Now Streaming: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL Hearkens Back to the 90s

For my coverage of the Anime Summer 2026 season, I've seen the first episodes of 35 new shows (so far). Yet I was in no way prepared for the information dump of this new series.

The Ghost in the Shell S1
The first episode is now streaming on Prime Video. Subsequent episodes will debut every Tuesday.

To begin, a dizzying amount of information is displayed in the opening scenes, which requires a quick finger on the 'pause' button -- or a world-class ability to speed read -- in order to have any idea about what's about to take place.

My next impression is that the characters are all designed to look like the show was animated soon after the publication of Shirow Masamune's manga in 1989: the design by animation studio Science SARU favors an old-school approach, featuring blockier faces with exaggerated features, though the backgrounds are a bit more developed than back in the day.

In this, and in the information dump that assumes viewers are already familiar with the premise and the narrative outline, the new show reminds of Marvel's X-Men '97, which recently debuted its second season, reminding me why I never entirely responded to the first season.

Both shows share a common desire to appeal to viewers who first started watching movies and TV shows in the 90s. And if that's you, it's likely that you will respond more readily to both shows.

As for me, not a single moment in the first episode of The Ghost in the Shell has captured my imagination yet. Still, I'll keep watching, more out of curiosity than anything else.

Here's the official synopsis:

"2029, a near-future Japan. The full cyborg Motoko Kusanagi envisions a task force that preemptively strikes emerging threats. She and her team are scouted by Daisuke Aramaki as Public Security Section 9, AKA the 'Shell Squad.' An international conspiracy hints at a hacker known as The 'Puppet Master.' What fate awaits Kusanagi? What is the hacker's endgame? A new era of cyberpunk action begins!"

Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.