English Dub Review: The Ghost in the Shell “Brain Drain III + Ghost Coast + Epilogue”
Overview
Motoko Kusanagi loses her prosthetic body when it is gunned down, and she flees the scene with Batou as a disembodied brain. They go to Batou’s safehouse to get her a new body, but she is channeled into by the presumed-destroyed Puppet Master while in lockdown mode.
Our Take
Picking up from the previous episode, we’ve finally reached the season finale. After Motoko’s prosthetic body is destroyed, Batou helps her escape as a disembodied brain while searching for a replacement body, only for the presumed-destroyed Puppet Master to make contact with her. From there, the episode dives headfirst into questions about consciousness, humanity, and what it means to truly be alive. I’d be lying if I said I understood every part of the Puppet Master’s philosophical ramblings, but I liked how its desire to understand humanity mirrors Motoko’s own struggle with what remains of her humanity.
The finale was a bit confusing at first and moved incredibly fast, especially when Motoko is given a life-changing offer from the Puppet Master. Still, I appreciated that it trusted the audience to interpret its ideas rather than spelling everything out. And the decision Motoko makes opens the door to countless possibilities, while Batou once again proves why he’s the MVP by going he extra mile for her in a plethora of ways. I also even had to turn on the subtitles after the credits just to read the text serving as the epilogue, which gives us a small glimpse at what comes next.
Overall, as someone completely new to Ghost in the Shell, I had a great time with this adaptation. I may not have grown up with the previous renditions of the past, but this rendition certainly wasn’t boring. Science SARU did an excellent job creating a visually striking world filled with memorable characters, humor, action, and surprisingly deep philosophical ideas. The pacing could have been better, and the finale definitely left me scratching my head at times, but that didn’t stop me from appreciating how much thought went into it. More importantly, it feels like a genuine introduction to the franchise rather than something made exclusively for longtime fans, and I really hope we get to see where Motoko’s journey goes from here.
