Announced
July 22nd, 2002 in
Japan,
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (GITS:SAC hereafter) is a new television
serial adaptation of the original
manga Ghost in the Shell by
Shirow Masamune. While there already exists a very well-received film adaptation entitled simply
Ghost in the Shell, the
anime community is eager to see what can be done with the much extended time (air and production) available to a
television series - the original
manga was chopped and shortened fairly radically in order to allow its presentation in a high-quality film format. Due to its success and the lessening cost of high-grade computer animation, the
television series should offer visuals of at least comparable quality, as well as much more information, storyline and
character development from the
manga that has heretofore not seen a
screen adaptation.
GITS:SAC is being produced by the firm Production I.G., a well-known Japanese visual production company. There is a website for the series, with imagery, commentary and more information (albeit still a little thin on the info side) available at:
http://www.production-ig.com/Ghost_TV.html
...I, personally, cannot wait to see this, and have already begun wondering how long it will be before I am able to purchase the DVD.