MovieChat Forums > Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 1: Ghost Pain (2013) Discussion > What's with the ugly character designs?

What's with the ugly character designs?

posted 11 years ago by m-hogan-bc
14 replies | jump to latest

Yes, naturally I'm referring to the faces of the characters; the heads are large and the features are scrunched up into as little space as possible. It makes some of the characters look like they have Downs Syndrome, where this has never been indicated nor a desired character trait/interpretation for the characters.

Why is Motoko a little girl? She's a full cyborg, in combat, why deliberately choose a little girl model? Before anyone references speed versus size, remember that's not a limiting factor here, as Motoko is clearly just as fast in prior Ghost in the Shell iterations.

It seems like they're deliberately trying to turn things on their head for the sake of newness. It doesn't work; I'm disappointed.

Also disappointed they dropped voice actors. Remember, cyborgs? What's the point of changing voice actors? There's no "young" cyborgs out there, the voices would likely be the same throughout.

Tremendously wasted potential. I love what they have done with previous Ghost in the Shell variations (movies, series, manga, et al) but these departures are too weird to rationalise.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] m-hogan-bc 11 years ago

Ghost in the Shell: Arise is intended to precede the events of both the movies and the SAC series. It is akin to an american comic book, in that it is a parallel universe, where events and meetings do not happen as we were expressly shown in other sources.

To give you an idea of the timeline, Ghost in the Shell (1995) was supposed to be 2029. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was supposed to be 2030, SAC 2nd Gig was 2032, and Solid State Society was 2034. In light of this, Arise is supposed to take place in the year 2027, but none of the character-ties in Arise match up with any other source material.

I love science-fiction, and I like the intellectual property that Ghost in the Shell has become, so of course I had to watch it. But I hoped for something better, something more mature than what we got. Each iteration should get better, not worse.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] chrisisstressed 11 years ago

I was disappointed too when I heard they were doing an earlier version. I do enjoy the way GitS SAC was separate from the original movies but yet connected by the Puppeteer/Puppet Master bit. Still, when I realised that they were doing a younger version and one that took place on another alternate timeline-- the state of the group very obviously and seriously clashes with what we saw of NNW4 --I can say I was a little disappointed.

Though, personally, I'll probably make my peace with it as I did with the SAC timeline. Losing our old major will still bother me, and Yoko Kanno's supposed departure will annoy the hell out of me. But most of all, being someone who has enjoyed the dub for years, it will bother me FAAAAAAR more if they don't get Richard Epcar & William Knight back I will have a very hard time with this -- I've seen the shortened video versions of the TV show and those characters just aren't the same without those two actors.

"What the hell is a Fuzzy! And why do they make such good Druids?!" - Spoony

[–] thomas-lamb 10 years ago

How can stand alone complex be set after ghost in the shell when The major combines with the ai to become a superbeing in cyberspace at the end of ghost in the shell?

[–] Ghosthunter123424 9 years ago

If I understand correctly, SAC was more closely based on the manga, with little or nothing to do with the film.

It's not uncommon for prequel stuff like this to retcon dates purely for convenience and to preserve the suspension of disbelief.

This is why events in the new terminator movies are set years after they were originally supposed to have occurred, like Judgement Day in the sequels being pushed back a few more years to make it more reasonable with the audience.)

[–] chrisisstressed 11 years ago

There's no "young" cyborgs out there, the voices would likely be the same throughout.

Did you watch SAC? What about the young versions of the Major & Kuze?

"What the hell is a Fuzzy! And why do they make such good Druids?!" - Spoony

[–] pjk84 10 years ago

I didn't find anything wrong with the characters, I thought they looked rather good. Down's syndrome? I didn't think so, when I watched this, but now that you mention it... perhaps a few characters did look a bit like that, heh. Still, I'm glad that the characters had lots of variation, and didn't all look alike, like in some inferior anime series.

About Kusanagi: Yes, she's smaller than in the previous installments, but I wouldn't go so far as to say "a little girl". Japanese women are naturally smaller than western ones too, so it didn't bother me. Also, as she has a full cyborg body anyway, she may well have had a smaller body before. Throughout the movies and series, large parts of her are often lost and replaced at least.

Whatever the case, little details like that were of no concern to me, since the animation (and pretty much everything else) was top notch, and the main characters still looked like themselves.

All in all, a great addition to GitS legacy.

[–] masuka-fan 10 years ago

I think Kusanagi looks great and the others look fine to me. As for her as a little girl, did you not actually watch the movie, & pay attention to the dialogue?

"Passion is just insanity in a cashmere sweater!"

[–] senseihEnRY 10 years ago

i have no problem with Motoko's new face, body, and hair but i don't really like the new outfit. I'm fine with the more realistic leather bike jacket rather that awful and awkward tube dress and pantie armor thing (seriously if i'm Aramaki, i will yell to The Major to put up a more appropriate outfit) but why the hell using a flashy color like red? It's like the designer want to make her stand out even more from the rest of the Section 9.

[–] userrrrr 10 years ago

yeah what is going on here. sad. i wasn't overly thrilled about stand alone complex but this makes stand alone complex look like a masterpiece.

[–] mickeylbrown 10 years ago

Petty complaints. I like the designs. She doesnt really look younger she just has different hair and smaller boobs. What's the point in a combat cyborg having giant robot boobs?

[–] xsouthparkx 9 years ago

Oh, I thought giant breasts were lethal... Are they not?

[–] Left_back 8 years ago

I, too, am not a huge fan of the redesign. I suppose the new version being an origin-type story retcons a lot of what was portrayed in SAC so it can appeal to a new generation of audience, but to me it widely misses the mark as an anime as well as giving thoughtful insight and appealing to the grown up crowd who want more than just flash bangs and car chases; but I really was disappointed in what they did to the Major's design. All the sexiness was subtracted and given to the character Kurtz (Kurutsu), leaving Motoko as a boyish teenage-looking cyborg. Yes, she was working in 'intelligence' but look and function in the military go hand in hand, the Major is supposed to be whip smart and a full combat cyborg - and although the new design displayed much agility I didn't come away believing in the character abilities and leadership. The new design just doesn't cut it.

Overall I give this a 5, but good intentions didn't reach through to the execution.