chaoserver

Story:

The biggest issue with ghost in the shell is that theres not much there. What I mean by that is nothing really new is brought to the table, and it ultimately feels like a(much much better) standalone episode from the series. The story is noteably worse than what we are given in either series of the anime, and only about halfway are we intruiged slightly, though that dwindles out in the climax, or lack thereof. It is a good gateway anime, or gateway scifi anime, but if you are used to the genre you will find nothing new here, though the story will not be painful, and finished, at least for me, in what seemed like an hour, despite being over twice that length.

Animation:

The animation shows dating but is still impressive in it's own right. Some characters look rather odd, and there is a lot of nudity, though not really explicit or sexual. Overall the animation is certainly good and a positive piece to the movie.

Sound:

Sound was good, even better if you like high pitched japanese vocals. However, the english audio was bad, only due to the Majors horrible voice actor, and sadly the dvd didn't have a subtitle option.

Characters:

Nothing to write home about. Major spends most of the movie contemplating about herself and if she is real. Aside from the major no characters develop, or are even given a particular personality. They aren't bad, and the most interesting character is introduced halfway through with a bang, though quickly stops being nearly as interesting.

Overall:

GITS is worth a watch, and is a great first watch when getting into scifi anime. You will probably not find anything profoundly eye opening here, as you would have to be imaging something or new to anime, but you will have a seemingly fast and pretty enjoyable experience.