BOOK REVIEW: GHOST IN THE SHELL BY ANDREW OSMOND

Ghost in the Shell
Author: Andrew Osmond
Publisher: Arrow Films
Pages: 124
ISBN: 978-0993306-02-0
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes

Synopsis:
When I got this book through, I thought it was a book version of the movie, but now that I have studied its content, I found it to be much more. With a stunning cover illustration by Chris Malbon, Ghost in the Shell by Andrew Osmond is a breakdown of what made the manga so iconic and when the anime came out, what made fans tick as far as its interpretation was concerned. So when the live action movie was released, it also could achieve cult status among fans of both.

Andrew Osmond tells readers first what the movie was about, and goes into what Director James Cameron wanted to do to get the feel of the anime and the manga. Andrew gives us a step-by-step account in several chapters of what the movie achieves and what went into it using the anime and manga as a basis for it.


Review:

Ghost in the Shell is the sort of book you will want to have on your keeper shelf as it has so much useful information in it about the manga, anime and movie made of it.I like how Andrew goes into the details of Mamoru Oshii's work as a director on such titles as Urusei Yatsura and Patlabor 2, and Masamune Shirow's work on the manga with Appleseed and Orion as his other titles.

Chapters:

1. The Film Taking the Fall.
2. Mamoru Oshii The Director
3. Masamune Shirow and the Ghost in the Shell Manga
5. Script and Music The Scriptwriter
6. Studio, Artists, and Voices Production
7. The Foreign Partner Selling Manga Movies
8. Dark Cities and Techno Japan The Deckard Connection
9. The Other Ghosts

The new movie came out under so much scrutiny; name changes, casting Scarlett Johansson as the main character many thought would really be Japanese, it had its fans as much as its haters, but to be honest had the look and feel the manga and anime did. What Andrew tries to do is pack as much content into the chapters as he can, and it is useful content fans of either the manga, anime or movie will want to find out about and interested me as an avid watcher of the anime movies.

Summary:
If you liked the manga, anime or movie, you will want to see this!