The Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊), 1989-1991, Shirow Masamune, Young Magazine Kaizokuban

STORY: 7

Meet Motoko Kusanagi, your everyday special-operation-cyborg-elite in a future that massively inspired cyber-punk culture. Take a seat, and enjoy a solid story where technology is about to turn the flow of information into a new form of consciousness, written before mass cellphones and social media! Not everything is clear, the pace is sometimes strange, but oh boy, cybernetics, geek sci-fi, political embroilment, police action, this manga does it all quite right!

ART: 9

Fantastic work that helped defined the style of manga from the 90s, reading it 30 years later everything still looks great!
Even the (novel at that time) use of computerized textures still serves the graphics although it should be dated by now.

POLITICAL POTENTIAL: 7

The big picture politics that the section 9 (where the protagonist works) is dealing with, point at democracy manipulation, corruption, foreign policies that disregard the interest of peoples and terrorism. It’s great to feel individual points of view at the same time and see that our hero can sometimes be bad or that bad guys have goals that you could sympathize with. There’s also reflection about human rights and even what defines a human.
My favorite quote: “Emphasizing a lifestyle based on consumption is the ultimate violence against poor countries”.

FEMINISM: 6

The cyborg Major Kusanagi, who is female, is the central character of this manga. She is the cream of her profession with her abilities, her information network and her expensive top-secret body parts. She can infiltrate bigwig politicians, butt heads with terrorists and fight giant robots. On her free time, Kusanagi has a boyfriend or gets some cybersex with girlfriends of her. Her partner Batou, who takes after Arnold Schwarzenegger, offers a solid support but is showed as less competent.
Major Kusanagi seriously kicks ass.
And.. that’s it for women.
Guys come in all sizes and shapes but almost every other woman in the manga has the same sexy body. Whether they are sex-doll, secretary, technician or nurse does not matter (and yes there’s not many girls in a position of power). One could argue it shows sexism is still prevalent in this futuristic society, and women are still pressured to have conforming bodies. But, considering the annoying amount of male gaze through the manga, I’d argue that it says more about sexism in the manga of the 90s..

CONCLUSION: 7/10

The Ghost in The Shell is a major title that stands the test of time, and a great read before watching the masterpiece that is the anime adaptation.