Ghost in the Shell[a] is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow.

The manga, first serialized between 1989 and 1991, is set in mid-21st century Japan and tells the story of the fictional counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9, led by protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi.

[1] Primarily set in the mid-twenty-first century in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, Niihama Prefecture (新浜県新浜市, Niihama-ken Niihama-shi),[b] otherwise known as New Port City (ニューポートシティ, Nyū Pōto Shiti), the manga and the many anime adaptations follow the members of Public Security Section 9, a task-force consisting of various professionals skilled at solving and preventing crime, mostly with some sort of police background.

The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma.

The main character of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible accident befall her as a child that ultimately required her to use a full-body prosthesis to house her cyberbrain.

In 2008, DreamWorks and producer Steven Spielberg acquired the rights to a live-action film adaptation of the original Ghost in the Shell manga.

[20][21] Also in 2006, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society, featuring Section 9's confrontation with a hacker known as the Puppeteer, was broadcast, serving as a finale to the anime series.

[26] In addition to the anime, a series of published books, two separate manga adaptations, and several video games for consoles and mobile phones have been released for Stand Alone Complex.

[28] Cornelius was brought onto the project to compose the score for the series, with the Major's new voice actress Maaya Sakamoto also providing vocals for certain tracks.

[32] Ghost in the Shell was developed by Exact and released for the PlayStation on July 17, 1997, in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment.

The video game's soundtrack Megatech Body features various techno artists, such as Takkyu Ishino, Scan X and Mijk Van Dijk.

[35] A virtual reality game entitled Ghost in the Shell Arise: Stealth Hounds, was made available at Bandai Namco's arcade VR Zone Shinjuku in 2017.

[40] Bungie's 2001 third-person action game Oni draws substantial inspiration from Ghost in the Shell's setting and characters.