Ghost in the Shell 1.5 – Human Error Processor

Human-Error Processor presents for the first time in America the lost GITS stories, created by Shirow Masamune after completing work on the original GITS manga and prior to his tour-de-force, GITS 2: Man Machine Interface, but never collected until now.  GITS 1.5: Human Error Processor is a set of four chapters that were left out: “Fat Cat”, “Drive Slave”, “Mines of Mind” and “Lost Past”.

Deep into the 21st century, the line between man and machine has been inexorably blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue.In this rapidly converging technoscape, the covert-ops agents of Section 9 are charged to track and crack the most dangerous terrorists, cyber criminals, and ghost hackers the digital future has to offer.Whether dealing with remote-controlled corpses, lethally malfunctioning micro machines, or cop-killer cyborgs, Section 9 is determined to serve and protect… and reboot some cyber crook ass!

 

Site - http://en.wikipedia.org

Real Drive

2061AD… Fifty years have passed since mankind developed the Network society. It was anticipated that this new infrastructure would realize a utopia where people connected with each other at the level of consciousness. However, new social problems such as personal data leaks and proliferation of manipulated information began to surface. Nevertheless, people still relied on the Network to exchange information, and proved unable to opt to abandon it.

Created by Production I.G and Masamune Shirow. Real Drive is produced in collaboration with Japan’s largest commercial broadcaster NTV.

Site – http://www.ntv.co.jp

Appleseed Ex-machina

Following World War Three, which was a non-nuclear war that killed half the world’s population, the city-nation of Olympus stands as a beacon of hope in a world of chaos and conflict. The utopian metropolis is governed by Gaia, a vast artificial intelligence, and administered by genetically engineered humanoids known as bioroid, whose designer DNA suppresses strong emotions. With bioroids being half of its population, peace and order are easily maintained. Deunan Knute, a young female warrior, and Briareos, a veteran cyborg-soldier, are both partners and lovers. As members of E.S.W.A.T., the elite special forces serving Olympus, they are deployed whenever trouble strikes. During a mission involving several high-ranking E.U. officials held hostage by a group of unknown and heavily-armed cyborgs, Briareos is injured protecting Deunan from an ensuing blast. As a last ditch effort by an injured cyborg, E.S.W.A.T. assigns Deunan a new partner, a bioroid named Tereus. Largely based on Briareos’ DNA, Tereus was designed as a prototype for a new kind of fighter bioroid.

Site – http://www.warnervideo.com

Masamune Shirow

Masanori Ota (Masamune Shirow) is an internationally renowned manga artist. Masamune Shirow is a pen name, based on a famous swordsmith, Masamune. He is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell, which has since been turned into three anime movies. While in college, he developed an interest in manga, which led him to create his own complete work, Black Magic. His work caught the eye of Seishinsha President Harumichi Aoki, who offered to publish him. The result was Appleseed, a full volume of densely-plotted drama taking place in an ambiguous future. The story was a sensation, and won the 1986 Seiun Award for Best Manga. Many of his works follow a common form: a strong female law enforcement officer/warrior battles external threats while facing difficulties from internal politics, in a near-future setting with strong cyberpunk and postcyberpunk influences.

Site – http://en.wikipedia.org

Renaissance

In 2054, Paris is a labyrinth where all movement is monitored and recorded. Casting a shadow over everything is the city’s largest company, Avalon, which insinuates itself into every aspect of contemporary life to sell its primary export — youth and beauty. In this world of stark contrasts and rigid laws the populace is kept in line and accounted for.  Live forever… or die trying.

Site – http://www.imdb.com

GITS: Solid State Society

A.D. 2034. It has been two years since Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9. Togusa is now the new leader of the team, that has considerably increased its appointed personnel. The expanded new Section 9 confronts a rash of complicated incidents, and investigations reveal that an ultra-wizard hacker named the Puppeteer is behind the entire series of events.

In the midst of all, Batou, who was stalking the case on a separate track, encounters Motoko. She goes away after saying, “Stay away from the Solid State Society.” Batou is left with a doubt in his mind. Could Motoko be the the Puppeteer?

Site – http://en.wikipedia.org

Ergo Proxy

Set in the future. A group of robots become infected with something called the Cogito virus, and become aware of their own existence. So these robots, which had been tools of humans, decide to go on an adventure to search for themselves. They have to decide whether the virus that infected them created their identity, or whether they gained their identity through their travels. This question is meant to represent our own debate over whether we become who we are because of our environment, or because of things that are inherent in us.

Site – http://www.ergoproxy.com

Ghost in the Shell: The Lost Memory

In the not-too-distant future of 2032, the frontier dividing humans and machines has been crossed. Section 9 has faced countless adversaries in the real world and in cyberspace, but none like 'The Awakened'. It is believed that this lethal group of terrorists can take over the minds and bodies of almost anyone. When Major Kusanagi captures one of the victims, and what she discovers leads her on a journey deep into the heart of cyberspace, a journey that shakes her to the core.

Site – http://www.darkhorse.com

Samurai 7

Samurai 7 is a 2004 anime series based on Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1954 movie The Seven Samurai. Kanna is a friendly rice village with a problem. Every year during harvest, huge mechanical robots, known as the Nobuseri, come and steal away almost all of the rice that had been harvested that year. Not only that, the Nobuseri are becoming more demanding, now taking women and children in addition to rice. The elder of Kanna has declared that to protect the village they must hire samurai. However, they have no money and thus must find samurai willing to protect the village for the price of all the rice that he/she can eat. And thus the journey begins…

Site – http://en.wikipedia.org

Akira

The setting is that of Neo-Tokyo, a Tokyo rebuilt (over what is today Tokyo Bay) after World War III destroyed it. As it turns out, World War III was (arguably) started by the uncontrolled growth of the superhuman powers of a child named Akira, who was enrolled in a secret government research program. In the story’s current time, 30 years after WWIII, a gang of young bikers led by the cocky Shotaro Kaneda is involved in a fight with a rival gang when the gang’s youngest member, Tetsuo Shima, collides with a mysterious child on the highway. This child has escaped from the government psychic research program. Tetsuo is then taken to the government psychic research base with the child and subjected to various guinea pig experiments. The incident with the mysterious child as well as the tests awaken Tetsuo’s own latent powers, with disastrous consequences both on the personal level, as old interpersonal conflicts with his friends resurface, and on the larger level, as Neo-Tokyo is threatened by another Akira incident.

Lain

Serial Experiments Lain is an anime series about an adolescent girl in suburban Japan named Lain Iwakura, and her introduction to the Wired, an international computer network. Serial Experiments Lain raises questions about God, the collective unconscious, the Internet, conspiracy theories and many other themes common in cyberpunk literature. Fans of the series generally cite it as a good example of anime as literature which invites and rewards close critical analysis.

Site – http://en.wikipedia.org

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese animated television series, begun in 1995, directed and written by Hideaki Anno, and produced by Gainax. It takes place in 2015, fifteen years after the catastrophic Second Impact, reportedly caused by a meteor strike, which wiped out half of Earth’s population and tilted its axis. Just as humanity is finishing its recovery from this disaster, Tokyo-3 began suffering attacks by strange monsters referred to as Angels. Conventional weapons are useless against the Angels, and the only known defense against them are the biomechanical mechas created by the paramilitary organization NERV, the Evangelions (Evas).

Site – http://en.wikipedia.org