Ghost In The Shell: Arise: SLA Screening Review
Ghost In The Shell: Arise ended up being the Mystery OVA at Scotland Loves Anime as the festival came to a close and it was always something of interest to me, as I’ve watched both Soild State Society TV series. However this is a retelling of the Ghost In The Shell franchise ‘Ghost Pain’ – and the first episode OVA ended up impressing me.
The new OVAs for this franchise employ mostly new staff. The director for this OVA series is Kise Kazuchika who has been a key animator for past Ghost In The Shell projects but has also worked on shows like Blood-C and Sky Crawlers. Still Production I.G remains as the studio that animates this OVA.
Arise is a retelling of the start of the franchise, so this all takes place before Section 9 is formed. We see Motoko Kusanagi as a hacker in the military’s 501st Secret Unit and during her return to Japan, she meets Daisuke Aramaki to discuss Kusanagi’s mentor and how he was involved in secret bribes. Aramaki is also looking into the mystery behind his death which leads Kusanagi to try to solve the case alone but this lands her in plenty of danger and she ends up bumping into some familiar faces.
If you fear that this new OVA series isn’t faithful to the franchise, then you shouldn’t worry; Arise certainly does feel like Ghost In The Shell. Obviously there are a few small differences, like the use of tablets, cybernetic hacking and deep looking into various investigations about Kusanagi’s mentor. These are intelligently used and they lead to some slow but interesting reveals.
However it’s not all talk; the first OVA also has its fair share of action set-pieces that are amazing and really do show the animation at its best. The enemies that appear in Ghost Pain don’t disappoint for the most part, although some meet their ends rather too swiftly.
Problems might come up if you get a bit confused by the story of Ghost Pain. I admit that I got a bit lost in the plot but this could be solved with multiple viewings. And while the battle animation is great, outside of that, the static animation isn’t so much, plus some might be put off by the new character designs but I thought that they were alright.
In Summary
I can easily recommend this OVA to anyone who is desperate for new Ghost In The Shel. It might not be Solid State Society good, but it’s a nice start.
