A mysterious countdown was posted on the official SNS account of Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. On February 1st of last year, which is said to be the date of the Laughing Man incident depicted in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (SAC), a project was launched in which multiple Laughing Man incidents occurred simultaneously, which became a hot topic, and this year the Laughing Man has made a comeback. The Laughing Man mark appears occasionally in the posted video, and at the end a mysterious countdown begins.
The "Laughing Man Incident" was a corporate terrorism incident that began with the kidnapping of Ernest Serano, the president of Serano Genomics, in which micromachine manufacturers, medical equipment manufacturers and others were threatened. It is said to be the largest number of companies threatened since the end of the war. The perpetrator and motive of the incident have not been identified, with many theories including that it was an extremist group opposed to cyberization and prosthetics, a corporate conspiracy, or simple blackmail for financial gain. Not even the nationality, gender, or age of the perpetrator, let alone whether it was a single perpetrator or multiple perpetrators, have been identified. All that is known is that the "Laughing Man" is a special A-class hacker.
"Ghost in the Shell" is a popular work that originated from the original comic in 1989 and has been adapted into many films. In addition to the animated feature films "Ghost in the Shell" and "Innocence" directed by Mamoru Oshii, the "Ghost in the Shell SAC" series and "Ghost in the Shell ARISE" series have also been produced. It has also been announced that a new TV series by Science SARU will be produced and broadcast in 2026.
