{"id":69344,"date":"2026-07-08T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=69344"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:43:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T08:43:31","slug":"the-ghost-in-the-shell-director-says-he-prayed-to-an-imaginary-masamune-shirow-and-sought-spiritual-assimilation-with-him-to-faithfully-adapt-the-manga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/the-ghost-in-the-shell-director-says-he-prayed-to-an-imaginary-masamune-shirow-and-sought-spiritual-assimilation-with-him-to-faithfully-adapt-the-manga\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ghost in the Shell director says he prayed to an imaginary Masamune Shirow and sought \u201cspiritual assimilation\u201d with him to faithfully adapt the manga\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Science SARU\u2019s The Ghost in the Shell<\/strong> anime, which adapts Masamune Shirow\u2019s acclaimed sci-fi series, started airing on July 7. The first episode has already garnered much praise for its faithful adaptation of the original manga\u2019s tone and humor, offering a very different take on the series compared to famous past entries like Mamoru Oshii\u2019s 1995 theatrical film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent interview with WIRED Japan<\/a>, the new anime\u2019s director Mokochan \u2013 who happens to be debuting as a director with The Ghost in the Shell \u2013 talked about how he approached the adaptation, including the somewhat unusual ways he interacted with the source material over the course of roughly a year and a half. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mokochan says both Shirow and Oshii\u2019s Ghost in The Shell \u201cpried open\u201d something inside him and \u201cfundamentally altered his perspective on the world\u201d when he first encountered them in his youth. Being such a big fan of the series himself, and well aware of peoples\u2019 incredibly high expectations of the new project, he knew that if he did a bad job, he\u2019d \u201cget torn apart.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing the approach he ultimately decided on for the adaptation, Mokochan says, “If I had to sum it up in one word, I’d call it itako art.\u201d Itako refers to trained female mediums, traditionally blind, said to be able to communicate with spirits and Shinto divinities. Mokochan is, of course, exaggerating with this term, but he explains it as \u201ctrying to achieve spiritual communion with the original creator\u201d and stepping outside of the territory of reason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Mokochan has never actually met Shirow in person, he says that through reading the original Ghost in The Shell manga over and over, he gradually formed an image of the author in his mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I would pray to this imaginary version of Shirow that emerged from my reading of the manga. Then, after about three days, the answer would just quietly appear. At that point, it no longer mattered whether the answer came from my own inner thoughts or from my interpretation of the source material. That’s what I mean by spiritual communion.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, the production was supported in a more analytical and intellectual manner by scenario writer EnJoe Toh, whom Mokochan describes as having profound knowledge of Ghost in The Shell\u2019s world and technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, they treated the original manga as \u201cscripture\u201d as they worked to faithfully adapt it. \u201cEnJoe said the original manga is the kind of book that reveals new discoveries every time you revisit it as you get older, and I completely agree,\u201d Mokochan says. \u201cJust because I don’t understand something now, at 33, doesn’t mean I can just casually say, ‘Do we really need this part?’ I refuse to treat anything depicted in the original as if it never happened. Even if something doesn’t appear on screen due to practical constraints like runtime, I ensure it still ‘exists’ somewhere outside the frame.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following this reasoning, Mokochan decided that his take on The Ghost in The Shell would allow adjustments and embellishments specific to the anime medium, but would not allow events originally depicted in the story to be altered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ghost in The Shell anime is airing now via Prime Video<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: \u201cIt\u2019s a misunderstanding, I am not interested in cyberpunk.\u201d Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii discusses his complicated relationship with the genre<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Ghost in the Shell\u2019s director Mamoru Oshii is obsessed with Fallout 4, but you\u2019ll never guess what he\u2019s actually doing in the game<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ghost in the Shell anime director Mokochan talks about his approach to adapting Masamune Shirow’s manga.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":69346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-07-08T14:00:39+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mq5brewnt32q","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mq5brewnt32q\",\"cid\":\"bafyreiblow2lhmtjv4gmwz5gvydlgoskuea3h23jg543ovrq5xcsdaw7im\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreihz4nmr4qardo7domogbnbqv4vj6mc3gwgzglturr5ieimkz3khce\",\"rev\":\"3mq5brewrq32q\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,65],"tags":[73,17],"class_list":["post-69344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nongaming-news","tag-anime","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Ghost in the Shell director says he prayed to an imaginary Masamune Shirow and sought \u201cspiritual assimilation\u201d with him to faithfully adapt the manga\u00a0 - 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