The Original Source: Masamune Shirow's Manga
"Ghost in the Shell"
It would be strange to discuss "Ghost in the Shell" adaptations without mentioning the original source – especially since not all fans of the franchise are familiar with the original manga. Masamune Shirow's first volume, serialized from 1989-1990 and released as a standalone book in 1991, laid the technological, political, and philosophical foundation for the entire universe.
The story unfolds in Japan in 2029, after a non-nuclear Fourth World War, where total cybernetization gives rise to new threats that traditional institutions cannot handle. To combat these, Public Security Section 9 is created – a special unit operating on the fringes of the law, dealing with everything from cyberterrorism to diplomatic conspiracies and illegal human exploitation.
Structurally, the first volume is organized as a cycle of chapters: some function as self-contained Section 9 cases, while others gradually form a single storyline about the elusive hacker known as the Puppet Master. Thanks to this structure, the manga simultaneously works as a police procedural and as a cohesive work with a growing philosophical conflict.
The main guide into this world is Motoko Kusanagi, whose portrayal in the manga might surprise those accustomed to any of her on-screen versions. Here, the Major is a lively and impulsive young woman, not averse to sarcastic humor and sexuality. Her actions are driven not only by a sense of duty but also by the necessity of maintaining her incredibly expensive cybernetic body at government expense. Only her human brain remains organic, and this bodily dualism gives rise to a deep existential crisis. Motoko constantly questions: is her "self" truly real, or is her personality merely a side effect of biochips and an artificial shell?
Beyond the crisis of identity, transhumanist evolution, and the nature of memory, the author also reflects on the socio-political problems of a world where cybernetization has triumphed. Shirow dissects the underbelly of post-industrial society: the conditional nature of human legal rights, the transformation of consciousness into an alienable market resource, industrial espionage, and the total pragmatism of the state machine. Here, Shirow's authorial method is clearly discernible, which can be described as the "sweet pill" principle: the author deliberately places complex, difficult-to-perceive ideas within a dynamic genre narrative, diluting serious discussions with comedic episodes, grotesque character plasticity, and everyday scenes. Nevertheless, the narrative is not without its disarray, numerous author's notes, and technical terms that will require delving into, but this is only a minor obstacle to enjoying the cult work that laid the foundation for the entire franchise.
"Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor"
The "one-and-a-half" volume consists of four relatively simple, unrelated police stories, the action of which unfolds after the Major's departure from Section 9. The focus is on Batou, Togusa, and Azuma: through their investigations, Masamune Shirow shows how the development of cybernetic technologies changed the nature of familiar crimes.
But the volume was called "one-and-a-half" for a reason: the story of its creation became a separate drama, deserving of its own narrative. Essentially, what we have here is a "rejected" first sequel. Shirow began working on the continuation almost immediately after completing the first volume, but only wrote two chapters and reached an impasse: according to one version, he was frankly bored writing exclusively about stern male detectives, while the author himself was drawn to eccentric female characters and heavy metaphysics.
The situation was exacerbated by the devastating Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, which occurred on January 17, 1995, and heavily affected Kobe – Shirow's hometown. The mangaka's house was destroyed, and with it, the author lost a significant portion of his notes, reference materials, and working archives. After this, Shirow apparently completely lost interest in the previous version of the continuation and decided to completely rethink the project from scratch. However, it is believed that under pressure from the Kodansha publisher, he still brought the remaining stories to publication.
The result was a solid cyber-detective story, but the main drawback of this format was the incompleteness of the overarching intrigue. Shirow only hints at it through character dialogue and the episodic appearance of Motoko, but this storyline never receives clear development. The volume shows Section 9 without the Major, but leaves the global plot in limbo, opening the way for Shirow himself to radically rethink the franchise in a full-fledged second volume.
"Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface"
In this volume, Shirow finally takes off into the digital astral plane and transforms his manga into a large-scale study of post-human existence in the format of a philosophical treatise hidden within erotic science fiction: here, quantum physics coexists with Buddhism and Shintoism, and questions about the nature of consciousness are interspersed with displays of female charms.
The action takes place four years and five months after the events of the original manga, but it's difficult to call this volume a continuation in the usual sense. The main character here is Motoko Aramaki, who looks different and heads the investigative unit of Poseidon Industrial. Section 9 appears in the story for literally a few pages, and the main focus shifts to the internal workings of Motoko's new personality. After merging with the Puppet Master, she is no longer "one person in one body," having transformed into an entity distributed across the infonet, whose consciousness is fragmented into isotopes and fragmented personalities. For her, the physical shell is merely an interface, so she has dozens of cybernetic surrogate bodies scattered across the globe, between which she can instantly switch.
Structurally, the volume consists of six chapters with a non-linear narrative, divided between virtual expansion, Motoko's investigations, and the storyline of psychic detective Tamaki Tamai, who studies strange changes in the Jizaiten space-time universe, caused in part by the evolution of the heroine's essence. However, almost immediately, the dramaturgy gives way to a flood of ideas, terms, and concepts. Characters stop talking like humans: their dialogues turn into complex technical discussions, resembling excerpts from treatises on quantum physics, information theory, and network administration.
Wishing to hold the audience's attention amidst these endless data arrays, Shirow pushed eroticism to the limit, turning battle scenes into an incessant parade of revealing angles of the female anatomy. Because of this, in later reissues, the author even had to independently cut out the most explicit scenes, but this does not make understanding what is happening any easier. So far, no on-screen version of the franchise has attempted to directly adapt "Man-Machine Interface" – and it's easy to understand why: the second volume is radically more complex, abstract, and less suitable for direct transfer than the original manga. No one but the creator himself could fully understand this digital chaos. And if anyone claims otherwise – don't believe them.
Mamoru Oshii's Duology
"Ghost in the Shell" (1995)
When director Mamoru Oshii and screenwriter Kazunori Ito took on the manga adaptation, they worked like jewelers: they took the detail-rich source material and ruthlessly cut away everything superfluous. The humor, eccentricity, and many other elements of Shirow's "sweet pill" from the first volume were removed, transforming the cyberpunk detective story into a concise, dark, and cold transhumanist diamond. The film focused on Major Motoko Kusanagi's existential crisis and her confrontation with the Puppet Master.
The film's pacing is impeccable: every scene is meticulously timed, and the principle of "show, don't tell" is elevated to an absolute here. The film breathes through long, contemplative shots that take time away from the action to create atmosphere and reveal meaning.
A classic example is the famous three-minute "interlude," symbolically beginning at the 33-minute mark – a scene where the Major floats in a boat through the city's canals to the hypnotic choral music of Kenji Kawai. There isn't a single word in this segment, but through the visuals, the director conveys the heroine's existential isolation more accurately than any dialogue.
However, even the rare action scenes don't exist for entertainment. For example, Motoko's battle with a walking tank unfolds near a museum bas-relief depicting the Kabbalistic Tree of Life – a symbol of evolution. And while large-caliber bullets methodically chip away at the stone, moving from the simplest organisms at the roots to the top where the word Hominis ("Man") is carved, Oshii clearly demonstrates: man is not the pinnacle of evolution, but merely another stage of it.
Therefore, Oshii's first film is worth watching at least for educational purposes: to experience true directorial craftsmanship and understand why the 1995 film cemented the franchise's international status and became a key point of influence for Western cyberpunk and, in particular, for the Wachowskis' "The Matrix."
However, it's important not to choose the wrong version. The 2008 re-release, "Ghost in the Shell 2.0," attempted to refresh the classic by adding cheap 3D graphics and replacing the canonical blue-green palette with a rusty orange, but it only disrupted the original's visual integrity. This version is not worth watching – ignore this release and watch the 1995 film.
"Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" (2004)
In 2004, Oshii returned with a sequel that left Major Kusanagi by the wayside: after the digital fusion at the end of the first film, she virtually disappears from the narrative, returning only in a few scenes at the very climax. The main character here is Batou, who is deeply affected by the loss of his partner and shares his life with his dog, Gabriel. Together with Togusa, he undertakes an investigation into a series of brutal murders committed by high-tech sex dolls manufactured by Locus Solus, which suddenly began destroying their owners.
Plot-wise, "Innocence" seems simpler than the first film, resembling, like the one-and-a-half volume of the manga, a straightforward detective story. The film is largely based on the sixth chapter of the first volume ("Robots Rondo") with rare inclusions from the seventh chapter, but it reconfigures them for the world after the end of the 1995 film.
Instead of a futuristic procedural, Oshii continues a melancholic exploration of human nature, loneliness, free will, and predestination. However, unlike the first film, which relied on visual storytelling, "Innocence" more often relies on three-dimensional computer graphics and straightforward philosophical discussions, turning characters into a collection of walking quotes.
Because of this approach, the film evokes diametrically opposite feelings in the audience. Some appreciate it for its depth of meaning and unique creative techniques, with which Oshii masterfully engages the viewer. A striking example is the scene in hacker Kim's mansion, where a mental loop is activated: the viewer doesn't understand what's happening until the very end, and with each new turn of disorienting cyclicity, falls into this perceptual trap along with Batou, which provides an enormous level of immersion.
The skeptical part of the fanbase, on the contrary, considers the film excessively pretentious due to its excessive flirtation with a hodgepodge of Confucianism, Buddhism, biblical references, and medieval poetry, which are thrown at the viewer directly, rather than elegantly woven into the fabric of the narrative, as was the case in the original.
The film is definitely worth experiencing as a monumental art object, but the final perception depends solely on the viewer's willingness to dive into these overly complex philosophical depths and accept the director's specific pace.
Kenji Kamiyama's "Stand Alone Complex"
"Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" (2002)
In the early 2000s, Kenji Kamiyama became the chief creative architect of the franchise's serial branch, heading the production of the large-scale spin-off "Stand Alone Complex." This is a completely independent alternative timeline in which Major Motoko Kusanagi never met the Puppet Master, and therefore did not transform into a digital entity, remaining to lead operatives in Section 9.
If Mamoru Oshii's duology was a hermetic philosophical essay that significantly shifted focus from the spirit of the original manga, Kamiyama's series found an ideal balance between conceptual depth and dynamism. It transformed the franchise into an exemplary police procedural, deeply exploring the sociological and technological aspects of future society, while also featuring a dense narrative, spectacular action, lively humor, and a vibrant visual style that balances between Masamune Shirow's original vision and Oshii's dark realism.
Structurally, the first season clearly delineates the narrative: autonomous investigations (Stand-Alone) alternate with episodes of the main plot (Complex). The main storyline revolves around a case that once shook Japan: after six years of silence, a mysterious top-tier hacker known as the Laughing Man returns to the infosphere.
In the past, this unknown individual hacked the cyberbrain of a major corporation's CEO and kidnapped him during a television interview, accusing the company of concealing an effective cure for a severe illness. His identity was never established, and the incident became a network myth and a symbol of the struggle against corporate power.
When the hacker's name surfaces in new crimes, Section 9 begins an investigation and encounters a frightening concept of the digital age – the "Stand Alone Complex." Through this lens, the first season explores themes of large-scale corporate conspiracies, medical fraud, political cynicism, and asks the question: where is the line between one's own thoughts and external influence in a world where information has become the main weapon?
For those who want to experience this story in a more condensed format, there is a feature-length compilation film, "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – The Laughing Man," which cut out Section 9's side cases, turning the season into a concentrated detective story focused on the main storyline. I would not recommend using it as a substitute for the series, as in this format, the context and depth of some characters' development are lost.
"Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG" (2004)
The continuation, in the form of the second season subtitled 2nd GIG, reached screens in 2004 and was created with the participation of Mamoru Oshii, who was responsible for the story concept. The visual style became darker to emphasize the shift in focus towards a large-scale geopolitical thriller.
The story concentrates on the sharp social divide in Japan and the crisis of millions of refugees after the Third and Fourth World Wars. Despite its scale and focus on issues of diplomacy and the nature of nationalism, the season manages to be a deeply personal story, revealing unexpected and touching details from Motoko Kusanagi's distant childhood, and allowing other members of Section 9 to reveal themselves a little more.
Structurally, the second season is also divided by episode types into Individual, Dividual, and Dual. Each of these three types performs its unique task in the season's architecture. However, unlike the first season, they are less isolated from each other and form a unified context.
Dividual: conceptually inherit the format of autonomous episodes. These are self-contained investigations that introduce the viewer to the changed political landscape of the post-war country, reveal the personal dramas of the characters, and the peculiarities of life in a cybernetized society.
Individual: episodes dedicated to the main storyline – the confrontation between Section 9 and the radical group "Eleven Individualists" and the investigation of its connection to the refugee problem and Hideo Kuze's role in this conflict.
Dual: a storyline focusing on the actions of government structures and the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, represented by Kazundo Goda. The name emphasizes the duality and multi-layered nature of the conflict itself, in which Section 9 finds itself caught between a growing crisis on the streets and complex political games in the highest echelons of power.
The main storyline of this season was similarly reassembled into a feature-length compilation film titled "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Individual Eleven." However, by limiting yourself exclusively to it, as with the first season, you will get an overly chaotic story with a disjointed pace and weak character development.
"Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society" (2006)
The first iteration of Kenji Kamiyama's on-screen universe concluded with the feature film subtitled "Solid State Society," set in 2034 – two years after the end of the second season. The balance of power in Section 9 changes dramatically: Major Kusanagi leaves the team and goes freelance, working as an independent unit. At the same time, Togusa takes over the leadership of the unit's field operations, while Batou, without the Major, withdraws into himself and begins to resemble the dark, lone wolf from "Innocence."
A new investigation begins with a chain of mysterious suicides linked to the appearance of a mysterious hacker named the Puppeteer, and then leads operatives to the trail of a shocking mass disappearance of thousands of children.
Kamiyama deliberately plays with viewers familiar with the image of the classic Puppet Master to further complicate the narrative and set the stage for a completely different development of events. Through this intrigue, the director brings cyberpunk into the realm of social realism, exposing Japan's demographic crisis, the problems of an aging population, and the flaws of automated systems.
Although "Solid State Society" lacks the cinematic scope and boldness of Mamoru Oshii's feature films, as it essentially resembles four stitched-together episodes of a series, it perfectly fulfills its main task – offering a thrilling detective plot intertwined with a deep sociological study of society in the era of cybernetization.
"Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045" (2020-2022)
14 years after the release of "Solid State Society," Kenji Kamiyama returned to his main universe, sharing the director's chair with Shinji Aramaki, known for his adaptations of Masamune Shirow's "Appleseed."
The plot transports viewers to 2045. The world has changed beyond recognition after the Synchronized Global Default, which devalued all currencies overnight. To keep the economy afloat, an alliance of leading world powers launches the concept of "sustainable war" – a permanent, controlled military conflict transformed into a cynical business for the enrichment of elites and the maintenance of state stability.
The former Section 9 has long been disbanded: the Major, Batou, Saito, and Ishikawa operate in the USA as an independent mercenary squad called "Ghost," while Togusa has returned to the police. Chief Aramaki contacts him to revive Section 9, and soon the old team faces a new global threat – "post-humans," who have gained extreme mental and physical abilities after interacting with a mysterious algorithm.
The series consists of two seasons of 12 episodes each, forming a single overarching story. However, the first half of the first season fully corresponds to what many imagine when they hear "this is a series released on Netflix in the current decade": viewers can expect maximum action and minimum deep meaning.
However, closer to the middle, the action returns to Japan, and with it, the franchise's familiar balance between intriguing detective work, deep socio-political subtext, humor, and satire. Reflections on human nature in the age of cybernetization are organically intertwined with philosophical concepts and allusions to George Orwell's novel "1984," elevating the idea of total control to a new digital level.
However, to get to this point, one must endure the series' main drawback – its visual style. SAC_2045 became the first fully 3D CGI project in the franchise, and the character design, which, incidentally, was done by artist Ilya Kuvshinov, is shattered by sterile animation, depriving the characters of naturalness, weight, and emotionality, which hinders the perception of dramatic scenes.
Analogous to previous installments, feature-length compilations of the seasons were also released, but they should not be watched instead of the original series. The first – "Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045. Sustainable War" – is a heavily condensed two-hour retelling of the first season, which, due to reduced dialogue and altered chronology, turns into a poorly digestible mess. The second film – The Last Human – similarly condenses 12 episodes of the second season, adding new scenes, but has not gained widespread distribution outside of Japan.
New Wave
"Ghost in the Shell: Arise"
In 2013, animation studio Production I.G decided to reboot the universe and launched the "Arise" project – a pseudo-prequel that transports the viewer to 2027 and shows the early stages of Motoko Kusanagi's story before the events of other adaptations.
Initially, the project was released in the format of four OVA episodes titled "Border," and later as a television series, "Ghost in the Shell: Alternative Architecture." In this version, the four OVAs were divided into eight episodes, but the viewing order turned out to be not the most obvious: the fourth OVA became the first two episodes, followed by episodes corresponding to the first, second, and third OVAs. The final ninth and tenth episodes represented the fifth OVA – "Pyrophoric Cult," whose events unfold after "Ghost Stands Alone" and lead to the feature film "Ghost in the Shell" (2015), also known as The New Movie.
Due to this release format, it might seem easy to get confused with the project, but in reality, it's enough to watch it in chronological order:
- "Border 1: Ghost Pain";
- "Border 2: Ghost Whispers";
- "Border 3: Ghost Tears";
- "Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone";
- "Border 5: Pyrophoric Cult" – easiest to find as the ninth and tenth episodes of "Alternative Architecture";
- "Ghost in the Shell" (2015) (Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie).
To dedicate even a full paragraph to each individual release would be to reveal too much information, but in general, the plot is dedicated to three key themes: the difficult formation of Section 9, the fight against a large-scale digital threat, and the Major's acquisition of independence. At the beginning of the story, she is effectively dependent on the state, as her expensive cybernetic body is the property of a military structure.
Step by step, from case to case, Motoko meets Aramaki and the future operatives of Section 9 – Batou, Togusa, Ishikawa, Saito, and others. Moreover, some of them initially find themselves on the other side of the barricades. A recurring motif throughout all episodes is the investigation of a mysterious and dangerous cyberbrain virus called "Fire Starter." It is capable of hacking people's ghosts, rewriting their memories, implanting false memories, and forcing victims to commit monstrous acts. Investigating the chain of infections, the heroes constantly face opposition from various agencies trying to use the virus in their own behind-the-scenes power struggles and control over cyber technologies.
Finally, it's worth clarifying the project's place in the universe. At the launch stage, the media actively promoted "Arise" as a prequel to Mamoru Oshii's cult 1995 film. However, in reality, we have a completely independent alternative timeline: the authors took familiar elements of the backstory from different branches and Masamune Shirow's manga, shuffled them, and reassembled them for the needs of their own plot.
The project's main director, Kazuchika Kise, who, incidentally, worked with Mamoru Oshii on his duology, and screenwriter Tow Ubukata explicitly stated in official interviews that "Arise" is a prequel to the story of Motoko and Section 9 itself, not any specific adaptation or version of the manga. Kise also noted that the original manga author Masamune Shirow was not directly involved in the production. He merely provided a basic plot idea, blessing the team with the phrase: "Do what you want with it."
The changes affected not only the backstory but also the world itself. Over two decades, many futuristic ideas of the original became commonplace: wireless internet, touchscreens, and augmented reality no longer seemed like future technologies. Therefore, the authors had to update the retro-futuristic aesthetic of the original, adapting it to the realities of the 21st century while retaining some old elements purely as a tribute. This once again emphasizes the role of "Arise" as a reboot, which, however, was not followed by a continuation.
Hollywood's "Ghost in the Shell" (2017) with Scarlett Johansson
Rupert Sanders' Hollywood adaptation of "Ghost in the Shell" became a classic example of how modern cinema can flawlessly reproduce external form while completely gutting the internal content.
The plot introduces the viewer to Mira Killian, played by Scarlett Johansson – a first-of-her-kind operative with a human brain and a fully synthetic body. She serves in Section 9 under the command of Daisuke Aramaki and, together with her partner Batou, begins hunting a mysterious cyberterrorist. However, as the investigation progresses, the heroine begins to doubt the authenticity of her own past and the nature of her identity.
It would seem that everything is very familiar – except for the heroine's name. Visually, the film is practically a shot-for-shot quotation of Mamoru Oshii's cult 1995 anime, its sequel "Innocence," and Kenji Kamiyama's "Stand Alone Complex" series, transforming into a large-scale visual collage. However, by mechanically transferring iconic scenes and images, the creators stripped them of their original context and meaning, reducing the story to another confrontation between a hero and a sinister megacorporation.
Deep transhumanist questions here gave way to a more grounded plot about the search for lost memories, where the heroine largely acts under the influence of external circumstances. The relationship with the antagonist also changed: he absorbed traits of the Puppet Master and Hideo Kuze from the second season of "Stand Alone Complex," but their social and philosophical dimension was replaced by the motive of personal revenge.
As a standalone cyberpunk action film, it works quite well: WETA studio created an impressive world, and the film itself looks expensive and is effectively shot. However, it's difficult to call it a full-fledged "Ghost in the Shell" – Hollywood producers tried to squeeze the complex cyberpunk into the Procrustean bed of a popcorn movie, with the result that the film lost its own "ghost."
"Ghost in the Shell" (2026) by Science SARU
The newest adaptation from Science SARU has just begun: the first episode was released on streaming services on July 7th, so it's too early to fully judge the project as a whole. However, we've already had the chance to watch the first two episodes on the big screen (you can read our review in a separate article), and what we've seen allows us to conclude: this is the first direct and practically shot-for-shot adaptation of the first volume of the original manga. This fact alone holds its special value and uniqueness for the franchise.
The Science SARU project brings back to screens the most eccentric, lively, and impulsive version of Motoko Kusanagi, and with her, Masamune Shirow's very own "sweet pill." Complex philosophical discussions about digital alienation, transhumanism, and the vulnerability of the human mind are once again presented as a dense procedural, generously diluted with humor, caricatured plasticity, vibrant colors, and dynamic action.
For those who have waited for years for an accurate transfer of the source material, this release is a true celebration. Nevertheless, one should rejoice with caution. So far, there is no reason to believe that Science SARU will dare to go beyond the original. And it's even harder to believe that the studio will manage to potentially expand the plot using the "one-and-a-half" volume or subsequently reinterpret the chaotic second volume to turn its digital esoteric chaos into a palatable on-screen product. Nevertheless, as an accurate snapshot of the cult manga, this series has already earned its place in the history of the "Ghost in the Shell" on-screen universe.
Bottom Line: How to Watch "Ghost in the Shell" for Newcomers
Three decades of searching for "the one true Ghost" have clearly demonstrated: there is no single answer, and each new team of creators merely assembles their own unique golem from elements of Shirow's legacy. The franchise has grown to monumental proportions, and getting lost in its alternative timelines is easy. Therefore, to prevent you from drowning in data, let's draw a line and propose a specific three-stage route that will allow you to get the most out of this universe in the least amount of time.
First stage. To begin, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the first volume of the original manga or with the latest adaptation by Science SARU, which transfers almost every detail to the screen without changes. However, to avoid prolonging the wait for all episodes, the ideal alternative would be Mamoru Oshii's feature film "Ghost in the Shell" (1995). This timeless classic will give you pure, concentrated existential cyberpunk in just 82 minutes and set the right mood.
It is highly recommended to reinforce and develop this experience with the series "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," including the first two seasons, as well as the final film "Solid State Society." According to many, this is the absolute peak of the universe, which in some ways surpasses even Mamoru Oshii's film due to the serial format, allowing for the most complete development of both the world and the characters. The project offers an exemplary police procedural with a powerful socio-political subtext, a truly lively and cohesive Section 9 team, and a perfect balance between dynamic action and deep philosophy.
Second stage. The 2004 film "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" is suitable if Mamoru Oshii's first film delighted you and you are fully prepared for a heavy, melancholic art object overloaded with philosophical quotes and religious homages.
The "Ghost in the Shell: Arise" series can be launched as a solid, stylish modern cyberpunk detective story about the Major's youth, which will delight with spectacular action, intelligence agency conspiracies, and the history of Section 9's formation, but it is not essential for understanding the essence of the universe.
Third stage. Finally, it makes sense to save the SAC_2045 series and the 2017 Hollywood film with Scarlett Johansson for last. These are specific and very contrasting projects that should be left for when there are no unexplored places left in the universe, and you still really don't want to part with Section 9.
And remember: there is still no consensus in the community about which "Ghost" is better. Your true "Ghost" is simply the one that suits you best. Enjoy your dive into the Net!