Kôkaku Kidôtai SAC_2045

I'll start off by saying, I LOVE everything Ghost in the Shell, up to this point... Even the 2017 movie was kind of alright in its own way. But this was frustrating. I'll get to why in a second.

Firstly, I love the character design and think Ilya did a fantastic job. The characters all look great but I really wish they had stayed away from the CG though. I don't hate CG, I just don't think they did that great of a job here... The look is kind of ok, but then the motion and facial expressions are meh... kind of reminds me of the old Reboot cartoon which was over 20 years ago... Is this really as good as it could have been?

But what was most frustrating though was that it takes half the episodes to actually get to something worth watching. It finally starts to deliver what seems like an interesting story and then just as it peaks, times up. That's 12 episodes done... Ok sure, there'll be another season, which is awesome. I get more GitS. But this story should have been told properly and finished so the next season could be something new rather than just finishing up from this season.

I want Netflix to release an American/Japanese co-production of a live action GitS, similar in style to Altered Carbon... Now that'd be crazy.

I have loved the entire Ghost in the Shell franchise since the start (manga).

Purchasing not only GitS material but also work from Masamune Shirow.

To say I was excited for this series is an understatement at best.When the trailers appeared I became worried of what they will do considering the CG. Sadly this series is about what you think it will be.

Gun combat appears fine if you get past the CG while any hand to hand scenes are awkward and goofy feeling.

The only plus I give is the spoken audio, they did a wonderful job getting I believe the entire GitS SAC voice cast to return. While the video of them speaking is cringy at best if you close your eye's and listen, great experience.

Overall this series makes me very sad, I was able to give Arise a somewhat of a pass but this. . . this has gone to far. Had this series been animated in the traditional more grungy style it would have been great.

The CGI art style just looks weird and cheap. Major looks like a doll. CGI anime can be done well too (I liked the Appleseed movies). Story is mostly okay, although it takes a while to get started. There is potential, if they could improve the art style and develop the story further.

I've watched the old Ghost in the Shell and saw this gem pop up on Netflix and I wasn't disappointed. I honestly don't know why everyone's rating it a one, that's a dishonor to the show even if the art style isn't to their liking. The story in my opinion was fantastic and left me wanting more. I say give it a shot and don't let the other reviews swade you into missing this.

Yes, the CG animation and weird beer drinking, care-free attitude of the characters in the first 10-15 minutes of the first episode is extremely off-putting. I can't really explain the behavior and I don't think this animation style works in bright Palm Springs desert lighting without feeling cheap. I've read several reviews of folks who stopped here. That would be a mistake. It does settle into a much more familiar GitS SAC story and style by the end of the episode and all those that follow. Once things get a bit darker (both story and lightning) there are times it feels very much like the original. The character models can be quite good and sometimes the CG animation allows them to do some very creative things. The only time it continues to annoy me is when the camera needlessly swoops around everyone while they're talking to each other in their private network.

It takes a while to settle into the main story, but it's an interesting one, and I look forward to more. They've got new quarry to keep them busy and as always most of the characters live in a gray area.