Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ghost In The Shell: The Human Algorithm.While Major Motoko Kusanagi may have gone off the grid, Togusa, Batou, and the other of Ghost in the Shell's Section 9 are still on the clock fighting Japan's most serious cyber-criminals and the internet crimes they perpetrate in the series' newest manga sequel.
Junichi Fujisaki and Hiroki Yoshimoto's Ghosts in the Shell: The Human Algorithm, which is the latest chapter in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, tell the story of what happened between the events of GITS: Human-Error Processor and GITS: Man/Machine Interface. The series follows the continuing adventures of Ghost in the Shell's Section 9 after Major Kusanagi's departure to work in the private security world. She is replaced by Tsunagi, a young recruit, who due to her psychic abilities does not have the cyber brain normally required of Section 9 . Additionally, she only uses a limited amount of prosthetics. Overall, she is actually the opposite of Kusanagi.
While GITS generally, and Section 9 in particular are known to put a heavy focus on cyberpunk issues, its latest story arc steps outside its comfort zone to explore the different but related idea of Afrofuturism that has exploded in popularity recently. It's a wholly unexpected twist from a franchise that has generally kept its storytelling confined to plots involving the ubiquitous use of artificial intelligence, cybernetics, human enhancements, and the common effects of living in a super-advanced information society run by corporations. Except for Akira and Neuromancer, no other work has done more to establish and define what cyberpunk is than GITS. Nevertheless, Fujisaki and Yoshimoto pull off a clever foray into Afrofuturism is not only interesting but also "gets" its basic themes.
Cyberpunk Meets Afrofuturism
At its core, Afrofuturism is a genre of science fiction that imagines advanced technology and futures created primarily by Black innovators and inventors. Though the label has its baggage, its influence can most clearly be seen in the advanced land of Wakanda seen in Marvel's various universes. It focuses on self-development that is not hindered by the legacies of colonialism. In The Human Algorithm, these ideas are introduced through the conflict between the people of Gili and Madishi, which is a classic trait of Afrofuturism, that has been stirred and influenced by Western and Asian powers looking to play the two groups off one another, so that they can sell arms and access African natural resources. One element of Gili's resistance is the "cyberization" that has become common in places such as Japan and is demonstrated through the of Section 9.
With that background established, Fujisaki and Yoshimoto have plenty of "space" to integrate the usual Ghost in the Shell cyberpunk themes, such as having Section 9 operatives, Togusa, Tsunagi, and Batou investigate a link to the cyberization occurring in Africa to questionable officials and companies in Japan. Indeed, it's the type of story that could go sideways with fans if not done well. In this case, however, the creators pull it off while making a great, new, addition to Ghost in the Shell lore.
Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm, Volume 3 is now available from Kodansha.
