If you’re craving a deep dive into a dystopian future where humans, robots, and artificial intelligence (AI) awkwardly coexist like it’s the most dysfunctional family reunion, Ghost in the Shell is the anime for you.
This cyberpunk classic isn’t just a show—it’s a brain-melting journey into a world where your body might be a machine, your mind could be hacked, and existential crises are as common as morning coffee.
Why watch? Because it’s not every day you get to question the nature of reality while witnessing some seriously cool tech, all while Major Motoko Kusanagi kicks cybercriminal butt like it’s her day job.
Ghost in the Shell
1. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
| Title | GHOST IN THE SHELL: Koukaku Kidoutai |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Fall 1995 |
2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts.
Together with her fellow agents from Section 9, Kusanagi embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.
2. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
| Title | GHOST IN THE SHELL: Innocence |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Spring 2004 |
Direct sequel to 1995 film.
A recent string of murders perpetrated by a prototype female android has drawn the attention of Section 9, a unit specializing in counter cyber-terrorism.
With none of the victims’ families pressing charges, suspicions arise regarding the nature of the androids and their production.
Months have passed since the end of the Puppet Master incident, and with the Major still missing investigative duties fall to her cyborg commando partner Batou and his newly recruited biological partner, Togusa. Can the two overcome their differences and discover the truth behind this string of murders?
3. Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)
| Title | GHOST IN THE SHELL: Koukaku Kidoutai 2.0 |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Summer 2008 |
Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is a renewed version of the 1995 film produced as part of celebration for the release of The Sky Crawlers in 2008.
For the Version 2.0, all the animation was re-produced using the latest technology such as 3D-CGI, and the soundtrack was also remastered.
All the voices were re-recorded. Notably, the voice actor of the “Puppet Master” was changed from Kayumi Iemasa to that of Sakakibara Yoshiko, and some dialogues were changed from the original.
Kawai Kenji remixed the music with 6.1 channel surround, and Randy Thom of Skywalker Sound joined as Sound Designer to improve the sound.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
1. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: STAND ALONE COMPLEX |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Aired | Fall 2002 |
In the not so distant future, mankind has advanced to a state where complete body transplants from flesh to machine is possible.
This allows for great increases in both physical and cybernetic prowess and blurring the lines between the two worlds. However, criminals can also make full use of such technology, leading to new and sometimes, very dangerous crimes.
In response to such innovative new methods, the Japanese Government has established Section 9, an independently operating police unit which deals with such highly sensitive crimes.
Led by Daisuke Aramaki and Motoko Kusanagi, Section 9 deals with such crimes over the entire social spectrum, usually with success.
However, when faced with a new A level hacker nicknamed “The Laughing Man”, the team is thrown into a dangerous cat and mouse game, following the hacker’s trail as it leaves its mark on Japan.
2. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG (2004)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Aired | Winter 2004 |
In a futuristic world where the internet and cybernetics has blurred the borders between societies; the members of Public Security Section 9 are reinstated to assist in solving numerous cases of cyber crime.
A spate of similar crimes committed by separate suicidal groups known as “The Individual Eleven” becomes the core focus for Section 9 as war approaches in the form of refugees flooding into the country.
3. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society (2006)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: STAND ALONE COMPLEX – Solid State Society |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Fall 2006 |
A.D. 2034. It has been two years since Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9. Togusa is now the new leader of the team, that has considerably increased its appointed personnel.
The expanded new Section 9 confronts a rash of complicated incidents, and investigations reveal that an ultra-wizard hacker named the Puppeteer is behind the entire series of events.
In the midst of all, Batou, who was stalking the case on a separate track, encounters Motoko. She goes away after saying, “Stay away from the Solid State Society.” Batou is left with a doubt in his mind. Could Motoko be the the Puppeteer?
The series of intriguing incidents that Section 9 faces gradually link together almost artistically.
Who is the Puppeteer? What will happen to Batou’s relationship with Motoko? What is the full truth behind this carefully planned perfect crime? And what will the outcome be? Mysteries surround the Solid State Society…
Ghost in the Shell: Arise
1. Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Border:1 Ghost Pain (2013)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai ARISE: GHOST IN THE SHELL – border:1 Ghost Pain |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Summer 2013 |
The first movie of Ghost in the Shell: Arise.
The anime’s story is set in 2027, one year after the end of the fourth non-nuclear war. New Port City is still reeling from the war’s aftermath when it suffers a bombing caused by a self-propelled mine. Then, a military member implicated in arms-dealing bribes is gunned down.
During the investigation, Public Security Section’s Daisuke Aramaki encounters Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg wizard-level hacker assigned to the military’s 501st Secret Unit.
Batou, a man with the “eye that does not sleep,” suspects that Kusanagi is the one behind the bombing.
The Niihama Prefectural Police detective Togusa is pursuing his own dual cases of the shooting death and a prostitute’s murder. Motoko herself is being watched by the 501st Secret Unit’s head Kurutsu and cyborg agents.
2. Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Border:2 Ghost Whispers (2013)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai ARISE: GHOST IN THE SHELL – border:2 Ghost Whispers |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Fall 2013 |
The second movie of Ghost in the Shell: Arise.
Freed of her responsibilities with the 501 Organization, Motoko Kusanagi must now learn how to take orders from Aramaki.
Someone hacks the Logicomas, and Batou enlists the help of former army intelligence officer Ishikawa and former air artillery expert Borma.
Kusanagi also seeks to enlist ace sniper Saito and undercover cop Paz into the new Public Security Section 9. The two groups rival each other in a case involving a man who receives false memories of a refugee transport operation.
3. Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Border:3 Ghost Tears (2014)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai ARISE: GHOST IN THE SHELL – border:3 Ghost Tears |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Spring 2014 |
The third movie of Arise.
The Major’s attempts to move on with her life are derailed by terrorist bombings, a deadly investigation involving prosthetic legs, and phantoms from the past!
4. Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Border:4 Ghost Stands Alone (2014)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai ARISE: GHOST IN THE SHELL – border:4 Ghost Stands Alone |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Summer 2014 |
The fourth movie of Ghost in the Shell: Arise.
When the riot squad starts shooting citizens during the holiday season, the Major and her team must track down a terrorist hacker who operates under the name Fire-Starter.
5. Ghost in the Shell Arise: Alternative Architecture (2015)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai ARISE: ALTERNATIVE ARCHITECTURE |
| Episodes | 10 |
| Aired | Spring 2015 |
A TV anime version of Ghost in the Shell: Arise.
The first eight episodes are an edited version of the four movies while the last two are new content.
6. Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (2015)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: Shin Gekijouban |
| Episodes | 1 Film |
| Aired | Spring 2015 |
When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source.
As they delve deeper and deeper into their investigation, they uncover traces of government corruption and a shadowy broker that bears an all-too-familiar face.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC
1. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 (2020)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045 |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Aired | Spring 2020 |
After a global financial crisis, the world is engulfed in an AI-driven “sustainable war.” It’s up to Section 9 to counter new forms of cyber threats.
2. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable War (2021)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045 – Jizoku Kanou Sensou |
| Episodes | 1 |
| Aired | Fall 2021 |
Film compiling the first season of Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045 with the addition of new scenes and full re-color grading of all footage.
3. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Season 2 (2022)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045 Season 2 |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Aired | Spring 2022 |
Fully prosthetic cyborg Motoko Kusanagi leads Public Security Section 9 as they once again take on cyberbrain crime.
4. Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 – The Last Human (2023)
| Title | Koukaku Kidoutai: SAC_2045 – Saigo no Ningen |
| Episodes | 1 |
| Aired | Fall 2023 |
Compilation film of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045.
So, now that you’ve dipped your toes into the neon-lit, dystopian world of Ghost in the Shell, you’re probably wondering if your brain’s still safe from AI hacks—or if you even have a brain left at this point.
Whether it’s the philosophical debates, the gritty cyberpunk aesthetic, or Major Kusanagi’s no-nonsense attitude that keeps you hooked, one thing’s for sure: this anime will have you questioning reality, humanity, and possibly your internet history.
