Announcements on Ghost in the Shell 2 Manga & Anime

Toren Smith of Studio Proteus has revealed some major, first-hand news concerning Ghost in the Shell 2. As was the plan announced many months ago, the hardcover Ghost in the Shell 2: Man Machine Interface manga released in Japan has part of the Ghost in the Shell Solid Box was not a completed work. Masamune Shirow has stated that he will alter the existing GitS 2 art somewhat and add a 24 page full color epilogue to the book for the upcoming Japanese mass-market soft-cover version. Shirow has estimated that this work will be done in April, but Shirow is also notorious among Japanese publishers for not keeping to deadlines. For those unfamiliar with the background of manga publication, it’s not at all uncommon for manga artists to alter or re-draw portions of their manga after its initial release, then release the updated version in tankouban (graphic novel) format.

In order to ease the difficulty of translating Shirow’s Japanese work, and to maintain as much of its original artistic integrity as possible, Studio Proteus will not be translating the Japanese version of GitS 2. In fact, Masamune Shirow will be creating a “foreign version” of the manga for Western audiences. “Shirow will flop the pages, tweak any artwork he is unsatisfied with after the flopping process, remove all sound effects, and redo the word balloons for horizontal lettering.” Furthermore, to protect the artistic integrity of the original story, Dark Horse comics will produce two different versions of the GitS 2 manga. “There is a VERY naughty sequence in the book. Shirow knows very well this can’t be sold mass-market in much of the world, and the foreign edition will have an altered version of the sequence… However, after consultation at DH [Dark Horse Comics], we have decided that that issue will be available in two forms–the Shirow-altered version…and a XXX version (even more graphic than the Japanese one!)”

Shirow must finish both the Japanese mass-market edition of GitS 2 and the editing of the Western edition before Studio Proteus can even begin to produce an English language edition. Toren Smith has stated hopes to begin production on the American release before the end of the year, but this estimate is very tentative.

In further surprise news, Mamoru Oshii has agreed to direct “the GITS2 movie” (no word on whether this is a sequel to the first film or a direct adaptation of the GitS 2 manga), and Production I.G. has already started work on a GitS TV series.