The Ghost in the Shell: Fully Compiled (Complete Hardcover Collection)

攻殻機動隊 The Ghost in the Shell #1-2

by Masamune Shirow

All of Shirow Masamune's original The Ghost in the Shell manga in one massive hardcover make this the ultimate collector's edition of the ultimate cyberpunk classic. Contains The Ghost in the Shell 1, 1.5, and 2 for over 800 pages of manga.
 
Featuring a NEW, EXCLUSIVE cover created for this edition by Shirow Masamune!

Includes in one large hardcover
 
The Ghost in the Shell (1991)
Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including "ghost hackers" who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interface and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers' criminal ends.
 
The Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor (2003)
The "lost" Ghost in the Shell stories, created by Shirow Masamune after completing work on the original Ghost in the Shell manga and prior to his tour-de-force, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface. Focusing on Section 9 agents in their daily battle against technocrime, Human-Error Processor. Features the stories "Fat Cat," "Drive Slave," "Mines of Mind," and "Lost Past."
 
The Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface (2001)
March 6, 2035. Motoko Aramaki is a hyper-advanced cyborg, a counter-terrorist Net security expert, heading the investigative department of the giant multi-national Poseidon Industrial. Partly transcending the physical world and existing in a virtual world of networks, Motoko is a fusion of multiple entities and identities, deploying remotely controlled prosthetic humanoid surrogates around the globe to investigate a series of bizarre incidents. Meanwhile, Tamaki Tamai, a psychic detective from the Channeling Agency, has been commissioned to explore strange changes in the temporal universe brought about by two forces, one represented by the teachings of a professor named Rahampol, the other by the complex, evolving Motoko entity. What unfolds will all be in a day's work—a day that will change everything, forever.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Comics Manga

832 pages, Hardcover

Published January 10, 2023

About the author

Masamune Shirow is an internationally renowned manga

Masanori Ota, better known by his pen name Masamune Shirow (Japanese: 士郎正宗), is a Japanese manga artist renowned for his influential contributions to the cyberpunk genre. Born in Kobe in 1961, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts, where he developed an interest in manga. His early work Black Magic led to the critically acclaimed Appleseed, which won the 1986 Seiun Award for Best Manga. Shirow achieved global recognition with Ghost in the Shell, a groundbreaking manga that inspired multiple anime films and series, a live-action Hollywood adaptation, and numerous video games. His stories are known for blending action with philosophical inquiries into AI, post-human existence, and the ethics of technology. He has collaborated with Production I.G on projects like Ghost Hound and Real Drive. Shirow’s distinctive style and thought-provoking narratives have left a lasting impact on manga, anime, and science fiction worldwide, influencing creators including the Wachowskis of The Matrix fame.

Reviews

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ghost in the Shell
(ISBN 9781632364210)

--The Ghost in the Shell

SFX Index
Author's Afterword

The Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor
(ISBN 9781632364227)

--Fat Cat Part.1 (1991)
--Fat Cat Part.2 (1991)
--Drive Slave Part.1 (1992)
--Drive Slave Part.2 (1992)
--Mines Of Mind Part.1 (1995)
--Mines Of Mind Part.2 (1995)
--Lost Past (1996)

Story Commentary on 'Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor'
SFX Index
Afterword

The Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Made Interface
(ISBN 9781632364234)

Note
Apologies and Corrections

--The Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Made Interface

SFX Index

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is so hard to rate accurately given the wide disparity of quality and production contained in the set. First, a consistent issue is the way the books deal with the sound effects, which is easily the WORST solution I've seen to the "translating sound effects by manga artists" conundrum: the fx are on the page in their original Japanese forms and there's an index (in microscopic print in the first two volumes) at the end of the volume that gives an English equivalent. I can't hate this enough and I docked the set a full star solely for this.

As far as the actual content goes, V.1 is a gorgeously drawn police procedural series adorned with cyberpunk trappings more than a full blown cyberpunk story, which was a bit disappointing but was in no way bad. Volume 1.5 (sigh) has the same sky high art quality but seems to be a bit more comfortable in both its cop show/Ed McBain novels and cyberpunk roots. The third volume (V.2) finally has a solid, dense, and meaty cyberpunk story, but, to be blunt, the art mostly wavers between trite and sad, with very little rising above that incredibly disappointing level. I hated Volume 2 despite the fact that the story was probably the best and most cohesive of each of the three because the art was just bad (not to mention being depressingly stuffed with pointless fan service visuals).

[Hugo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Ghost in the Shell. Of course it was going to be rated 5 stars.
A true masterpiece with amazing color pages in this edition. It will never disappoint as long as Scarlett Johansson doesn't star in it.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes. This spawned an amazing franchise with some superb high points, but this source material.......wow. Not good.

Shirow has an inquisitive, creative mind. You can tell this from the world he’s built and the incredibly savvy footnotes that have been added to countless pages. He obviously reads endlessly about technology, medicine, and other fields. Much of this manga series is borderline nonsensical though. The first volume, which clearly inspired the first movie, barely holds itself together. That’s not saying much but it shines in comparison to the last two. The second I barely got through. The third was agonizing. I appreciate the detail in a lot of the artwork, especially the colored pages and covers, but does it really matter that I might give this one AND A HALF stars at this point?

The manga made way for the movies and anime, so I have to give it credit for that. Otherwise I’ll just say that I’m so, so thankful that other creative people got involved down the line in order to see this IP to its potential. What’s here is merely a haphazard carpet bombing of ideas sprawling across the pages in incoherent fashion.

[AP Dwivedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

GITS 1: 4/5

Reads like an action based police procedural, which explains the Arise IP more. Not necessarily a problem but it was surprising for me having been introduced through the anime movies which are more philosophical.

Overly sexual, to the detriment of the Major’s characterization, who was written to be incongruently tropey. Real estate allocated to frames that added style rather than frames that added impact/clarity.

But the secondary characters were more defined and given more plot involvement, which really strengthens the manga. Absolutely gorgeous illustrations and coloring. Clearer storytelling and world building than the anime despite the hallmark complexity.

GITS 1.5: 3/5

Less clarity, harder to tell what the resolution to each chapter was and requires more reader engagement.

They go all in on the puppet master plot. Continued excellent characterization of secondary characters. Major/Chroma being elevated to superhero levels fits with her less sexualized portrayal. Pushes the IP into new cool sci-fi shit while maintaining plot density.

GITS 2: 5/5

I didn’t like the animation that relied so heavily on 90’s CGI, something that almost hurts the quality at times compared to a hand drawn approach but I can forgive it because it’s not prohibitive to enjoying the aesthetic.

Masamune seems to have learned from the success of the anime movie and written this story to be more of a philosophical sci-fi while finding yet newer places to push the concepts.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be perfectly honest, I understood very little of what was going on in this entire series - it feels only half-there, and more of an excuse to draw naked women in sexual positions than anything else.

[Derek Field · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in learning the origins of GITS, as a player of the team shooter back in the day, and as someone mildly interested in Stand Alone Complex.

The first two main sections were excellent. The exploits of Section 9 are well-written, with artwork that slowly improves in quality as the story progresses. Might be a tad cerebral for my tastes in Sci-Fi.

The last section of the compilation had me mostly checked out. I did not feel nearly as attached to the characters until the VERY end when a familiar face appears.

[Mathijs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chaotic writing + compilation of abstract technological concepts. I can imagine this was seen as a work of philosophy/art/vision in the 1990's, but (logically) my mind is spoiled with 2010+ works.

[Eressea · Rating 5 out of 5]

其實早就看完了
拖到現在才寫筆記
發現博客來2017十大暢銷漫畫第五名是攻殼真意外
果然還是要感恩讚嘆好萊塢拍出一部驚世爛片...

[Zach Leete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, so let’s just rip the bandaid off and say that this compilation of GITS 1, 1.5, and 2.0 is polarizing. The 1995 film remains one of the all-time great anime features and Stand Alone Complex, which aired for two seasons on Adult Swim, expanded on the universe and characters in a rich and satisfying way.

The manga is…unique. It’s somehow both sillier and far more dense than the film and series, leaning heavily into science fiction and cyberpunk tropes to its benefit and detriment. Let me be clear, there are some A+ stories and ideas in this manga and the art, specifically in 1.0 and 1.5, is both classic and highly stylized in a way that triggers a certain type of nostalgia that you had to be a teen in the mid-2000s to understand and appreciate. There’s just something about GITS that triggers the memory of discovering manga/anime in a time when it was just beginning to trickle into the United States — staying up late to watch Adult Swim and watching mature cartoons with blood, realistic violence, and complex storylines unlike anything you had seen before. What a time. This compilation brings you back to that magical place…occasionally. Despite the warm and fuzzies, this is a tough read that will have your brain doing backflips through hula hoops to keep up with it. My guess is that this world really comes together in subsequent readings but the first pass is a crash course in cybernetics, hacking, politics, and espionage that is so technical…so specific…that you can almost sense the essence of the story better than the literal interpretation on the page. I could imagine sitting down to write this…planning it…diagramming it…but as a reader am I willing to go through those same exercises? No, and that’s where GITS falters.

Okay, so let’s take a second to talk about 2.0…

It’s literal nonsense…but the color pages are beautiful (though distracting). It gets a lot of flack for introducing excessive fan service but that wasn’t my issue with it to be honest (I’ve been crushing on Motoko since I was 14 get over it) — it’s gratuitous but it’s also necessary because Masamune was not giving the story the attention it deserved. It’s both incredibly dense and depressingly shallow in all the worst ways. Copious hacker jargon and nonsensical story beats that branch in different directions frantically disorient and exhaust the reader. And yes, the fan service does cheapen everything if read together with 1.0 and 1.5.

My recommendation:

Read 1.0 and 1.5 then watch Stand Alone Complex. Let the 1995 film be its own thing. It’s better that way.

[Joey's deathly tomes of death · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not going to be a super legthy detailed review, just off the cuff.

GITS is definitely classic, and the anime along with Akira were my introduction to cyberpunk back in the 90s.
I read the 1st volume previously, so this is a reread for me.
The 1st volume did a great job developing the characters and their dynamics. I'm not gonna lie, I always felt bad for Togusa. At least he shined a bit more in SAC, though.
The art is masterful and cute simultaneously. I freaking love the fuchikoma, they're adorable.
I would definitely recommend this as a classic cyberpunk story that was extremely influential to the landscape of cyberpunk. It had an influence on me in my writing as well.

1.5 was pretty good supplemental content. The stories weren't a single narrative and suffered just a little not having Motoko.
It was interesting seeing the continued cases of Section 9 after Motoko split following her merge with the puppeteer.
It's nowhere near as good as the original, but it's definitely worth reading.

2
This was very difficult to follow. So, it takes place 4 years after the original. The Matoko here is not the same Motoko as the original. Masamune made a note to pay attention to a Motoko clone in one of the stories from 1.5.
This story itself isn't incredibly confusing when you take a step back, but when reading it, it's a lot. I read the last 200 pages all at once when I was done. I was so relieved. Section 9 was like a sandwhich they were in the prologue and epilogue of the story. Really just Batou and Aramaki.
Anyways I don't want to go on so I will just say that it feels too disconnected from GITS.

[Jarred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Nice to see the original work that the film and anime are based on. Ghost in the shell 1 was probably the highlight based on my expectations going in, featuring the creation of section 9 and featuring the major as a central character. Ghost in the shell 1.5 was neat, as it followed section 9 without the major, and we got to see the other characters develop, but section 9 still the core story setup/structure. So 1.5 was a nice surprise. Ghost in the shell 2 has almost nothing to do with section 9 and focuses on the major doing her own thing… but also she’s not really the major…but she’s still herself…except maybe she’s not… sometimes the story gets super philosophical and hard to follow mixed with almost no real plot to tie the story to… so it felt you could skip chunks and nothing progressed. Oh…don’t forget that the author/artist likes to show off as much skin as possible…so much skin and special upward angles that it felt a bit excessive.
If I was rating these separately 1 and 1.5 would probably end up a low 4 star rating, but 2 would likely have scored a 2 star rating. Averaging them out to 3 stars, because nothing really was bad enough to ruin the experience for me, but also nothing stood out as good enough to recommend to anyone. I think the film and anime that are based on this might be better for the average fan (not meaning the trash live action film… that one shouldn’t exist).

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know about “Ghost in the Shell,” like many in the USA, due to the movie of the same name. When I watched it, I found some of it super cool and other parts confusing. Only after I gained in years and watched it again, adding in the anime series as background, did it begin to make more sense.

I discovered this compendiem of all the Ghost in the Shell Manga around Christmas time. It is everything done for the series, 1.0, 1.5 & 2.0. What is really cool is the author / artist has put comments on numerous pages, providing further insight into what is happening in the panels. For me, this aspect alone is worth giving the manga a read through, as it further explains the philosophy behind the characters. The author references a number of books and research papers that he used while writing the series. It isn’t a bunch of panels strung together, but a ton of depth behind each point made by the characters.

For me, I like 1.0 the best. The movie uses large portions of the story. 1.5 is interesting, as it showcases the other characters without the Major around. I will say 2.0 is the weirdest and most difficult to grasp, even with the author notes. It follows the Major as a corporate security consultant that then has a philosophical debate with an intelligent entity. Or something like that.

[Rob Marney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shirow has some very cool ideas, and his cyberpunk police serial is exhaustively researched, and there are a ton of delicious color pages. But this series is too unfocused, too repetitive, and above all too pervy to live up to that promise.

How does it feel to merge with an AI? What kind of person dates an emotionally unavailable cyborg? How does misinformation work in a society where hackers are everywhere? How would active camo affect police work? These ideas and more are gestured at but never explored in any detail.

Instead, the author is consumed by one pressing question in the last third of the work: How can we get a panty shot or cleavage on literally every page? The more the story focuses on Kusanagi, the more excruciating pseudo-hacker dialogue replaces plots that are at least theoretically interesting. When even the robots are lecherous, you know you've gone too far.

[Burden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of the Ghost in the Shell manga. The page quality is good and the colour artwork in the 3rd story is truly fantastic.

But unfortunately, I can't be quite as positive about the manga itself. Sure, Ghost in the Shell is a classic manga, full of groundbreaking ideas. But the storytelling is so heavily weighed down with unnecessary techno-babble that it really ruins the reading experience. It was so hard to follow at times, that I didn't actually know what was going on & regularly found myself re-reading whole pages, just to try and understand what was happening that little bit better.

In summary, I really wanted to love Ghost in the Shell, but in the end I can't help but feel disappointed about this whole experience. The writer is obviously a very intelligent man, but he still has a lot to learn about relaying a story in a clear and concise manner. 3/5.

[XRVRX · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga not only fucks, it does it on viagra probably, an absolute beauty, super ahead of its time, this version is actually goated, volume 2 is the weakest, however it has a stupid amount of color pages that look fucking beautiful, get it before they phase it out for the upcoming omnibus version, you dont need a book that thick when you can have this shit right here, fucker, Also put on Shin megami tensei 1-2 ost while reading, makes it a 6/5 easily

[Paul Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very well put together and looks very nice on a shelf (is missing the adult scene pages so isn’t “complete” as it states). I did stop reading about 75% in, I was never really interested in the books/story and at this point I want to move on. Maybe this is a product of its time, maybe it just isn’t something for me but I will say if you’re interesting in GitS this is probably one of the best ways to pick it up and read it.

[Phil P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to rate because 2/3 of it is great but the last 1/3 is some of the worst manga I've read in my life.

GITS 1 and 1.5 are 4/5, fun cyberpunk mangas with great art and some nice ideas. The short stories are enjoyable to read.

GITS 2 is complete and utter trash, makes absolutely no sense, filled with fan service. Felt quite pretentious and the story was a confusing mess. Only good point is the art quality that is great but it was such a chore to read. 1/5

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book is not bad, and is especially interesting as the seed for the movie which somehow stitches together a coherent story and adds a bit of depth to make something much more. The movie is worth watching and the soundtrack is awesome. Check out NTS Otaku show on it. Second book is ok and third book is just incomprehensible soft porn.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about time for me to read it! Like 20 years waiting for a second to read it...

I like it, all three volumes, I'll will reread it next year, need time to digest it.

Try it but only if you have enough imagination to recreate everything in your mind

[Bryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that sure was something. My brain kinda hurts, but I think I understand most of it now. Entertaining enough read. Very confusing at times, and I’m docking an entire star for the one panel near the end with the tentacles because that did not need to be there

[Matthew Laird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusing and Horny...not bad though

[Andy Dainty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 is great sci fi
Book 1.5 feels like a poor sequel
Book 2 is nonsense and cartoon porn

[Arrow · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 460 pages in.

This was a mess.

[Zaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the Ghost in the Shell series. Great series, amazing, great manga, great anime. Ghost in the Shell 2045 season 3 is on its way.

[The Poor Person's Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a hard core Ghost In The Shell fan this is for you, if your just a casual fan of manga I suggest just getting book 1 which covers the 1995 anime.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art as only Shirow can produce. Very thought provoking story about the line between man and machine and what happens when it's blurred. Some of it was over my head, I'll admit.

[Al Capwned · Rating 3 out of 5]

This box set is beautiful as a presentation and also has a small poster but I can't say I'm a fan of the manga itself.

[Иван Жилин · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) Ghost in the Shell - 4/5
1.5) Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor - 3/5
2) Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface - 1/5

[Landon Schmidt-Warnecke · Rating 3 out of 5]

1.0-Ghost in the Shell
Score: 71
Art: 18/20
Story: 14/20
Characters: 13/20
World-building: 17/20
Writing: 9/20
1.5-Human Error processor
Score: 67
Art: 18/20
Story: 10/20
Characters: 12/20
World-building: 17/20
Writing: 10/20
2.0-Man Machine Interface
Score: 34
Art: 4/20
Story: 8/20
Characters: 7/20
World-building: 10/20
Writing: 5/20