Serving to build a little more interest in the upcoming live-action film and pick up a few more sales for a classic, Bandai Visual is bringing out a priced-down edition of the original 1995 Ghost in the Shell anime feature in Japan. The release is set fro an April 7th, 2017 debut priced at 4,800 yen. It’s a re-issue of the 2011 release that contains the English language dub and English subtitles.
The film was directed by Mamoru Oshii based on the screenplay by Kazunori Ito working from concepts and characters by original manga creator Masamune Shirow. Character designers were handled by Hiroyuki Okiura with Toshihiko Nishikubo serviing as the animation director with production handled by Production I.G.
The Japanese cast includes Atsuko Tanaka as Major Motoko Kusanagi, Akio Ohtsuka as Bateau, Iemasa Kayumi as The Puppet Master, Kouichi Yamadera as Togusa, Tamio Ohki as Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki, Yoshiko Sakakibara as The Puppet Master and Yutaka Nakano as Ishikawa.
The English cast includes Mimi Woods as Major Motoko Kusunagi, Richard George as Bateau, Abe Lasser as Project 2501/The Puppet Master, Christopher Joyce as Togusa, Michael Sorich as Ishikawa and William Frederick as Section 9 Department Chief Aramaki.
Plot concept: In the not so distant future, mankind has advanced to a state where complete body transplants from flesh to machine is possible. This allows for great increases in both physical and cybernetic prowess and blurring the lines between the two worlds. However, criminals can also make full use of such technology, leading to new and sometimes, very dangerous crimes. In response to such innovative new methods, the Japanese Government has established Section 9, an independently operating police unit which deals with such highly sensitive crimes.
[Source: Ghost in the Shell]
