My views
- Basis for the live action Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Plot
In 2029, with the advancement of cybernetic technology, the human body can be augmented or even completely replaced with cybernetic parts. Another significant achievement is the cyberbrain, a mechanical casing for the human brain that allows access to the Internet and other networks. An often-mentioned term is "ghost", referring to the consciousness inhabiting the body (the "shell").
Major Motoko Kusanagi is an assault-team leader for Public Security Section 9 of "New Port City" in Japan. Following a request from Nakamura, chief of Section 6, she successfully assassinates a diplomat of a foreign country to prevent a programmer named Daita from defecting. The Foreign Minister's interpreter is ghost-hacked, presumably to assassinate VIPs in an upcoming meeting. Believing the perpetrator to be the mysterious Puppet Master, Kusanagi's team follows the traced telephone calls that sent the virus. After a chase, they capture a garbage man and a thug. However, both are only ghost-hacked individuals with no clue about the Puppet Master, so the investigation again comes to a dead end.
Megatech Body, a shell manufacturer with suspected close ties to the government, is hacked and assembles a shell, which was licensed by the government itself. As it escapes, the shell, a lady on the highway, is hit by a truck. As Section 9 examines the shell, they find a human ghost inside it. Unexpectedly, Section 6's department chief Nakamura arrives to reclaim the shell with permit from the foreign minister. He claims that the ghost inside is the Puppet Master himself, lured into the shell by Section 6. The shell reactivates itself, claims to be a sentient being, and requests political asylum. After the Puppet Master initiates a brief argument about what constitutes a human, a camouflaged agent accompanying Nakamura starts a diversion and steals the shell.
Having suspected foul play, Kusanagi's team is prepared and immediately pursues the agent. Meanwhile, Section 9 researches "Project 2501", which was mentioned earlier by the Puppet Master, and finds a connection with Daita, whom Section 6 tries to keep from defecting the country. Facing the discovered information, Daisuke Aramaki, chief of Section 9, concludes that Section 6 created the Puppet Master for various political purposes, and now seeks to reclaim the body that it currently inhabits. Kusanagi follows the car carrying the shell to an abandoned building, where it is guarded by a robotic, spider-like tank. Anxious to face the Puppet Master's ghost, Kusanagi engages the tank without backup, resulting in her body being mostly dismembered as she attempts to pull open the hatch. Her partner Batou arrives in time to save her and helps connect her brain to the Puppet Master's.
The Puppet Master explains to Kusanagi that he was created by Section 6. While wandering various networks, he became sentient and began to contemplate his existence. Deciding that the essence of life is reproduction and mortality, he wants to exist within a physical brain that will eventually die. As he could not escape Section 6's network, he had to download himself into a cybernetic body. Having interacted with Kusanagi (without her knowledge), he believes she is also questioning her humanity and that they have much in common. He proposes merging their ghosts; in return, Kusanagi would gain all of his capabilities. Kusanagi agrees to the merge.
Snipers from Section 6 approach the building, intending to destroy the Puppet Master's and Kusanagi's brains to cover up Project 2501. The Puppet Master's shell is destroyed, but Batou shields Kusanagi's head in time to save her brain. As Section 9 closes in on the site, the snipers retreat. Kusanagi wakes up in Batou's safe house in a new cyborg body. She tells Batou that the entity within her is neither Kusanagi nor the Puppet Master, but a combination of both. She promises Batou they will meet again, leaves the house, and wonders where to go next.
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