Maaya Sakamoto Almost Couldn't Say Yes
The comments were published July 9 by Anime Hack, the anime news arm of Japanese film site Eiga.com, two days after the series hit Japanese TV. Sakamoto's is the centerpiece. She has voiced Motoko Kusanagi since the Ghost in the Shell: Arise series, yet she admits that when the offer came to play the Major in this new adaptation, she couldn't bring herself to accept it right away.
The reason is Atsuko Tanaka, the actor who nurtured and loved the role of Motoko over many years. Sakamoto says she worked with Tanaka often from childhood and respected her deeply as both a person and a performer. What changed her mind was meeting the director and producers and hearing that the series is being made by a generation of creators who grew up influenced by Ghost in the Shell and wanted to take it on with respect. “Facing this work became an important time for me, one where I could sit with my gratitude toward Atsuko, and with how much I miss her,” she says.
Sakamoto also drops a production note: recording on all episodes is already complete. She has a distinct read on this version of the character, too. This Motoko is expressive and energetic, with plenty of comical scenes. Sakamoto says she had never seen the character like this in anime before, and that the role was all the harder to play for it. Behind that lightness, she says, she kept asking herself what drives a Motoko who quietly carries a sense of something missing.
The Rest of Section 9 Checks In
Kazuhiro Yamaji, who plays Section 9 chief Daisuke Aramaki, shares that the first theatrical anime he ever worked on was Mamoru Oshii's 1995 Ghost in the Shell film. He remembers recording alongside Tanaka and Iemasa Kayumi, both of whom have since passed away, and says that although he couldn't record together with Sakamoto this time, being wrapped in her calm, pre-recorded voice brought him an indescribable happiness.
Hiroki Yasumoto, who voices the unit's number two Batou, calls himself a lifelong fan of the franchise and jokes that he kept a visit to the Ghost in the Shell exhibition to himself, afraid that mentioning it would read as a casting hint. Yūichi Nakamura (Satoru Gojō in Jujutsu Kaisen) plays Togusa and says he wants to call the character “Togusa-kun” this time. As Nakamura describes him, Togusa is a former detective with real experience but some naivete about Section 9's work, more openly emotional than the image fans may have, and written to serve as the audience's eyes into the story.
Tomoko Kaneda voices the Fuchikoma, the series' AI-equipped think tanks, and confirms she plays every single unit, a rarity for her since her voice is instantly recognizable. Kōsuke Gotō (後藤光祐) plays Ishikawa, the veteran member skilled in cyberbrain operations; Tōru Nara voices the eyepatch-wearing squad member Saitō; Marie Ōi (大井麻利衣) plays the Operator, a female-type robot handling information control; and Chafurin rounds out the roster as the Interior Minister.
PV 6, the Puppet Master, and a Kojima Productions End Card
The series adapts Shirow Masamune's 1989 cyberpunk manga, serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine Zokan Kaizokuban, about a full-cyborg Major and Public Security Section 9 fighting increasingly tangled cybercrime in a world where human brains connect directly to networks. Science SARU (Dandadan, The Heike Story) handles production, with animator Moko-chan making his directorial debut and novelist Toh EnJoe on series composition.
The sixth promotional video runs on King Gnu's opening theme “GO GHOST” and features Motoko and her squad laying out Section 9's founding and operating philosophy, with each main character's voice on display. The fourth key visual is a new illustration by character designer and chief animation director Shuhei Handa, gathering Section 9 alongside the Puppet Master, the unidentified hacker who holds the key to the story, plus several characters who appear set to show up as the season goes on.
There's also a treat for Kojima fans. Episode 1, “PROLOGUE + SUPER SPARTAN i,” received an end card illustrated by Yoji Shinkawa of Kojima Productions, game creator Hideo Kojima's studio, where he leads art direction on titles including the Death Stranding series. A separate episode visual expressing the premiere's theme was released as well, and new episode visuals will follow every week as episodes air.
Looking Ahead
The Ghost in the Shell airs Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m. JST on Kansai TV and Fuji TV's new “Ka-Anival!!” anime block, and streams on Amazon Prime Video, which carries the series worldwide outside a handful of territories. On the music side, Millennium Parade handles the ending theme “BLUE,” featuring Saya Gray and Daniel Caesar, opposite King Gnu's opener. With recording already wrapped, according to Sakamoto, the next beats to watch are the weekly episode visuals and whoever that crowd of unfamiliar faces around the Puppet Master in Handa's key visual turns out to be.