Released in 1995, Ghost in the Shell propelled audiences into 2029—a future of synthetic bodies and shared consciousness. More than three decades later, in an age of neural networks, generative AI, and digitally mediated selves, that once distant vision feels less prophetic than present.

Ghost in the Shell follows Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg operative leading Public Security Section 9. Tasked with hunting a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master—an entity capable of infiltrating human minds—the Major is drawn into a high-stakes investigation that becomes deeply personal. As she moves through a world where bodies are technologically engineered and consciousness can be rewired, she begins to question the nature of her own ‘ghost’: her identity, humanity, and soul.

Based on the hit manga by Masamune Shirow, Mamoru Oshii’s landmark 1995 anime is a moody cyberpunk noir that blends visceral action with philosophical depth. Profoundly influential—helping to inspire global blockbusters such as The Matrix (1999) and Avatar (2009)—Ghost in the Shell remains a prescient meditation on technology, selfhood, and what it means to be human.

Ticketholders to this screening are welcome to attend a talk between anime archivist and curator Hiroko Myokam and M+ Curator of Moving Image Ulanda Blair at 18:10. Together they will discuss the futuristic worlds of Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, drawing on the original background art by Shuichi Kusamori featured in the M+ special exhibition Myths and Monsters: The Art of Fantasy in Asia. The talk will be held in English. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mamoru Oshii (b. 1951, Japan) is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional novelist and manga artist best known for influential anime such as Angel’s Egg (1985), Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993), Ghost in the Shell, and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004). Working across both animation and live action, his films are marked by philosophical enquiry and a bold, often meditative visual sensibility.