Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface

Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface
攻殻機動隊2 MANMACHINE INTERFACE
(Kōkaku Kidōtai 2: Manmachine Interface)
Genre Cyberpunk
Manga
Written by Masamune Shirow
Published by Kodansha
English publisher Dark Horse Comics
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Young Magazine
Original run 1997 #30#38
Volumes 1
Anime and Manga Portal

Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface (攻殻機動隊2 MANMACHINE INTERFACE Kōkaku Kidōtai 2: Manmachine Interface?) is a six chapter manga that was originally released in 11 separate issues, written and drawn by Masamune Shirow. It was first released in Japan in a serialized format in Young Magazine by Kodansha. The same publisher later collected these works with significant changes into the limited SOLID BOX hardcover in 2000. In 2001, the mainstream softcover was released with more changes. It was first released in the US in 2003 by Dark Horse Comics.

The sequel to the original Ghost in the Shell manga series, GITS2 explores a wide range of philosophical issues regarding the nature of human identity and the boundaries of human consciousness. However, the action of the series is largely tangential to the plot of the original work and its various cinematic and televisual offspring (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, and the film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence directed by famed Japanese auteur Mamoru Oshii).

GITS2 owes much to the conventions of cyberpunk and readers familiar with that genre may immediately recognize the questions raised by Shirow. As such, the overall philosophical terrain is not entirely new; rather, the work might instead be considered an extended rumination, punctuated by complex action sequences, upon many of the same issues brought up in the original Ghost in The Shell manga.

Contents

Chapters

No. Japanese English
Release date ISBN Release date ISBN
1 1997 ISBN 4-06-336310-4 January 2005 ISBN 1-59307-204-X
  • 01 Prologue 2035.03.06.AM05:05
  • 02 Underwater 2035.03.06.AM05:45
  • 03 Circuit Weapon 2035.03.06.PM01:12
  • 04 Fly by Orbit 2035.03.06.PM01:12
  • 05 Mold of Life 2035.03.06.PM01:54
  • 06 Epilogue 2035.03.06.05:35AM

Editions

English Editions

Dark Horse first published the book in 2003 as 11 comic sized volumes. The translation is the work of Studio Proteus. It also got published as a TPB in early 2005.

Japanese Editions

Kodansha collected the Young Magazine serialization for the first time in 2000. The first collection to appear was the limited hardcover SOLID BOX version that included significant changes. More changes were made to the widely-released softcover edition.

Further reading

External links