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breadsips's review
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
undeadwookieebooks's review against another edition
3.0
I would push it to 3.5 stars maybe a bit higher on the merits of Soft and White alone which was rather excellent. Although a couple of the others where fairly mediocre at best unfortunately and that brought the overall down.
terminatee's review
1.0
Short enough for an experimental read? Check. Eye-catching cover? Check. Decent price through Amazon? Check. Tie-in to a movie I want to see? Check. Worth the effort of reading? Sadly, no.
The Ghost in the Shell: Five New Short Stories is a collection of stories by five Japanese media authors/creators that builds upon the story presented in the movie "The Ghost in the Shell." It is a quick read, which is the only reason I didn't abandon the book part-way through. Too often I felt like I was reading a comic book or graphic novel without the graphics, and that just doesn't work. I have not yet seen the movie, but I don't believe my opinion of the book would change if I had.
The Ghost in the Shell: Five New Short Stories is a collection of stories by five Japanese media authors/creators that builds upon the story presented in the movie "The Ghost in the Shell." It is a quick read, which is the only reason I didn't abandon the book part-way through. Too often I felt like I was reading a comic book or graphic novel without the graphics, and that just doesn't work. I have not yet seen the movie, but I don't believe my opinion of the book would change if I had.
dee2799d's review
3.0
I'm not a super fan. I've seen the movies and some of the series, but the reason why I bought this is because Kafka Asagiri has a story in it and I love Bungou Stray Dogs so why not, right?
Vertical says you don't need to be familiar with the canon to enjoy these stories, but some knowledge of the background is probably needed for the reader to fully grasp what the hell is going on. These stories are pretty short and they don't do a whole lot of world building because they assume that you already know the world Shirow Masamune has created.
Translation-wise there are some rough patches, especially in the first story. But that might have been the tone Toh Enjoe has adopted because the other stories are easier reads than that.
Shadow.net by Toh Enjoe
If this story has a point I've forgotten already. Might be one of those stories that require more knowledge of canon, which I haven't seen in ages. Lots of awkward philosophical talk aside from technical stuff that don't really make sense. I hated it and considered for a moment if maybe I shouldn't have bought this damned book.
Heterochromia by Gakuto Mikumo
Things start looking up here. This one actually has a plot pulling it along that made it easier to follow the story. Yuki Misaki is a cop who was almost killed while protecting a foreign ambassador. Motoko Kusanagi pops in to deal with the assassin and Misaki is filled with the desire to see the ex-Major once again.
A short while after, someone who looks uncannily like Kusanagi is reported to be killing some political names. They call her Bi-eyes because of her two-coloured eyes.
This one is still not too good: it's too short to be anything but telling and not a lot of showing, but it does have a story.
Soft and White by Kafka Asagiri
I'm biased because this is the writer I bought this book for, but whatever. This is the story I liked best.
Hide Kuze travels to an island called Soft because of some intel that infamous terrorist Jupiter would target the place. Soft is a high-security vacation spot underground frequented by the cream of the crop, a luxurious place run by a very complex system that supplies almost everything: visuals, sounds etc straight into the perception of the guests. Ergo, only the beds and the sofas are real, chump. Most of it is virtual reality. Even the feeling of being burned by hot coffee.
Turns out another infamous terrorist is involved and Hide has to join forces with someone else in order to stop some mercs from grabbing hold of Soft's system.
Asagiri doesn't care about having the longest story in the lot, and it pays. You get a lot of world building and some character development also. Because it's Asagiri, they also quote Chuuya Nakahara and Kant, but that's also pretty much in line with the canon anyway. Except maybe Chuuya.
Soliloquy by Yoshinobu Akita
A dialogue between one facet of Motoko Kusanagi and her own self, done in a dream sequence as she recuperates from a fatal attack.
This I wasn't so fond of either because while the other stories steered clear from Kusanagi--only having her as a presence at most--this one got straight into her psyche. A story that needs for you to actually know and care about the Major and is a bit of a risk to take in an anthology like this. It's not bad. It just wasn't what I was looking for. (Like if I wanted more Kusanagi I'll go to canon, you know what I mean?)
Springer by Tow Ubukata
This guy has actually written for GitS: Arise so he should have some grasp of canon and it definitely shows. Another strong story about a cop who has to investigate the theft of four Olympic grade prostheses. But in the middle of his investigation, the mercs who stole the goods started getting found in little pieces and turns out the prostheses themselves had done the deed.
Actually makes full use of what the whole ghost and body thing is going for plus some engaging story telling. Again the length works against it and it was preaching at the end but pretty good fun also.
Not exactly the strongest anthology but definitely a good one. I think if I were a bigger fan I'll enjoy this more than I did.
Vertical says you don't need to be familiar with the canon to enjoy these stories, but some knowledge of the background is probably needed for the reader to fully grasp what the hell is going on. These stories are pretty short and they don't do a whole lot of world building because they assume that you already know the world Shirow Masamune has created.
Translation-wise there are some rough patches, especially in the first story. But that might have been the tone Toh Enjoe has adopted because the other stories are easier reads than that.
Shadow.net by Toh Enjoe
If this story has a point I've forgotten already. Might be one of those stories that require more knowledge of canon, which I haven't seen in ages. Lots of awkward philosophical talk aside from technical stuff that don't really make sense. I hated it and considered for a moment if maybe I shouldn't have bought this damned book.
Heterochromia by Gakuto Mikumo
Things start looking up here. This one actually has a plot pulling it along that made it easier to follow the story. Yuki Misaki is a cop who was almost killed while protecting a foreign ambassador. Motoko Kusanagi pops in to deal with the assassin and Misaki is filled with the desire to see the ex-Major once again.
A short while after, someone who looks uncannily like Kusanagi is reported to be killing some political names. They call her Bi-eyes because of her two-coloured eyes.
This one is still not too good: it's too short to be anything but telling and not a lot of showing, but it does have a story.
Soft and White by Kafka Asagiri
I'm biased because this is the writer I bought this book for, but whatever. This is the story I liked best.
Hide Kuze travels to an island called Soft because of some intel that infamous terrorist Jupiter would target the place. Soft is a high-security vacation spot underground frequented by the cream of the crop, a luxurious place run by a very complex system that supplies almost everything: visuals, sounds etc straight into the perception of the guests. Ergo, only the beds and the sofas are real, chump. Most of it is virtual reality. Even the feeling of being burned by hot coffee.
Turns out another infamous terrorist is involved and Hide has to join forces with someone else in order to stop some mercs from grabbing hold of Soft's system.
Asagiri doesn't care about having the longest story in the lot, and it pays. You get a lot of world building and some character development also. Because it's Asagiri, they also quote Chuuya Nakahara and Kant, but that's also pretty much in line with the canon anyway. Except maybe Chuuya.
Soliloquy by Yoshinobu Akita
A dialogue between one facet of Motoko Kusanagi and her own self, done in a dream sequence as she recuperates from a fatal attack.
This I wasn't so fond of either because while the other stories steered clear from Kusanagi--only having her as a presence at most--this one got straight into her psyche. A story that needs for you to actually know and care about the Major and is a bit of a risk to take in an anthology like this. It's not bad. It just wasn't what I was looking for. (Like if I wanted more Kusanagi I'll go to canon, you know what I mean?)
Springer by Tow Ubukata
This guy has actually written for GitS: Arise so he should have some grasp of canon and it definitely shows. Another strong story about a cop who has to investigate the theft of four Olympic grade prostheses. But in the middle of his investigation, the mercs who stole the goods started getting found in little pieces and turns out the prostheses themselves had done the deed.
Actually makes full use of what the whole ghost and body thing is going for plus some engaging story telling. Again the length works against it and it was preaching at the end but pretty good fun also.
Not exactly the strongest anthology but definitely a good one. I think if I were a bigger fan I'll enjoy this more than I did.
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