The Ghost in Shirow's Shell The true beauty of Mamoru Oshii's adaptation of Shirow's Ghost in the Shell lies in its attention to detail and the sheer cohesion of those details that collectively they form complex ideas and conspiracy. In almost every detail and every element of the plot there is a connection to the key themes of the anime. Some of the main themes concern the commodification of flesh and the body; the separation between one's spirit and one's body; and the idea that a static environment or organism is a weak stronghold. Here I will choose to focus on how the film explains these themes through detail, rather than spending time extrapolating or explaining the themes in detail on its own. The first key scene to examine is the interlude midway through the film where Motoko wanders around the city as music plays, inducing an almost transcendental atmosphere. Almost every one of these shots shows the impersonality of the city, or some object that seems to affirm the separation between an individual and that individual's body, how one does not equal or determine the other. For example, Motoko sees several women - eating and walking - with the same face as her, and the viewer immediately begins to wonder what else is similar. The concept that the body in no way determines personality seems ridiculous to us, since our bodies have value and should never be bought, sold or, even worse, replaced. In the crowded and impersonal city (This impersonality was another important point, since precisely that lack of knowledge of those around leads to a sort of commodification of strangers, which is similar to the same commodification of the body), among the thousands or millions of people she co... halfway through the paper... when Motoko prepares to get into the van while she and Togusa chase the garbage truck. They talk about why he was hired, and his explanation is, "If you specialize too much, you breed yourself into weakness. It's a slow death." In fact, plot-wise, the only reason Project 2501 chooses to merge with Motoko is that it doesn't wish to be weaker by remaining static. All of these details are simply brief examples of the variety and enormity of thought put into this animated film. Its visuals contribute to the themes as much as the plot and dialogue, and neither can be completely separated. The endless foreshadowing brings about a certain intertwined quality to the plot that makes this story and concept surprisingly complex, yet unified. Overall, Ghost in the Shell did a great job of portraying its themes as every minute of the film had something new to show and they all tied into the total narrative..