“Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045” is an intriguing cyberpunk animated series written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki and produced by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and Joseph Chow. The series is based on the manga created by Masamune Shirow, which was first serialized in Young Magazine, published by Kodansha Ltd. This gripping anime was first released on April 23rd, 2020 as a Netflix Original Series and has a total of 12 episodes. The trailer for the second season has already been released.
‘Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045’ Season 1 – Plotline
The series is based on an international economic crisis faced by the world in the year 2045. Artificial Intelligence leads the frontlines of the war. Human beings are modified with AI parts to make them more efficient. The Japanese government forms a special team to deal with enemy forces that pose a threat to human society. This team is named Section 9 and they were created to face the ever-evolving cyber threats.
Introduction To Section 9 Or The Ghost Team
A team of free-minded individuals is formed by the government of Japan under the command of Public Security Section 9 Chief Daisuke Aramaki. The team was formed to keep cyber threats under check as well as improve relations between Japan and America. The team helps Japan gain the upper hand over America. Section 9, as the team was named, also consisted of AI robots alongside modified humans.
Chief Aramaki: He is the Section Chief of Public Security Section 9. He never engages in any type of combat mainly due to his old age but provides reasonable support diplomatically to different departments in Japanese politics. However, Aramaki is fiercely loyal and protective towards the members of Section 9. He pulls different strings and contacts the higher authority to make sure the team remains safe. When the team went missing, Aramaki contacted the Prime Minister as well as the in-charge of American authority to make sure that no harm was to befall the team. Major updates Aramaki about all the decisions she has to take during or after the mission.
Major Motoko Kusanagi: She is the leader of Section 9, led the team through many adventures when they were mercenaries working for other countries. She is the mastermind behind the missions. Major Kusanagi is the first completely modified human. She is a revered boss who always thinks about her teammates’ safety and she also makes sure the missions she is on are never compromised.
Batou: Second in command in the Section 9 team, he first served in the military before joining the Major and accompanying her as a mercenary. Batou is a cyborg with white prosthetic eyes that makes it easier for him to catch the movements of the enemy. He prefers close combat and delivers the most damage through his combat moves. He is generally a light-hearted character yet he does seem to intimidate other characters with his long stature and stern appearance.
Togusa: According to the anime, Togusa is a detective. He was previously associated with Major and her team as a mercenary before he and his team went their separate ways. During “Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045” Season 1, however, Togusa joins Section 9 and falls in line with the rest of the team. He is the only member who is married and has no cyber modifications. However, all of the members have cyberbrains, Togusa included.
Ishikawa: Another member of Section 9, is mainly in charge of handing out information, monitoring the cameras during the active missions as well as the stakeouts. He is the least cyber-modified, just like Togusa. Ishikawa does not engage in close combat due to him being the least cyberized, though he has been shown to engage in long-range combat. Despite his gruff appearance, Ishikawa is the easiest to talk to.
Saitou: Just like Togusa and Ishikawa, Saitou has a few modified implants. He is the resident sniper for the team during both their mercenary time as well as in Section 9. Saitou is one of the best marksmen, and he handles different automatic rifles with impeccable accuracy. During the missions, Saitou figures out sniping locations with ease. He is a serious character with a lethal aim.
Pazu: He is another team member of Section 9 who joined the major during their mission to find Posthumans. These are humans who no longer have a human conscience and have completely lost their ability to feel any emotion. Pazu, along with Borma, accompanies the Major after the entire team is publicly known as Section 9.
Borma: Borma is the weapons expert on the Section 9 team. He usually provides backup along with Pazu and Ishikawa. Borma also specializes in close combat and accompanies the Major during their quest to find posthumans.
The Thinkbots: The thinkbots, also known as Tachikomas, are the first artificial intelligence bots that can think on their own. They are mainly known for their fun-loving personalities. The thinkbots have the personalities of children due to their hyperactive nature, but they can dodge and strike at an alarming rate.
During their time as mercenaries, the thinkbots, Batou, Ishikawa, Saitou, and the Major teased their new joining standard all the time. But after their mercenary team disbanded, Standard left and the others joined Section 9. Due to all of the members’ having cyberbrains, they have a secret network that they join to discuss confidential missions and information.
The Search For Posthumans And Deal With Americans
Major and her team of mercenaries were in the middle of a sustainable war where they had to fight the rebels. The rebels were provided with weapons as well as transport by an anonymous source. The team was ambushed when they tried to find out more about the anonymous source. The American authorities detained them only to employ them on their seemingly last mission. The Major, being wary of the authorities, told the thinkbots to hide and contact Chief Aramaki or Togusa.
Meanwhile, Chief Aramaki was putting together a plan for a public security team known as Section 9. He invited Togusa to join first and told him to contact the rest of the members. Togusa became wary and set out on a search to find the members. He stumbled upon a Tachikoma while retracing the steps and routes of the team.
Major and the team came across their very first posthuman, Patrick Huge, who was seemingly locked up in a huge mansion with his wife sprawled dead beside the pool. The team injured the posthuman; however, he was not subdued. Patrick got hold of an armored bot and fought with the team, almost injuring them as a result. The major, after finally subduing Patrick, tried to hack into his cyberbrain to gather information. However, she suffered some damage due to his hacking back. When the major was almost losing consciousness, she ordered Saitou to kill Patrick. This is when the American authorities intervened to kill the team off. However, Chief Aramaki got permission from the Prime Minister of Japan to save them and reached out to them with the authorized letter along with Togusa. Meanwhile, the thinkbots were helping Saitou fight off guard dogbots that were set off during the mission before Saitou was ordered to shoot Patrick.
After reaching the Minister’s Headquarters, the team was recruited into the new Section 9 team. The Prime Minister and the team sat together to decide on the payment for their work and also how to deal with the rest of the posthumans. The team had to directly deal with the American authorities, so they settled on 10 times the payment they were to be paid. Togusa got his first task to find out how the Americans were spying on their discussions.
The Role of the Prime Minister and John Smith
Chris Otomo Tate became the first American-born Prime Minister of Japan. Chris married Akito Otomo to establish himself as a Japanese. After he was sworn in he secretly ordered Aramaki to establish Section 9. While doing so, Aramaki found out that the team was missing so he set Togusa out to retrace their paths. Meanwhile, he contacted Chris to get a letter that would assure their lives. Chris immediately sent the letter with Aramaki to the place the team was being detained by John Smith and his officials.
During the search for Post-humans, Chris offered to become the bait after his father-in-law, Sachio Otomo, Chairman of Tokyo Reconstruction Committee, was killed by a boxer turned post-human, Sanji Yaguchi. Sanji had thought Sachio, like the other politicians, was involved in duping the common man and making money through that. Following the death of Sachio, Chris put out false information that he was also related to the Tokyo Reconstruction Committee. He successfully baited and lured Sanji out for the team to subdue him.
John Smith was an agent in charge of the American National Security Agency that was about to handle the Patrick Huge’s case and kill the Section 9 team to hide the case. He heads the team administering the extermination of post-humans. When he is unable to eliminate Major and her group of mercenaries he resorts to striking a deal with the Prime Minister, Chris, on behalf of the American Government. He then becomes an advisor to the Section 9 team and helps them subdue the post-humans. After the team successfully defeated boxer Sanji, John Smith swoops in to supervise the situation and is quick to ferry him back to the American headquarters.
‘Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045’ Season 1: Ending Explained – Disappearance Of Togusa
The team sets out to search for other post-humans like Patrick Huge. According to the intel received from John Smith, there were 14 active post-humans in the world, and three were said to be present in Japan. The team set out to subdue these posthumans. The first one of these modified humans was a boxer, Sanji Yaguchi.
The boxer was easy to subdue due to his going after corrupt individuals in the political system. When the intel released false information to make the prime minister the bait for the boxer, he took it and was immediately detained. The American authorities took charge of the boxer, and the team set out to track down the rest of the Post-humans in Japan. They lost one of the remaining two and set out to catch the last one.
Takashi Shimamura, the last active post-human in Japan, is a 14-year-old boy who was living a seemingly normal life. He became an active posthuman after he was hit in a terrorist attack, which he had assumed to be their savior. After a few days, he developed a program called Thinkpol in his early stages of being converted. This program hosted a survey where users decided if the person was bad or not. After that, the person was singled out and attacked, which led to a brain fry. He developed this program to avenge his classmates who were unjustly blamed and sexually abused by their high school teacher. After fulfilling his motive, however, he left that program and lived a low-key life.
While searching for information and delving deep into the past of Shimamura in their headquarters, Togusa suffered from an infection. This infection was immediately dealt with and Togusa was left with a nostalgic feeling and some of his traumatic memories from the past were also unlocked. These memories almost knocked Togusa out cold, and the doctors locked those memories out again. This led to Togusa and Batou setting out for an investigation where they went to the place Shimamura stayed when he was 9 after he lost his parents.
Togusa connected with Shimamura’s memories, and he experienced the past that Shimamura had kept locked away to escape his past. He witnessed the incident where Shimamura lost the only family member, his sister, who loved him, in a shootout. An airborne trooper had come to save both brothers and sister, but a spare bullet hit her. Shimamura begged the airborne troopers to take him with them so that he could escape the life he was living. Here, Togusa perceived a nostalgic wave, and, breaking the fourth wall, Shimamura extended a hand to Togusa to set out with him. Overwhelmed by the feeling, Togusa accepted and set out to experience an adventure of his own.
It could be speculated that Togusa went ahead to understand Shimamura and also track him down. Togusa had already connected with Shimamura on a personal level. He witnessed and perceived feelings that reminded him of himself. Togusa’s disappearance left Batou puzzled. The tachikomas were connected to Togusa’s cyberbrain and waved him goodbye. ‘Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045’ season 2 might share insight into where Togusa went and if the team can track him down as well.
See More: ‘Ghost In A Shell_2045’ Season 2: Ending, Explained – What Happened To The Major?
“Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045” is a 2020 Animated Television Series created by Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki.
