Ghost In The Shell Genga Collection Art Book Review

The Ghost In The Shell Genga art book is a sumptuous collection of key animation drawings from Mamoru Oshii’s groundbreaking anime, with 1082 pieces of genga art work spread across 288 pages. The publication of this book is part of the 25th anniversary celebration for manga artist Masamune Shirow’s original Ghost In The Shell comic.

( above & below ) The intense assassination scene before the opening sequence, which introduces the viewer to the main protagonist of the film, Major Motoko Kusanagi. The reproductions of the genga pieces are huge, crisp and clean, which really allow you to see just how high quality and detailed each drawing is, and my reverence for the animators grow ever more.

( above & below ) The Major takes down a Puppermaster ghost hacked pawn with a 4 hit combo, finishing with a powerful round house kick. Director Mamoru Oshii sketched a nifty drawing using Lau Chan ( a character from the Virtua Fighter arcade game series that uses this attack ) as a guide for the animators working on this sequence, documented on page 272 and also found in The Analysis of Ghost In The Shell art book.

(above) Beginning scenes from the “Nightstalker” sequence, which give viewers a brief moment of quiet introspection and foreboding before the Major’s final confrontation with the Puppetmaster. The sequence is especially memorable and impactful also because of Kenji Kawai’s amazing score. ( watch sequence below )

(below) The final section of the book contains genga pieces that have been vetted by Mamoru and annotated with his handwritten notes. The notes are reproduced here in in type, with bigger print size for better readability.

A huge treasure trove of beautiful genga pieces from a true anime masterpiece.  My highest recommendations.

Folks who are searching for more Ghost In The Shell art should definitely check out the excellent Analysis Of Ghost In The Shell book and Ogura Hiromasa’s “Light And Darkness” art book (background art).

Ghost In The Shell Archives – Genga Collection Art Book details :

- Dimensions – 29.6 x 21 x 2.2 cm
- Softcover, 288 pages
- Black & White, in Japanese language

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