4 Star

Bullets, Bombs and Master Hackers.

From Production I.G. (Guilty Crown, Psycho Pass) and Director Kazuya Nomura comes more from the Ghost in the Shell: Arise series of prequel stories of Major Motoko Kusanagi and how she comes to be the head of Section 9.

Newport City A. D. 2029. 3.

It is a year after the end of the non-nuclear World War IV, but during the war technology for cybernetic brains and prosthetics was created. The major has never known life as a human being as she was given a full prosthetic body when she was born.

Now the world is cut up by arms and munition super companies and those that fought in the war are disgruntled about the proposed down grading of the Ministry of Defence. Eleven veterans have taken over the East Asian Economic Federation Trade Embassy and taken hostages and are threatening to blow it all up, unless their demands are met. With the police outside out-gunned by those inside there is a stand-off, with the possibility that this may turnout to be a long drawn out affair. The newly state funded major orders her team to prepare to go in. She informs Aramaki the head of Section 9 about the insurgence as she drops in on the Embassy.

The team work well together as they disable the heavily cybernised military terrorists. When the smoke clears the head count does not tally and two of the soldiers seem to have been killed by friendly fire. Downstairs some of the hostages pick up the discarded weapons and kill the captured and disabled soldiers.

They have been hacked by the firestarter program giving them false memories and Kusanagi finds that some of the soldiers do not have ghosts and they are being controlled by someone else.

Meanwhile across town at the Yagasaki Hotel, Lt. Colonel Kurutsu is with the prime minister and some top executives having secret talks and when his briefcase is delivered he places his hands on the briefcase to unlock it. Kurutsu calls out to stop him but too late. Boom!

The hotel room is destroyed killing everybody inside.

Now Kusanagi has two mysteries to solve as she vows to find out who killed the prime minister.

As always with Ghost in the Shell and Production I.G. this is a beautiful piece of anime and if you are an avid follower of the Major and Section 9 this is a must to fill in the cracks of the GITS: Arise series.

7 versus them all.

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