Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, Shinji Aramaki, and Michihito Fuji, “Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045 Sustainable War,” the anime film, is the entire season 1 of the “Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045” series reimagined and turned into a full-length movie. Season 1 of the series was released on the 23rd of April, 2020, as a Netflix Original Series, and the following season 2 is set to be released on the 23rd of May, 2022. Viewers who have already watched the entire 12 episodes of season 1 will have no problem understanding the events that occur in the movie. Most of the events occur simultaneously, setting a faster pace for the plot to catch up with. However, certain events have been either placed before or after a certain standpoint to emphasize the changing plotlines. The 3D rendered animation is set quite professionally, and the stiffness that was prolonged in season 1 grows on and sets the movie and the series apart from the other versions of the franchise. Although the 2D renditions provided a more detailed account of justice, the 3D renditions represented the world and the plot far better than the live-action.
According to the plot, a team called Ghost has free-ranging mercenaries headed by their leader, Motoko Kusanagi. They are involved in maintaining peace and preventing civil wars. However, on a mission to prevent a war from breaking out, they get captured by the American secret force and sent on a death mission. They enter this mission without knowing any details about it and get saved by Chief Aramaki. He, as their superior, with the help of the Prime Minister, overruled John Smith, American Secret Force Official’s decision to kill his precious cadets and instead activated Section 9.
Section 9 has been set up to catch post-humans before they wreak havoc amongst society. They also have to make sure that the relations between Japan and America don’t sour any further while hunting down these post-humans. During one of their missions, where they attempt to track down a certain post-human named Takashi Shimamura, Togusa goes missing. The team starts searching for Togusa, but they face different obstacles while simultaneously saving their Prime Minister from a post-human attack.
The ending of ‘Ghost In The Shell: Sac_2045 Sustainable War’ sets it apart from that of the series. Of course, in the series, the attack by the post-human on the Prime Minister occurred before Togusa and Batou set out to track down Shimamura while tracing his steps to a village. The Prime Minister acted as bait to lure out a post-human who was a boxer before. He seemed to be targeting corrupt officials who were in charge of a developing project. He had already killed two officials, one of whom was the father-in-law of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister successfully lured him out, and the boxer was captured by the team, only for the American Secret Service to swoop in and take him into custody for more research.
But, in the movie, this little clip that is placed after Togusa disappears while searching for Shimamura creates a greater impact and also sets the baseline of how important both the cases are. Togusa and Batou had previously left to search for Shimamura. Togusa initially connected with Shimamura’s forgotten memories and instead dredged up distant core memories that had led him to pass out. This is why he connected with Shimamura on a deeper level and could follow him when Shimamura offered Togusa a hand to delve further. Togusa disappeared right before Batou’s eyes, and the entire team sifted through every possible source to determine his location.
While searching for their teammate, they have to prioritize the high-profile cases more. Though, during their search, Togusa called them up from a payphone. He chose to do so so as to not disclose his location. He was very vague and had a lone tear escaping his eye. This can very well be an inkling of what is to happen next or if Togusa is already suffering through something. ‘Ghost In The Shell Sac_2045 Sustainable War’ ends with the scenery of a moving train and a setting sun. The sky is lit up with the reddish hues of the setting sun. In the series, however, they ended it vaguely with Togusa simply setting off for the horizon.
The ‘Ghost In The Shell Sac_2045 Sustainable War’ end credit scene depicts a montage of events that provides a glimpse of the second season. The season will premiere pretty soon, this month. It shows that Togusa might be locked up in his memories and that the team will face some dangers they have yet to deal with. Their information technician, Purin, seems to be facing difficulties while looking through the information. A scene in the montage shows her being hacked, and she freezes to confront the hacker, only to face a short circuit, forcing her to disconnect. On the other hand, Major seems to run into a post-human unable to reel her in. Shimamura, meanwhile, is in the middle of something even bigger.
The second season might just answer all of our questions as to what on earth are the post-humans up to and why are they being created? These are some of the questions running rampant in the minds of almost all of the viewers. Were the post-humans created for a purpose? Because if they are not being created, how do they exist? The montage has just increased the number of questions and left us all curious about the next season. The only way left is to sit tight and wait till the next season is finally released!
See More: ‘Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045’ Season 1: Ending & Characters, Explained
“Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045 Sustainable War” is a 2022 Animated Science Fiction film directed by Michihito Fujii.
