| Submissions for the Honorary
Oakley were a little quiet for this month,
but one name was mentioned more than once
and that was Major Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost
in the Shell). The 'Major' as she's known
is what could be termed a kick ass female
character, but there's more to the Major
than meets the eye. Along with this she's
now a video games character which is just
another reason to make her Thumb Bandits
Honorary Oakley for the month of September
2004.
Let's take a closer look at the woman
herself.....
Motoko Kusanagi - A quick bio:
Name: Motoko Kusanagi
Birthdate: Unknown
Gender: Female
Works: Section 9
Race: Human Cyborg
Motoko Kusanagi is a human cyborg special
operative with Section 9 of the Japanese
Government (security police - Ministry
of Home Affairs). She is the main character
in the anime film 'Ghost in the Shell'
and the manga of the same title. Major
Motoko Kusanagi is transformed with
cybernetic augmentation which makes
her faster, stronger and more intelligent
than she appears. She also possesses
thermoptic camouflage which renders
her relatively invisible (handy in her
line of work obviously).
 |
Major Kusanagi also has depth
of thought. For those that love
this about anime in general the
Major doesn't disappoint. Given
the large amount of cybernetic augmentation
Major Motoko has undergone she can
be seen to philosophise over the
human condition wondering whether
she is still 'human' given her extensive
cybernetic modifications.
The name 'Ghost in the Shell' refers
to Major Motoko Kusanagi's self
doubt as to whether, with all of
the modifications she still retains
a soul, a 'ghost' in the shell of
what she has become. |
| The Video Game Connection:
Bandai America have announced 'Ghost
in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'
for the PlayStation 2. Hot on the
heels of the hotly anticipated movie
release, Ghost in the Shell: Stand
Alone Complex. The game is set for
a November 2004 release and was
developed by Cavia Inc., and published
by Bandai America. Ghost in The
Shell is a fast-action 3rd person
shooter for up to 4 players.
Prior to this release the PS1
saw the release of the Ghost in
the Shell video game.
|
|
At present the internet is buzzing
with news of the forthcoming release
of Innocence: Ghost in the Shell
2 which gets a limited cinema
release on the following dates:
17th September 2004 (USA)
1st December 2004 (France)
The film was released in Japan
on the 6th of March to good reviews.
Plot Summary: Batou is
a living cyborg. His whole body,
even his arms and legs are entirely
man-made. What only remains are
traces of his brain and the memories
of a woman. In an era when the
boundary between humans and machines
has become infinitely vague, Humans
have forgotten that they are humans.
This is the debauchery of the
lonesome "ghost" of a man, who
nevertheless seeks to retain humanity.
Innocence... Is what life is.
(imdb)
|
With the strength of character and the
Blade Runner esq Human Philosophising
Ghost in the Shells Major Motoko Kusanagi
only falls short of being the perfect
Honorary Oakley due to the over sexualisation
of the character itself. BUT we're willing
to overlook this since most anime suffers
from 'the
male gaze'. The Major kicks ass and
that is all that matters.
For all the reasons above and more we
have chosen Major Motoko Kusanagi, Ass
Kicking, Cybernetic, all round tough
female character to be our Honorary
Oakley for the month of September 2004.
Major Motoko Kusanagi we salute you!
And that is why Major Motoko Kusanagi
is Thumb Bandits Honorary Oakley for
the Month of September 2004!
Links of Interest:
Manga
.com - Ghost in the Shell
Innocence
- Ghost in the Shell 2 (Official US
Site)
Ghost
in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Video
Game - PS2)
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