An Examination of the Human Soul that Dwells within the Machine as Exemplified by The Ghost in the Shell

Since the 1980s Japanese anime ? a.k.a. Japanimation ? for TV and movies has rapidly been a movement growing worldwide with widespread, significant, and diverse effects. Among other anime filmmakers, Hayao Miyazaki (b. 1941) and Mamoru Oshii (b. 1951) have internationally been considered the most prominent and ingenious. While Miyazaki chooses to focus on either foreign or domestic mythological themes, Oshii prefers to explore the theme of futuristic cyborgization. Oshii’s 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell adapted from Shirow Masamune’s manga gained critical acclaim in the global arena and still remains popular with international anime viewers. My research will focus on the significance of humanness in a cybernetworked society of the future. It is worth considering how full cyborgization of the human body and even mind will turn out. What does the ghost in the machine, or the ghost in the shell, suggest