Why you should watch the anime version of 'Ghost in the Shell' before watching the live action version of the film starring Scarlett Johansson.
Honestly, special effects have surpassed anime which is why anime cooled down considerably around 2005. I'm not too excited about seeing the upcoming live-action Ghost In The Shell because, more than likely, the 'Japan' DNA of it will be removed. I believe Johansson will be great, but the level of sophistication and intelligence the anime is known for was never meant to appeal to mass audiences. American films come fully-assembled meaning they don't require any participation from the viewer at all because they're dumbed down to the level of your average 6 year old. The original GITS and those following it require that you have a basic knowledge of religion, politics, philosophy, and science. This is what has made anime stand apart from western animation and live action films. If you watch the original GITS they could almost be considered boring in that there isn't nowhere near the amount of action you're accustomed to seeing in American films where something's got to be blowing up every 5 minutes or some other attention-grabbing element has to be employed to keep our dumbed-down film audiences from nodding off such as gratuitous sex or comedy relief. So no, I'm not all that excited about seeing the GITS live action film although I probably will if the reviews aren't too bad.
