Episode 5, "PHANTOM FUND," of the new TV anime series "Ghost in the Shell," based on Masamune Shirow's popular manga "Ghost in the Shell," aired on August 4th in the Tuesday 11 PM anime slot "Ka-Ani-Bal!!" on Kansai TV and Fuji TV. Episode 5 featured Aya Hisakawa as Anna Puna and Nina Kumagai as Uni Puma, and the end card was drawn by Mahiro Maeda.
Ms. Hisakawa commented, "Ghost in the Shell? I think I played a really mature woman in a Shibuya studio a long time ago... (←That was a character from a different story (laughs)). Dominion? A character who speaks in Kansai dialect? Anna? Ah, now that I think about it, I might have acted in it with Nina Kumagai even earlier, and for some reason I even sang a character song... It was definitely a song in Kansai dialect. That's right, that's right, and little by little, my memories came back to me. And then I had a long-awaited reunion with Nina Kumagai at the studio. It was so nostalgic and I was so happy, and since the voice recording itself was only one scene, it was finished in about 20 minutes, and after that, Nina and I ended up chatting for ages outside the studio (laughs). It was a happy moment remembering the exchange of lines between Anna and Uni at that time, thank you very much ☆"
Kumagai said, "No way!? In Ghost in the Shell!? And in Unipuma!? When I got the offer to appear in it, I was just so surprised. What do you think was the first thing I did? The answer is I looked for the Dominion soundtrack CD and listened to 'You have to work hard, you have to do your best' and got myself hyped up (laughs). Then on the day of the voice recording, I got even more excited to be reunited with Anna! We had a great time talking about dogs (laughs) (both Aya and I are huge dog lovers). Then the test, the real thing! Yessss!! It's only a brief scene, so don't miss it! I'm so happy that my precious alter ego, Unipuma, will be loved across time! That's only possible because it's a work by Masamune Shirow of Ghost in the Shell! Thank you everyone! Have a great time!"
The new series will be directed by Moko-chan, who has worked on projects such as "Dandadan," "Scott Pilgrim Takes Off," and "The Heike Story." This will be Moko-chan's first time directing. Akutagawa Prize-winning author Toh Enjo will be in charge of series composition and scriptwriting, and Science SARU will be producing it. Motoko Kusanagi will be voicing Maaya Sakamoto, among others.
"Ghost in the Shell" is a science fiction manga that began serialization in 1989 in "Young Magazine Pirate Edition," a special issue of the manga magazine "Young Magazine" (Kodansha). It depicts a unit led by Motoko Kusanagi with superior abilities in cyber warfare and hand-to-hand combat, as they confront increasingly complex and heinous crimes.
