Product Description

From Masamune Shirow, leading exponent of manga -- the most dynamic and popular comic genre in the world -- comes his most influential and important creation! The near future. Human and robot are indistinguishable and giving birth to new criminals -- ghost hackers capable of reducing people to puppets. Cyborg agent Major Motoko Kusanagi is on the trail of the most lethal hacker -- the Puppeteer, leading her into the twisted nexus between living technology and the human psyche! This new edition includes additional material never seen before and all the breathtaking visuals and hypersonic storytelling that has made manga the comics powerhouse it is today!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30294 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
Escort Magazine: " Top book for fans of the genre..."; Neo magazine: " A bona fide classic, pure and simple."

Escort Magazine January 2005
"Top book for fans of the genre..."

sportsladsmag.com, February 2005
"A hard-to-win five stars for this Manga masterpiece from the master himself, Shirow Masamune."

Customer Reviews

Wierd entertaining high concept
It goes without saying that Ghost in the shell is one of the most sucessful mangas of all time. Two movies, a smash hit anime and this the book that started it all.

Ghost in the shell is a very complex read telling the story of a team of anti terrorism operatives in a near future Japan. It wieves an entertaining police story with some well written comentary on the nature of humanity and ideas for future technology. This edition restores many things cut from the first English version released over ten years ago.

Please note the sticker "Parental advisory" is not for show. This book contains many adult themes including (but not limited to) sex and violence. It also helps to know your high school science before reading this since some of the ideas are complex (though you can get by without it).

the most incisive and interesting graphic novel ever!
I recommend this book to any manga/anime fan in the world! It is truly one of the most interesting and intelligent graphic novels ever written (it's also pretty funny!)Masamune Shirow gives us a window through which we can have brief glimpse of his personal universe and a world that were we could live in the near future - not a chance to be missed!

Superb
This is something else... Shirow has created a world that has formed a basis for so much contemporary science fiction thinking. Here we see hundreds of references borrowed by films such as The Matrix; a worldwide human electronic network, brain-hacking, even the little plugs in the back of the neck. What's more, Shirow backs up this science-'fiction' with fascinating, well-researched notes that relate his work to a vast variety of sources, from microengineering and cybernetics, through to Zen Buddism and a fair, pensive look at a world of religeon. As intriguing as it is multi-layered and artfully constructed.