Ghost in the Shell: Arise-Part 2 (Blu-ray) (2014) |
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Ghost in the Shell: Arise-Part 2 (Blu-ray) (2014) |
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| BUY IT |
| General | Extras | ||
| Category | Anime |
Featurette-Inside the World of Ghost in the Shell (32:51) Short Film-Border: Less Project Featurette-Making of Arise (3:54) Theatrical Trailer-CopiousTrailers, Promotional Videos, TV Spots More…-Textless Opening and Closing Songs Booklet-40 page colour booklet More…-2 Logicoma cartoons |
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| Rating |
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| Year Of Production | 2014 | ||
| Running Time | 116:54 | ||
| RSDL / Flipper |
Dual Layered Dual Disc Set |
Cast & Crew | |
| Start Up | Menu | ||
| Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By |
Hazuchika Hise Susumu Hudo |
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Studio
Distributor |
 Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Maaya Sakamoto Elizabeth Maxwell Ikkyu Iyuki John Swasey Kenichirou Matsuda Christopher R Sabat Miyuki Sawashiro Jad Saxton Mayumi Asano Mary Elizabeth McGlynn Takuro Nakakuni Marcus D Stimac |
| Case | ? | ||
| RPI | ? | Music | Cornelius |
| Video | Audio | ||
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 |
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| Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
| 16x9 Enhancement |
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| Video Format | 1080p | ||
| Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
| Jacket Pictures | No | ||
| Subtitles | English | Smoking | No |
| Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
| Action In or After Credits | No | ||
Ghost in the Shell initially appeared in 1989 in a manga written by Masamune Shirow before becoming an industry in its own right with additional manga issues, two films, video games and a TV series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex; there is also a live action film in the works. Ghost in the Shell: Arise is a series of OVAs (currently four) which occur two years before the original Ghost in the Shell.
I have already reviewed Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 1 which contained the first two OVAs (termed Borders): Border 1: Ghost Pain and Border 2: Ghost Whispers. That review can be found here. Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 2 contains Borders 3 and 4 which follow on directly from the first two. They are Border 3: Ghost Tears (58:11) and Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (56:43). These two OVAs are closely interconnected and deal with water rights, rebels from war torn Kushan, freedom fighters / terrorists / Qhardi separatists, weapons smugglers, corruption and bureaucratic infighting between various government agencies.
In Border 3: Ghost Tears cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi (voiced by Maaya Sakamoto / Elizabeth Maxwell) and her squad including Batou (Kenichirou Matsuda / Christopher R Sabat) remain under the control of head of Section 9 of the Bureau of Public Safety, Aramaki (Ikkyu Iyuki / John Swasey). They capture a group of terrorists after a bombing at a secret meeting about water rights, but something does not add up. At the same time Special Investigator Togusa (Tarusuke Shingabi / Alex Organ) is looking into an explosion at a dam and the death of a detective. As the two incidents start to show links Togusa and Motoko’s team hear about a super hacker called Fire-starter and a mysterious rebel leader called Scylla and discover errors in prosthetics engineering and the possibility of a virus that will implant false memories. Colonel Huzumi (Anastasia Munoz / Yuka Keicho) of Military Intelligence is also taking an interest while life for Motoko is complicated because she has fallen in love with prosthetics engineer Akira Hose (Tatsuhisa Suzuki / Jason Liebrecht), who has his own secret agenda.
The story continues in Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone. Detective Togusa has been recruited as the last member of Motoko’s squad and, still under Section 9, they continue to investigate terrorist activity, weapons for water deals, government corruption and the possibility of false memories and dual ghosts. Could the key to the mystery lie with the doll like full body cyborg Emma (Ai Kayano / Bryn Appril) and her attachment to super hacker Brinda (Kensho Ono / Chuck Huber) aka Scarecrow?
The two OVAs in this Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 2 set are certainly complex, involving hack and counter hack, virus’, false memories and virtual reality which can be mind spinning, but they are also surprisingly tender in places with thoughts about identity, what it is to be human and the possibility of love. As well, the OVAs feature a number of impressive action sequences and, especially in Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone, some of the most beautifully drawn animation and vibrant colours you will ever see.
Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 2 is a two disc Blu-ray set. One episode is on each disc and both discs contain a range of extras.
Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 2 is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the original broadcast ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.
This series looks absolutely stunning. The drawings, both CG and hand drawn, result in clean, strong and detailed images and especially the Christmas themed Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone features beautifully vivid reds and yellows. Blacks are inky and I did not notice any marks or artefacts.
It is anime so lip synchronisation is approximate in either audio track.
The English subtitles are in American English in a clear white font. The subtitles are burnt in when the Japanese dub is selected so cannot be removed for Japanese speakers. I did not notice any spelling or grammatical errors.
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Audio is a choice of Japanese or English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, so both have the same specifications unlike some anime. The audio stream cannot be changed on the fly with the remote – you must return to the main menu.
The effects and surround activity were the same in both tracks. Effects such as gunshots were crisp and nicely differentiated while there was crowd noise and general ambience in the rears as well as music. There was also panning effects, especially engines. The sub-woofer added bass to the music and explosions.
The English voice cast was not too bad but I still prefer the original Japanese audio. In both the dialogue was clear and easy to hear.
The electronic score by Cornelius is unusual; it can be very effective but sometimes called attention to itself and was thus intrusive.
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There is a range of extras spread over both discs.
A look at the world of Ghost in the Shell with footage from the anime and the thoughts of US ADR director Zach Bolton and US voice cast members Elizabeth Maxwell, John Swasey, Brandon Potter, Alex Organ and Christopher R Sabat. Topics include cyperbrains, cyborgs v humans, the implications of the technology, logicomas, the enhancement of the internet, hacking, the implantation of false memories, identity and what it is to be human. Contains some interesting ideas so is worth a look.
A cartoon about a Logicoma that falls in love.
A sort of ad for the internet domain name .jp cloaked in an action sequence involving Motoko.
Two TV spots.
A strange short using stills, stop motion and speeded up frames to show the making of Ghost in the Shell: Arise from project meeting, through scripting, storyboarding, animation and colouring to the finished product, all set to the closing song of Border 2: Ghost Whispers, Soto ha senjo Jayo by Ichiho Aoba and Cornelius.
An extended ad for Border 2: Ghost Whispers.
A TV spot for Border 2: Ghost Whispers.
The trailer for Border 3: Ghost Tears.
The opening song without the credits.
The closing song without the credits.
A cartoon where the Logicomas create their own Q-Team and hunt the cyborg Emma, with interesting results.
Two TV spots for the Blu-ray and DVD of Border 3: Ghost Tears.
Five unrelated short films, nothing to do with Ghost in the Shell: Arise.
Color (3:39): A woman, a baby and various experimentations with colour set to music by Cornelius.
Foreseeing 2007 (3:28): Some concepts of cities in 2027, set to music by Cornelius.
Working High (3:01): Fragments of footage from the OVAs set to music by Cornelius.
Memory (8:31): A live action short about a young Japanese couple about to be married and the result of an unfortunate fixation with Ghost in the Shell: Arise.
Yuki Will Never Forget Kenji (10:10): Live action short about magic spells and a high school love triangle.
Trailer for the Blu-ray and DVD of Border 3: Ghost Tears.
As it says.
Trailer for Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone.
The opening song without the credits.
The US trailer for the Blu-ray and DVD release.
A 40 page colour booklet with plot summaries, character designs and descriptions, interviews with the directors of each episode, the art director, mechanical designer, a critic, the director of photography and the sound director. This is an excellent, well put together and informative booklet.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Our release of Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 2 is basically the same as the versions available in Region A US and Region B UK.
The two OVAs included in Ghost in the Shell: Arise Part 2 are worthy additions to the Ghost in the Shell universe, complex, thought provoking anime that is beautiful to look at. Fans need not hesitate.
The video is fabulous, the audio very good. The extras are of mixed value but there is something there for most fans.
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
| Review Equipment | |
| DVD | Sony BDP-S580, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
| Audio Decoder | NAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated. |
| Amplification | NAD T737 |
| Speakers | Studio Acoustics 5.1 |