It has been revealed that the official title of the new TV anime series based on Masamune Shirow's popular manga "Ghost in the Shell" will be "Ghost in the Shell". Moko-chan, who served as assistant director of "Dandadan" and has participated in "Scott Pilgrim Takes Off" and "The Heike Story", will be the director. This will be Moko-chan's first time as a director. Akutagawa Prize-winning author Enjo Toh will be in charge of series composition and scriptwriting, while Handa Shuhei will be in charge of character design and chief animation director. The new series will be produced by Science SARU, known for "Inu-oh" and "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!", and it has been announced that it will air in 2026.
The second special trailer, made up of production materials that appear to be original drawings and storyboards, and the second teaser visual, featuring the main character Motoko Kusanagi and the AI-equipped thinking tank Fuchikoma, have also been released.
Masamune Shirow commented, "If we're talking only about anime works, this Ghost in the Shell is the fourth Ghost in the Shell after Oshii's, Kamiyama's, and Kise's versions. It is also the 10th work in the project that separates Ghost in the Shell and Innocence, divides the SAC series into Season 1, Season 2, and SSS, and divides the ARISE series and the New Theatrical Edition and SAC_2045 series into Seasons 1 and 2. Considering that the production staff has changed, perhaps it is possible to see this as the first work of a second generation. I'll ask you to accept that the original manga is old (apologies), but I hope that this will be a good visual work that you can enjoy in some way."
"Ghost in the Shell" is a science fiction manga that began serialization in 1989 in the "Young Magazine Pirate Edition," a supplement to the manga magazine "Young Magazine" (Kodansha). It depicts the offensive unit "Ghost in the Shell," led by Motoko Kusanagi, a full-body prosthetic (cyborg) with outstanding abilities in cyberwarfare and combat, as they confront increasingly sophisticated and complex violent crimes. Three volumes of the comics have been published: "Ghost in the Shell: The Ghost in the Shell," "Ghost in the Shell 2: Manmachine Interface," and "Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor."
In addition to the animated feature films "Ghost in the Shell" and "Innocence" directed by Mamoru Oshii, "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (SAC)", "Ghost in the Shell: Arise" and "Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045" have also been produced. The live-action Hollywood film version starring Scarlett Johansson, which was released in 2017, also became a hot topic.
*Staff (titles omitted)
Director: Moko-chan▽Series composition and scriptwriting: Enjo Toh▽Character design and chief animation director: Handa Shuhei▽Animation production: Science SARU▽Release date: Scheduled to air in 2026
