Ghost in the Shell 2026 – First Chapter “Super Spartan” – Review
The first chapter of the new version of Ghost in the Shell takes us back to the classic, but in a way that is much closer to the original manga.
Original version in spanish.
Yesterday, the first episode of the new Ghost in the Shell series premiered. This time around, we have a version that's closer to the original manga, which also means a more complex story…
In this first episode, we learn about the formation of Section 9, their encounter with Chief Aramaki, and the group's first major mission.
The Story
This first episode doesn't even reach 20 minutes, yet they manage to cram a ton of story into that short time.
Chief Aramaki is about to catch a foreign diplomat bribing the Vice Minister of Trade and the Syndicate Leader when the diplomat invokes his "diplomatic immunity" and even tries to take the Vice Minister out of the country to avoid being implicated. But out of nowhere, an "invisible shadow" assassinates the diplomat and disappears through the window after briefly appearing to Aramaki, who suspiciously lets it go…
Did Aramaki know who Motoko was before this encounter? If we go by previous versions, it's almost a certainty, but in this new version? I couldn't say for sure.
Later, in a series of very quick scenes, the Minister of Internal Affairs arranges a meeting between Motoko and Aramaki, where he announces the possible creation of a "Special Section," just as they both wanted. However, at this point, it's still not certain.
Later, the proto-section receives its first mission: to discover what's happening at a mysterious orphanage where the orphans are being guarded by a court of high-level cyborg soldiers. What initially seems like a stupid and unimportant mission becomes complicated when one of the cyborgs turns out to be equipped with a high-level hacker interface, allowing him to connect to the team's cybernetic brains despite the many layers of cybersecurity that an elite unit like this possesses.
However, the enemy cyborg underestimates the Major, who seizes the opportunity to knock his legs out from under him and leave him lying in the middle of a stream. The man, of course, surrenders and hands over all his equipment. The story ends with the elderly Prime Minister congratulating both Aramaki and Kusanagi, but he remains unconvinced of the Section 9 project's viability. The story has only just begun.
Style and Animation
There were a couple of scenes at the beginning that were quite static and worried me. I thought we were looking at a new version of the later seasons of One Punch Man. But it gets better after that. Obviously, it's not the level of animation from the '90s anymore. But it's not like we're dealing with underpaid rookies either.
This is Science Saru, and they know exactly what they're doing.
The style is perhaps the most controversial element of this new version. Clearly, it's much more cartoonish and less stylized and serious than what we're used to.
But in this effort to create a work more in line with the original manga, this is the best option, since that was indeed the style of the original work in many instances.
In any case, in my opinion, this style is far superior to the almost "Nendoroid" style we saw in one of the adaptations a few years back (I couldn't stand it).
Does it fulfill its purpose?
It's still early to say, Ghost in the Shell is characterized by being a complex story and we cannot judge just from a first episode. But without a doubt, in this premiere they were not leading us by the hand. We were able to appreciate several quite complicated details of the politics and bureaucracy of this world. I also really liked the presentation and the importance given to the virtual world and the capacity of hackers, etc.
I think we started very well, and this version promises for the future.