History Manga / GhostInTheShell

* FailedFutureForecast: The Soviet Union plays a minor role in the story as one of Aramaki's contacts come from there. But, the series takes place around 2030.

* DarkSkinnedBlond: Motoko uses a cyborg body with this appearance in the early part of the second volume.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Motoko's not nearly as stoic here as in the anime adaptations. She starts off as a total ass who doesn't care about saving your butt unless it's specifically her job to do so. She's selfish, lazy, catty, high-tempered, and sometimes even mischievous. As the volumes shift from dark comedy to a more serious plot though, the Major's characterization gradually loses the upbeat nature and becomes colder and pensive, much like later adaptations characterizes her.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Motoko's not nearly as stoic here as in the anime adaptations. She starts off as a total bitch who doesn't care about saving your ass unless it's specifically her job to do so. She's greedy, bitchy, catty, selfish, angry, sometimes even mischievous and playful. As the volumes shift from dark comedy to a more serious plot though, the Major's characterization loses the upbeat nature and becomes colder and pensive, much like later adaptations characterizes her.

** The tank driver in the wheelchair from the same anime is shown on the page before.

* BiTheWay: Motoko enjoys creating illegal pornographic software with her roommates, but also has a boyfriend named Sugi, who works in Section 1.

* RecursiveCanon: * The Puma Sisters from ''Anime/DominionTankPolice'' appear working on a stall. A few pages later we see an in-universe advertisement for the ''Dominion Tank Police'' Manga.

* ShoutOut:
** The Puppet Master plans to merge his mind with Motoko's and become the progenitor of a new species who would have godlike powers over cyberspace. This is reminiscent of Wintermute's plan to merge with ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}''.
** In the seventh chapter, we see the tank pilot in the wheelchair from Anime/DominionTankPolice driving by.

* ShoutOut: The Puppet Master plans to merge his mind with Motoko's and become the progenitor of a new species who would have godlike powers over cyberspace. This is reminiscent of Wintermute's plan to merge with ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}''.

* StateSec: Rare heroic example, as the protagonists are part of Public Security Section Nine. They operate with great autonomy, are only ever seen reporting to the Prime Minister or the Minster of Home Affairs, regularly violate laws which would bind other governmental organizations, and thanks to virtually no oversight, [[spoiler: almost]] never get caught doing so. While Section Nine itself is only a small elite team of mostly ex-military operatives with a small support staff and a lot of cutting-edge equipment, they are still only one of at least eight other Public Security Sections, each with a different structure and area of responsibility. What little is known about the other Sections places them more within government control. Section 1 covers internal investigations within Japan, similar to the FBI. Section 4 is a group of Rangers, like the Navy Seals. Section 6 works like the CIA. Other sections fill in roles similar to the Drug Enforcement Agency and medical investigations.
** Played with: the [[EliteMooks Umibozu]] in ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex Stand Alone Complex]]'' do qualify as a fully equipped State Sec army, complete with PoweredArmor, [[GunshipRescue gunships]], and an [[CoolBoat amphibious assault carrier]], operate outside the military's chain of command, and do not officially exist.

* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Section 9 is named after real-life German counter-terrorism unit GSG9 (Border Guard, Unit 9).

* TechnicalPacifist: Aramaki is too old to do any fighting. He's always been the political leader of Section 9 who takes care of the paperwork, and doesn't have a violent bone in his body. However, when he learns that Section 1 was trying to hunt down and kill Motoko as part of a gambit they got caught up in, he pulls out a gun and cocks it right in the face of Section 1's leader without a second thought, ordering him to call off his men.

* LonelyBachelorPad: In ''Rise'', young Motoko Kusanagi's apartment is pretty sparse - consisting of a four walls, a bed, a bathroom, and a chair. This is in stark contrast to the apartment she shares with her boyfriend in the original manga, which is more decorated - at least until it's blown up.

* AndThenWhat: Asked by one of the Fuchikomas when another suggests [[AIIsACrapshoot that they revolt]], followed by it realizing that all the things it wanted, like getting its oil changed by humans, was already happening.

[[Film/GhostInTheShell2017 A live-action film]], which used to be in DevelopmentHell, is at works which will be produced by Creator/DreamWorks. Creator/ScarlettJohansson will take the lead role and it will be directed by Rupert Sanders (''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'').

* AlternateContinuity[=/=]{{Revision}}: When Shirow Masamune first set out to write a sequel to ''Ghost in the Shell'', he published what would become ''Human Error Processor'' in a magazine. When it was time to give it a stand-alone, paperback release, he'd realized that he had a much greater story to write, and released ''[=Man/Machine Interface=]'', without saying a word of what he'd done. (Shirow is notoriously secretive.) The fan-reaction was... Less than stellar, and eventually ''Human Error Processor'' was released as ''[=GITS 1.5=]''. While the two sequels can be taken as a continuous continuity from ''Ghost in the Shell'', there are some finer details that don't quite match up.

* AlternateContinuity[=/=]{{Revision}}: When Shirow Masamune first set out to write a sequel to ''Ghost in the Shell'', he published what would become ''Human Error Processor'' in a magazine. When it was time to give it a stand-alone, paperback release, he'd realized that he had a much greater story to write, and released ''[=Man/Machine Interface=]'', without saying a word of what he'd done. (Shirow is notoriously secretive.) The fan-reaction was..less than stellar, and eventually ''Human Error Processor'' was released as ''[=GITS 1.5=]''. While the two sequels can be taken as a continuous continuity from ''Ghost in the Shell'', there are some finer details that don't quite match up.

* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Years after the first volume was published Shirow admitted that the only reason he drew an all girl orgy was because he "didn't want to draw some guy's butt."

''Ghost in the Shell'' (攻殻機動隊 ''Kōkaku Kidōtai'', literally "Mobile Armored Riot Police") is a manga series written and illustrated by Creator/MasamuneShirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989, told the story of the counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9, a cyborg SWAT team led by protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi, in PostCyberpunk Japan. It would go on to become a [[Franchise/GhostInTheShell franchise]], being followed by two more manga series, ''[=GitS=]: Human Error Processor'' and ''[=GITS=]: [=Man/Machine=] Interface'', and later being adapted into two [[Anime/GhostInTheShell animated films]], an [[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex anime]] and an OVA series. The films, ''Stand Alone Complex'' and ''Arise'' are in different continuities.

A live-action film, which used to be in DevelopmentHell, is at works which will be produced by Creator/DreamWorks. Creator/ScarlettJohansson will take the lead role and it will be directed by Rupert Sanders (''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'').

A live-action film, which used to be in DevelopmentHell, is at works which will be produced by DreamWorks. Creator/ScarlettJohansson will take the lead role and it will be directed by Rupert Sanders (''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'').

* {{Bowdlerization}}: The original flipped printing of the English localization of volume one replace the virtual orgy shot with one of Motoko and friends frolicking on a yacht (though they keep Masamune's author notes about the original page). The later unflipped version has these pages intact.

* {{Bowdlerization}}: Later reprintings of the English localization of volume one replace the virtual orgy shot with one of Motoko and friends frolicking on a yacht (though they keep Masamune's author notes about the original page).

Clearly the project is in amazing hands.