Book Review: The Art of Ghost in the Shell

This is actually a pretty decent artbook for the live action Ghost in the Shell film, regardless of whether you like or hate it.

This is a huge artbook that measures 9.5 by 13 inches. Comes with 160 pages.

The visuals included are a mixture of film stills, some behind the scenes photography and concept art. If you disregard the photographs, the concept art actually looks like they can be from some sci-fi video game.

The artworks are great. There's this sense of hyperrealism in the way the art is presented. There must have been a lot of photo-bashing but they are done right to capture the mood and atmosphere. I wished I could see more of the sci-fi city though which I thought is very cool. If you're looking for those hand drawn or painted style, there aren't many. Most artworks are highly polished up.

Bulk of the visuals cover the characters and props. So you get to see lots of photos of the Scarlett Johansson, the Major and her colleagues. There are a few pages devoted to the Geisha robots. The designs look great. Some of the photographs are really detailed, like those you would see in a Sideshow Collectibles toy catalogue.

If you have enjoyed the film, you would probably also enjoy the extensive writeup on the production process. The text talks about Masamune Shirow's original masterpiece and inspiration, how it's readapted for live action and also the design for the characters and world. There's a lot to read.

Fans of the film would probably enjoy this book more. Overall, it's a great companion for the film.

-

This review copy is provided by book distributor Pansing. You can get the book from major bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia.

The Art of Ghost in the Shell is also available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN)

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy from the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn