Tis expensive, no doubt. And according to Bandai, no box set is planned for the first season. But it's a well-produced anime series, with good stories....if I was reviewing them, they'd be recommended must-buys for anime fans.

As for Innocence, well, Go Fish will put out a good-looking DVD....it would be a shock if they mussed it up.

Ghost in the Shell, the movie, takes place in 2029. The TV series takes place in 2030.

Aside from the date, there are other reasons why the TV series couldn't occur first.

Who cares about continuity? Don't most of the Anime take place in different/parallel universe's and have no care for past continuity anyway ?

Beats me, I don't watch most anime.

I'm just answering questions and making corrections, so obviously some people are interested in it.

The TV series happens in an alternate reality where they never met the puppetmaster.

If you imagine that the half of the thoracic chassis shown paired with its mirrored half, the proportions do work out. The thorax slots cleanly onto the ball which becomes the abdomen. With a large enough print of the poster I'll bet you it works with drafting tools (i mean, c'mon, it was drawn by a Japanese artist). If you've seen the flick you'll notice the absence of the pelvic girdle. I think it's a matter of optic illusion based on proportionate proximity. Like when the moon looks like it getting closer to the Earth when it's low in the sky because we have a reference near it. If the thorax was complete I betcha the ball wouldn't seem out of proportion.

Having completely gone bonkers over an art print, I gotta say this is one of my top ten favorite movie posters that I can remember. The composition, the tecnical skill in line and color and the frikkin' mood! I love this, Why they went with that current peice of krap I will never know. The only thing I can imagine is that they couldn't secure the rights to the image. Unlikely as they had that for the US theatrical run. Could they be trying to sabotage American exposure to these films and intentionally taking a financial fall back as part of a larger strategy. I can't figure it out. Because this cover will definitely not make someone who hasn't already seen it want to purchase the disc (or really even rent it) ensuring that the market is strictly word of mouth.

I'm so glad the street date was this quick. I have been feeling nearly physical withdrawal symptoms since it left the theater. I got to see it 5 times and it got better every single time. There is so much cool stuff in this movie and the stuff you already noticed just seems cooler and cooler.

This wasn't just one of the coolest movies I've ever seen. It was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. Obviously not on the same tier as sex or SCUBA diving, but as an experience it still gives me the chills.

As far as a sequel goes, I think Innocence is a perfect counterpoint to the first, adding and not detracting and definitely breaking new ground.

While part 1 has incredible visuals and very, very temperate hybrid CGI, the visuals are low key compared to the 2nd which exhibits godlike and epic visuals with CGI more disparate from the cel components of the animation (bringing to mind Shirow Masamune's more current work from the Blades books for example).
The story line in #2 is low key and introspective (actually based on a subplot from the first comic book* series) with battles being waged on the psychological/mental level with the physical conflicts being determined more by information manipulation than sheer force. Also the conclusion is much more internal and personal with not a lot changed.
Meanwhile the first movie only hits on ghost hacking briefly and utilizes physical gimmicks like thermoptic camo type 2209 and the contrast of superior/inferior ordinance. And with the birth of a brand new, global and godlike being transcends epic as far as stories go.
These movies are Yin Yang. They compliment each others' strengths and leave no weakness.

Fucking Beautiful. I can't wait.

*I used the term comic book because I read the American reprint in English and it means the same thing in any case.

The only bad thing is it comes out so late in the year, it won't make most end-of-year top ten anime DVD lists (unless Dreamworks is quick, and gets reviewable screeners to the press, double time).

While I know what you're getting at (and thanks for your post; the poster image makes more sense to me now), the moon analogy doesn't quite work. The moon appears larger when it's low because of atmospheric distortion. At more extreme angles, the atmosphere works like a magnifying lens.

Wow. That's really cool. I read somewhere that it was all point of reference, but that was a long time ago. I love atmospheric effects (like why the sky is blue in the day) and this explains a lot more. I swear, I've looked up and seen such a huge moon that I thought the damn thing was trying to ram us.

Thanks.

Damn! This poster is hard to find. If anyone knows of a decent price and where it can be gotten, I'm game.

I don't know if this is worth getting excited about or not, but on the official site they announce that this is "eligible for the Best Animated Film Oscar".

Not nominated as of yet, but could you imagine if this hit the mainstream? (I also had a dream where I could fly. Oh well.)

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/20...bot/index.html

"I can tell you something that no one else can. I can tell you the exact moment when Homo sapiens will cease to exist. And I can tell you how the end will come. I can show you the exact design of the device that will bring us down. I can reveal the blueprint, provide the precise technical specifications. Long before we can melt the polar ice caps, or denude the rain forests, or colonize the moon, we will be gone. And we will not -- definitely will not -- end with a bang or a whimper. The human race will go to its extinction in a state of supreme exaltation, like an actor climbing the stairs to accept an Academy Award. We will exit the stage of existence thinking we are going to a spectacular party.

"In fact, we are very dangerously confused. To understand how confused, we must introduce the First Law of Nanobotics: The fusion of nanotechnology and biotechnology, now called nanobiotechnology, will result in the complete elimination of the barrier between living and nonliving materials. In other words, nanobiotechnology not only has the goal, it has the mandate to break through the "carbon barrier" of life. The result: We will produce not mere cyborgs, but true hybrid artificial life forms -- or manifestations of synthetic biology, take your pick.

Don't get me all excited with a reserrected thread of a movie that needs a special edition!!! I was hoping against hope.... But no, it is not to be..