Innocence (2004/I)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Masamune Shirow (comic "Koukaku-Kidoutai")
Mamoru Oshii (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 March 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Animation | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Fantasy

Tagline:

Sore wa inotchi innosensu ('Innocence is Life')

Plot:

In the year 2032, Batô, a cyborg detective for the anti-terrorist unit Public Security Section 9, investigates the case of a female robot--one created solely for sexual pleasure--who slaughtered her owner.

Plot Keywords:

Cyborg | Sequel | Based On Comic | Cult Cartoon | Japan

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Akio Ôtsuka	...	Batô (voice)
Atsuko Tanaka	...	Major Motoko Kusanagi (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Togusa (voice)
Tamio Ôki	...	Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki (voice)
Yutaka Nakano	...	Ishikawa (voice)
Naoto Takenaka	...	Kim (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gou Aoba	...	(voice) (as Go Aoba)
Eisuke Asakura	...	(voice)
Robert Axelrod	...	Koga / Lin (voice: English version)
Richard Cansino	...	Man / Security 1 / Wakabayashi / Yakuza 1 (voice: English version)
Joey D'Auria	...	Kim (voice: English version)
Erik Davies	...	Azuma (voice: English version)
Peter Emshwiller	...	Guard / Terrorist (voice)
Richard Epcar	...	Batou (voice: English version)
Crispin Freeman	...	Togusa (voice: English version)
Yuzuru Fujimoto	...	(voice)
Emiko Fuku	...	(voice)
Masao Harada	...	(voice)
Minoru Hirano	...	(voice)
Hiroaki Hirata	...	Koga (voice)
Katsunosuke Hori	...	(voice)
Sukekiyo Kameyama	...	(voice)
Eriko Kigawa	...	(voice)
Hiroyuki Kinosha	...	(voice) (as Hiroyuki Kinoshita)
Shuji Kishida	...	(voice)
William Knight	...	Aramaki (voice: English version) (as William Frederick Knight)
Steve Kramer	...	Detective / Security 4 / Security 5 (voice: English version)
Sherry Lynn	...	Gynoid / Rescued Girl (voice: English version)
Michael McCarty	...	Ishikawa (voice: English version)
Michael McConnohie	...	Forensics Man / Forensics Staff / Section 9 Member / Security 3 (voice: English version)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	...	Motoko Kusanagi (voice: English version)
Kenichi Mochizuki	...	(voice)
Sumi Mutoh	...	On'na no ko (voice)
Ryûji Nakagi	...	(voice)
Yasushi Niko	...	(voice)
Bob Papenbrook	...	Crab Man / Cyborg Dr. / Underwater Cyborg / Yakuza 2 (voice: English version)
Yoshiko Sakakibara	...	Haraway (voice)
Stephanie Sheh	...	Dispatcher / Girl (voice: English version)
Ellyn Stern	...	Haraway (voice: English version)
Terrence Stone	...	Forensics Chief / Pilot / Security 2 / Shop Owner / Yakuza 3 (voice: English version)
Yu Sugimoto	...	(voice)
Fumihiko Tachiki	...	(voice)
Masaki Terasoma	...	Azuma (voice)
Akino Watanabe	...	(voice)
Mr. X	...	Yakuza 4 (voice: English version)
Makoto Yasumura	...	(voice)

Directed by
Mamoru Oshii

Writing credits
Masamune Shirow		(comic "Koukaku-Kidoutai")
Mamoru Oshii		(screenplay)

Produced by
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa	....	producer
Ryuji Mitsumoto	....	line producer
Toshio Suzuki	....	producer
Maki Terashima-Furuta	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Kenji Kawai

Cinematography by
Miki Sakuma

Film Editing by
Sachiko Miki
Chihiro Nakano
Junichi Uematsu

Production Design by
Yohei Taneda

Art Direction by
Shuichi Hirata

Art Department
Shuichi Hirata	....	art designer
Ryo Kono	....	assistant art director
Takashi Watabe	....	art designer

Sound Department
Travis Crenshaw	....	foley recordist
Aren Downie	....	assistant sound editor
Will Files	....	assistant sound designer
Scott Guitteau	....	sound effects editor
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Shuji Inoue	....	mixing supervisor
Brian Magerkurth	....	sound re-recordist (as Brian D. Magerkurth)
Frank 'Pepe' Merel	....	foley mixer
Tom Myers	....	co-sound designer
Noboru Nishio	....	digital optical recordist
Jonathan Null	....	foley editor
Juan Peralta	....	sound mix technician
Michael Semanick	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Slanec	....	assistant sound editor
Randy Thom	....	sound designer
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
Jana Vance	....	foley artist
Kazuhiro Wakabayashi	....	recording supervisor

Special Effects by
Hiroyuki Hayashi	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Hisashi Ezura	....	visual effects supervisor

Animation Department
Kazunori Akiyama	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Masashi Ando	....	key animator
Katsushi Aoki	....	background artist
Yukio Araie	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Koichi Arai	....	key animator
Kyoji Asano	....	key animator (as Kyouzi Asano in English credits)
Eri Baba	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Lee Dong-Kyu	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Kaori Fujii	....	inbetween animator: Studio Ghibli
Akihito Fujimori	....	background artist
Shigeru Fujita	....	key animator
Kazuyo Hasegawa	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Shinji Hashimoto	....	key animator
Takayuki Hida	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Tadashi Hiramatsu	....	key animator
Shunsuke Hirota	....	inbetween animator: Studio Ghibli
Takeshi Honda	....	key animator
Hiroyuki Horiuchi	....	key animator
Yumi Hunamoto	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit (as Yumi Funamoto in English credits)
Chieko Ichimanda	....	assistant inbetween animation checker
Junko Ina	....	background artist
Ei Inoue	....	key animator
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	key animator
Yukimi Isozaki	....	inbetween animator: Wonbat
Hidetsugu Ito	....	key animator
Nobutaka Ito	....	key animator
Yoshiyuki Itô	....	key animator
Soung Jee-Hee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie
Tsutomu Kaichi	....	inbetween animator: Studio Ghibli (as Tsutomu Kaiuchi in English credits)
Masatoshi Kai	....	background artist
Kanta Kamei	....	key animator
Keiko Kato	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Toshio Kawaguchi	....	key animator
Katsuya Kikuchi	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Jung-Hee Kim	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Kim Jung-Hee in English credits)
Mika Kinoshita	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Kazuchika Kise	....	key animator
Kazuchika Kise	....	supervising animator
Atataka Komatsu	....	inbetween animator: Anime R
Daizen Komatsuda	....	key animator
Ken'ichi Konishi	....	key animator
Masahiro Kubota	....	background artist
Yasutaka Kubota	....	key animator
Kazuhiro Kudou	....	assistant inbetween animation checker
Satoshi Kuroda	....	background artist
Yumi Kuroiwa	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Justin Leach	....	technical animator
Jeong-eun Lee	....	inbetween animator: DR Movie (as Lee Jeong-Eun in English credits)
Asuka Manabe	....	inbetween animator: Anime R
Masahiro Matsushita	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Yoshio Mizumura	....	car designer
Yoshio Mizumura	....	key animator
Hiroyuki Morita	....	key animator
Satsuki Muramatsu	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Akiko Nagashima	....	key animator (as Meiko Nagashima in English credits)
Yumi Nakagawa	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Yosuke Nakajima	....	inbetween animator: Anime R
Yuki Nakajima	....	key animator
Goki Nakamura	....	background artist (as Hideki Nakamura in English credits)
Mitsunobu Nakamura	....	key animator (as Mitsunori Nakamura in English credits)
Shoko Nakamura	....	key animator (as Shohoko Nakamura in English credits)
Yasuhiro Nakura	....	key animator
Masato Nishikawa	....	inbetween animator: Anime R
Junko Nishimura	....	inbetween animation checker
Tetsuya Nishio	....	key animator
Tetsuya Nishio	....	sub character designer
Tetsuya Nishio	....	supervising animator
Tetsuya Nishio	....	weaponry designer
Maiko Nogami	....	assistant inbetween animation checker
Minori Noguchi	....	inbetween animator: Studio Ghibli
Hiromasa Ogura	....	background artist
Kenji Ogura	....	3D background artist
Shin'ya Ôhira	....	key animator
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	character designer
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	key animator
Hiroyuki Okiura	....	supervising animator
Sachiko Okumura	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Daiki Ono	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Mitsunao Onogi	....	inbetween animator: Wonbat
Tooru Ookubo	....	key animator (as Toru Ohkubo in English credits)
Fuminori Sahara	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Kotoe Saitou	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Reiko Sakai	....	assistant inbetween animation checker
Chikako Sasagawa	....	inbetween animator: Studio Ghibli
Hitomi Sato	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Kenji Satou	....	3D background artist
Naruhito Sekikawa	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G (as Narihito Sekikawa in English credits)
Keiko Shimizu	....	key animator
Manabu Shimizu	....	inbetween animator: Wonbat
Naoyoshi Shiotani	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Tomoko Sugeta	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Yoko Sugita	....	inbetween animator: Wonbat
Yuko Sugiyama	....	background artist
Mariko Suzuki	....	inbetween animator: Studio Ghibli
Masaharu Tada	....	key animator (as Masagi Tada in English credits)
Mizuka Takahashi	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Yohei Takamatsu	....	background artist
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	key animator
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	layout artist
Atsushi Takeuchi	....	mechanical designer
Shiho Takeuchi	....	key animator
Junichi Taniguchi	....	background artist
Rieko Tsuji	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Chinatsu Ueno	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Tomoko Utsumi	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Satoru Utsunomiya	....	key animator
Takashi Watabe	....	layout artist
Yukie Watanabe	....	inbetween animator: Studio Cockpit
Theresia Whinkler	....	key animator
Toshiyuki Yahagi	....	key animator
Akira Yamagawa	....	background artist (as Akira Yamakawa in English credits)
Mariko Yamamoto	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Masahito Yamashita	....	key animator
Shin'ichi Yokota	....	inbetween animator: Production I.G
Kazue Yoshida	....	assistant inbetween animation checker

Other crew
Richard Epcar	....	voice director

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (co-production)
• DENTSU Music And Entertainment
• ITNDDTD
• Kodansha
• Production I.G.
• Studio Ghibli (co-production)

Distributors

• Toho Company (Japan) (theatrical)
• Bio Rex Distribution (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Bandai Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Bandai Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Bio Rex Distribution (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• DreamWorks SKG (2004) (USA) (all media)
• Eagle Pictures (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Go Fish Pictures (2004) (USA) (all media)

Special Effects

• Omnibus Japan (digital effects)

Other Companies

• Anime International Company (AIC)  inbetween animation
• Aube Studio  music production (as Aube)
• Aube Studio  recording studio
• Bandai Visual Company  special supports
• Bunkyo Civic Hall  recording studio
• Daiichikosho Co. Ltd.  special supports
• Ghost Team  investor group
• Goal of Art  production design
• Hal Film Maker  inbetween animation
• Hitokuchizaka Studio  recording studio
• IKIF  3d cgi
• Imagica  film lab
• KFC  special supports
• Kiki  host production
• Lawson  special cooperation
• Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten  music cooperation
• Mo Bang-Fu Office  Chinese translation cooperation
• Mori Building  special supports
• Motor/lieZ  3d cgi
• PM Music  music cooperation
• Pizza Hut  special supports
• Polygon Pictures  opening CG
• Professional Percussion  music cooperation
• Promax  music cooperation
• Sands  decorations
• Seiko Epson Corporation  special cooperation
• Shindo Production  inbetween animation
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• Sound Creators  music cooperation
• Studio Gimlet  inbetween animation
• Studio MAT  inbetween animation
• Studio Takuranke  inbetween animation
• Sunshine Corporation  inbetween animation
• Toho International Theatres  location
• Tower Records  special supports
• Victor Entertainment  soundtrack
• VideoArts Music  theme song
• Yomiuri Shimbun, The  special cooperation

Also Known As:

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (USA)
Innocence - Inosensu (Japan) (poster title)
Innocence: Ghost in the Shell (International: English title)
Koukaku kidoutai 2 (Japan) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and brief language.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

UK:15 | Denmark:15 | Norway:15 | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Japan:U | France:U | Finland:K-11 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40831)

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

When Batou and Togusa are exploring Kim's mansion, Batou finds a figure that resembles Motoko Kusanagi's appearance from Kôkaku kidôtai (1995), along with a row of numbered cards reading "2501". In the original Ghost in the Shell, Project 2501 was the code name given to the Puppet Master project and became the code Batou and Kusanagi agreed to use when they wanted to contact one another.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the forensics examination, one of the computer screens misspells "research" as "RESAERCH".

Quotes:

Bateau: Still with me, pal?
Togusa: [with his head between his hands, looking to the floor] All I could see... were my wife and daughter's faces.
Bateau: That wasn't your wife or daughter. It was the Grim Reaper.

Movie Connections:

References First Blood (1982)

Soundtrack:

River of Crystals

Pretentious as hell, but undeniably beautiful

As the saying goes, "you don't have to have a degree in philosophy to enjoy Ghost In The Shell, but it helps". Well, I'm sure it's a saying in some circles anyway :) Mamoru Oshii has always been a pretentious director, but also a very talented one. The original Ghost In The Shell and his live-action Avalon in particular can be viewed as much as philosophical essays as they can action-driven films. However, in those two he is content to use the philosophical ideas as a foundation to build the film's story and aesthetics on, as layers to ponder if you are familiar with the ideas and inclined to ponder. In INNOCENCE, perhaps he was afraid people wouldn't understand the philosophical references, so he makes them very explicit - characters respond to almost every event that happens with a quote from Descartes or Milton or some other respected source. In the end one is forced to conclude that this is less to help the viewer understand the philosophical ideas in the film as to make sure everybody knows how well read Oshii is (I don't think the quotes would help anybody understand the ideas that wasn't already familiar with them). In other words, he lays it on a bit too thick for his own good... yet from a first viewing at least the film seems to have less of real substance to say than part 1 or AVALON. Neither of those films presented any real answers or new theories, but they were very effective artistic framings of the questions they addressed at least. INNOCENCE perhaps seems like it's trying to offer answers and explanations for issues that do not really amean themselves to answering, but more to a thorough considering of the questions and an abandoning of pre-conceptions based on a very narrow perspective (that of human existence).

But, criticisms aside, Oshii also knows that the audience is not really there to hear a lecture on philosophy - they want to be dazzled with the highest possible production values and animation standards, and he does not disappoint. The work from Production IG exceeds even their own incredibly high quality standards, and the soundtrack from Kenji Kawai complements the visuals perfectly. If the scene where the film's title is accompanies a surreal parade through a desolate high-tech urban landscape doesn't send chills down your spine then... well, that's your business, but I am surprised. It has absolutely nothing to do with the plot or any particularly clear point regarding the philosophy, but it's an aesthetic thrill of the highest order. Oshii knows that the viewer is expecting some action with his philosophy too, and the film offers a few scenes of shockingly powerful violence (especially with a big screen and modern cinema sound system). They're inserted almost arbitrarily though (there is an attempt to make one of the middle scenes more meaningful, but the climactic scenes especially have little point except the celebration of destruction). The first film's action scenes were a huge influence on THE MATRIX, and through that film were highly influential on world cinema in general - Oshii probably wanted to make sure his newest and costliest film would not go unremarked on this front too.

Conclusion: the film must be admitted as flawed, but what Oshii work isn't?

The first GITS was the closest to flawless he has come, and part 2 definitely doesn't put him any closer. It does raise the bar aesthetically though, and is the new benchmark for animators to beat.