Magick Diary Experiment

This review contains spoilers for the 1995 animated movie Ghost in the Shell, the 2004 animated sequel film Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, the animation TV series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, the TV series sequel movie Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society, and the 2017 live action movie (also titled Ghost in the Shell). It is recommended that you at least watch the original 1995 animation movie before reading this review, and ideally Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence as well. Watching the 2017 Remake is also recommended for context, but consider this review directed at people with some familiarty with Ghost in the Shell as a series, who might be biased against the remake. This review is also designed to be readable to people with no familiarity with any of it, and work as context and a pitch for the series, but it's inevitably full of spoilers. If you happen to be reading this and are a fan of the 2017 movie, this review might come across as hars...

 This will be a short update post. As of writing (2026 March, 19), I am currently finish a second review of Ghost in the Shell (2017) - the Live Action remake. I plan to post the review on the 20th.  The review will be text-only like my review of Sky Crawlers, but in the future, I'd like to update both my review of The Sky Crawlers and this Ghost in the Shell (2017) review with images, and I'd like to post reviews with accompanying images moving forward. I'd also like to find a way to monetize this blog shortly. Patreon seems like an interesting option, but I will consider whatever opportunities become available.

    Call me "Mister X" As this blog progresses I might consider using my real name (or at least a less cliche' moniker), but for a start, "Mister X" will do. A tip of the hat to Speed Racer. What you will be getting with this review blog is a personal perspective. I am not attempting objectivity. You, the reader, should figure out whether you like my tastes and whether they align with yours, based on what I choose to review and what I have to say. If you think you like what I like, and dislike what I dislike, you might get something out of this blog. Just don't look to me for objectivity or to give you your opinions. With everything I review, it is strongly recommended that you experience the subject of a review for yourself, to form your own opinion on it, before reading.     And just know that you're getting "Me" with this blog: not review scores based on the ideas of objective quality or appeal to mass tastes. Enjoy. As far as style influen...

The Sky Crawlers is a 2008 film by Production IG and director Mamoru Oshii (Patlabor, Angel's Egg, Ghost in the Shell), based on a series of Light Novels by author Hiroshi Mori. The film follows Yuichi Kannami, a young pilot who flies and fights for the fictional Rostock Corporation in what is, for the most part, a fantasy alternate-history of 1940's Europe (barring some anachronistic tech, like desktop computers, digital cameras, and LCD screens). The Rostock Corporation is pitted against the Lautern Corporation in a seemingly never-ending war. The locations of the film are based on Ireland and Poland, and although a map of Europe is used in the background of a certain scene the regions are never given names. The whole movie is hazy and light on certain kinds of detail, in a way that is intentional. I'll be up front. I am giving this movie 4 out of 4 stars. The Sky Crawlers has become my favorite movie. Full stop. Including live action films. It is largely my impetus to s...