I love the Ghost in the Shell franchise and I just finished rewatching GitS: Arise. It's an underrated series, and I enjoyed rewatching it. But the overarching plot is so dense, I decided to write up some notes for myself for when I rewatch it in the future.
So spoilers a head, if you want to watch it yourself.
Honestly, I don't mind spoilers. Its easier to appreciate what's going on when you already know where things are going.
Anyway there are three plots going on in GitS Arise
The formation of the Major's Squad, which is unimportant for this post.
The refugee crisis / water crisis, after WW4, there are refugees what wish for "Qardistan" to be free, as well as a shortage of pure water.
The rapid advancement of Cyberization. The war accelerated the pace of Cyberization, and some people that have been turned into Cyborgs are being left behind by the rapid advancement of tech.
The FireStarter virus. I don't think we ever get an official answer as to who developed the virus, but Chrissy from the movie might be the best candidate.
Lt Colonel Mamuro, he was The Major's handler at the 501 before he was murdered in Border 01. The government killed him for finding out they were selling weapons to foreign terrorists. He was replaced by Kurutsu.
Kurutsu the New Leader of the 501. The movie implies that she and Motoko grew up in the same institute for Cyborg kids. She does a lot of shady stuff the series, and she's the impostor Motoko from the movie. My big question is ... how is Chrissy involved? How long was Chrissy puppeteer Kurutsu? Since border 1, or since Kurutsu was a kid?
"Chrissy" the girl at the institute for Cyborg kids. She has a cyberbrain, but can't be transferred to a cyborg body, she claims to be behind everything. Did she create the Fire Starter virus? I don't know.
Colonel Soga from the Rangers. The antagonist from Border 2, he has false memories from the FireStarter virus. He's trying to open Pandora's box and expose government secrets because they want to pin a massacre on him. The truth is he did turn his guns on people, but they were a cell of resistance fighters, not unarmed civilians.
"VV" appears to be an american agent during Border 2, but it is actually an AI posing as a human, it wants to open up Pandora's box to find out what created it. I think.
Akira is the Major's bofriend. Dr. Thied is a CEO of a Water Corporation. They're both secretly supporting Qardian independence in Border 3 by smuggling bombs to the resistance fighters in the shape of prostetic parts (legs mainly). Hozumi also appears with them in Border 03
The Major kills Thied at the beginning of Border 04.
Hozomi from Border 04, she owes a lot of money to some cartels and gets blown up at the end of Border 04. I think she wants Emma because she might be the origin of the FireStarter virus. Her head ended up with Kurutsu at the end of "Border 05" I think
"Emma" is two people Tin Girl and Scarecrow. They work for Kurutsu and they die in Border 04.
This guy gets killed at the end of the Movie by the Major. There are a few other politicians I need to get a screenshot of.
Harimadara Heavy Industries is another name that comes up a lot. They're a weapons developer into some shady business. They have a contract with the water company in Border 4, and they end up owning the 501 during the movie.
I don't think we ever get an official answer to who created the Fire Starter virus. Chrissy is the biggest contender, but they never seem to confirm or deny it. One post on reddit seems to think it might have been created by a sentient AI in the net.
Other candidates are Emma, Hozumi, or Kurutsu.
If none of them are the originators, then we have a bunch of copycats without an original. Could this be another Stand Alone Complex?
The plot of the movie is about the advancement of Cyborg bodies and how some Cyborgs are being left behind as their parts become outdated and incompatible. Chrissy and a few other people talk about a Third World where people can exist as data on the net.
At the beginning of the movie, Kurutsu is trying to SLOW DOWN the advancement of technology to allow old cyborgs more time. The Alternative is to keep advancing but create new standards that will be easier to future proof, but this certainly means leaving old cyborgs behind.
The idea of a third world would be a threat to the powers that be because if people can exists as Data on the Net, then what would be the use for cyborg parts or even governments for that matter. Supposedly, the Major's parents were killed for believing in the Third World. (This is mentioned in the movie)
Well, future me, I hope this helps us understand Arise on the next rewatch.
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