoko and Batou have left the government security organization Section 9 and now work as mercenaries, but the emergence of a new cybernetically enhanced threat forces to the duo to regroup with their old allies.
The show's two season run was first announced in 2018, with the first season premiering in 2020 to mostly negative reviews. The show's CG animation was criticized for not being as expressive as the 2002 anime series, and the story was likewise panned for not living up to the franchise's previous entries.
Ghost in the Shell was originally created by manga artist Masamune Shirow in 1989. Shirow's manga has since been adapted into other media numerous times, including a critically acclaimed 1995 animated movie directed by Mamoru Oshii, and a controversial live-action film, which was released in 2017 and starred Scarlett Johanson. The first season of SAC_2045 is available for streaming on Netflix.
Source: YouTube
