The Original Batou Ends Up on the Other Side of the Case
Akio Otsuka has been Batou's Japanese voice for three decades, from Mamoru Oshii's 1995 theatrical film through both Stand Alone Complex series and Netflix's SAC_2045. Game fans also know him as Solid Snake in the Metal Gear series. In the new show, however, Batou is voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto, so Otsuka comes back to the franchise as somebody new: Colonel Mares, a character introduced in episode 3, "JUNK JUNGLE ii + MEGATECH MACHINE i + ii."
The production announced the casting only after the episode finished airing, and according to Japanese anime news site Anime Anime, the surprise landed perfectly. Viewers on X wrote that they yelped at his first line, that one word was enough to recognize him, and that the show suddenly having "two Batous" was thrilling. One fan said watching a character voiced by the original Batou end up on the receiving end of a Batou pursuit was enjoyable in more ways than one.
The episode 3 announcement on the official global site adds one story detail: the Puppet Master, the unidentified hacker at the center of the series, surfaces at Colonel Mares's location. The production also released the episode's end card illustration alongside the casting news.
"I Love Ghost in the Shell From the Bottom of My Heart"
Otsuka sent a comment with the announcement, and it reads less like a press blurb and more like a fan letter. He said the series was built on the concept of keeping the flavor of the original manga intact, and that he believes longtime readers of Shirow Masamune's manga will be happy with the result. "I love Ghost in the Shell from the bottom of my heart," he said, adding that the world Shirow put to paper has now begun to intersect with reality.
He also pointed back to the source itself, calling Shirow's manga the foundation that Mamoru Oshii's and Kenji Kamiyama's anime grew out of, and closed by inviting everyone to enjoy the series together.
A Manga-First Adaptation From Science SARU
Shirow Masamune's cyberpunk manga began serialization in 1989 in Kodansha's Young Magazine Kaizokuban. It follows Major Motoko Kusanagi, a full-body cyborg who leads the offensive public-security unit of the title against increasingly sophisticated high-tech crime. The franchise has since expanded into Oshii's 1995 film, multiple TV anime, and a Hollywood live-action movie.
The new TV series premiered on July 7, 2026, with animation production by Science SARU (Dandadan, Devilman Crybaby). Moko-chan (モコちゃん) directs, Toh EnJoe handles series composition and scripts, and Shuhei Handa serves as character designer and chief animation director. Taisei Iwasaki leads the music team alongside Ryo Konishi and Yuki Kanesaka, with King Gnu performing the opening theme "GO GHOST" and Millennium Parade the ending theme "Blue."
The regular cast is led by Maaya Sakamoto as Motoko Kusanagi, with Kazuhiro Yamaji as Section 9 chief Daisuke Aramaki, Yuichi Nakamura as Togusa, and Tomoko Kaneda as the Fuchikoma.
Looking Ahead
New episodes air Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m. on the Kansai TV and Fuji TV national network in Japan, where Prime Video streams each episode first at 11:30 p.m. the same night and other domestic services follow the next day. International fans are covered too: Prime Video carries the series worldwide outside of a handful of markets, including China and Russia, so episode 3 and the Colonel Mares reveal are already available to stream. The source doesn't say whether Mares will appear again beyond this episode. For now, the show has pulled off the rare trick of casting its most familiar voice in an unfamiliar place.