Ghost in the Shell Director “Prayed” to Masamune Shirow While Making the Anime

The director of Science SARU’s new The Ghost in the Shell anime says he spent a year and a half attempting to achieve “spiritual communion” with original creator Masamune Shirow, even praying to an imaginary version of the manga author in order to faithfully adapt the classic series.

Science SARU’s new The Ghost in the Shell anime premiered on July 7, with many fans praising its faithful recreation of Masamune Shirow’s original manga, particularly its lighter tone and humor compared to previous adaptations such as Mamoru Oshii’s iconic 1995 film.

In a recent interview with WIRED Japan, director Mokochan, who is making his directorial debut with the series, explained the unusual philosophy he adopted while adapting the manga.

Having grown up as a fan of the franchise himself, Mokochan admitted he felt enormous pressure taking on the project:

“Both Shirow’s manga and Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell pried open something inside me and fundamentally altered my perspective on the world.”

He added that he knew fans’ expectations were incredibly high, saying that if he handled the adaptation poorly, he’d “get torn apart.”

Describing his creative approach, Mokochan explained: “If I had to sum it up in one word, I’d call it itako art.” He went on to explain what he meant by the phrase: “Trying to achieve spiritual communion with the original creator.”

According to Mokochan, although he has never actually met Masamune Shirow, repeatedly reading the original manga allowed him to gradually form an image of the author in his mind:

“I would pray to this imaginary version of Shirow that emerged from my reading of the manga. Then, after about three days, the answer would just quietly appear. At that point, it no longer mattered whether the answer came from my own inner thoughts or from my interpretation of the source material. That’s what I mean by spiritual communion.”

Mokochan also praised scenario writer EnJoe Toh, saying the two treated Shirow’s manga almost like a sacred text throughout production:

“EnJoe said the original manga is the kind of book that reveals new discoveries every time you revisit it as you get older, and I completely agree.”

“Just because I don’t understand something now, at 33, doesn’t mean I can just casually say, ‘Do we really need this part?’ I refuse to treat anything depicted in the original as if it never happened. Even if something doesn’t appear on screen due to practical constraints like runtime, I ensure it still ‘exists’ somewhere outside the frame.”

Following that philosophy, Mokochan says the anime allows for changes and additions that better suit the animation medium, but deliberately avoids altering events that were originally depicted in Shirow’s manga.