Kenji Kawai, Inner Universe, “Ghost in the Shell”

The Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku Kidotai) is a 1995 animation film based on the manga series of the same name. It was directed by Mamoru Oshii, written by Kazunori Ito and Masamune Shirow who wrote the comic series. It starred Atsuko Tanaka and Iemasa Kayumi.

It was later redone as a live actor movie in 2017 directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, and Juliette Binoche. It was filmed at locations in New Zealand and China.

In this post-cyberpunk iteration of a possible future, computer technology has advanced to the point that many members of the public possess cyberbrains, technology that allows them to interface their biological brain with various networks. The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma. This can also be combined with various levels of prostheses, with a fully prosthetic body enabling a person to become a cyborg.

The main character of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible accident befall her as a child that ultimately required that she use a full-body prosthesis to house her cyberbrain. This high level of cyberization, however, opens the brain up to attacks from highly skilled hackers, with the most dangerous being those who will hack a person to bend to their whims.