The legendary cyberpunk franchise is making a big comeback. A brand new Ghost in the Shell television anime from studio Science SARU will show its first two episodes to the world at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France this June. The series then arrives on Japanese television in July 2026.
First Two Episodes to Screen at Annecy Film Festival
The new anime, officially titled The Ghost in the Shell (Kōkaku Kidōtai THE GHOST IN THE SHELL) , will hold its global premiere as a special Screening Event at Annecy. The event carries the name “Dive into ‘THE GHOST IN THE SHELL.’”
The 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival runs from June 21 to June 27 in Annecy, France. The selection committee chose the series for the festival’s “Special Events” category, which shows highly awaited projects and gives behind-the-scenes looks at their production.
A producer on the project expressed excitement about the selection, stating that it proves the high international expectations for the Ghost in the Shell series and recognizes Science SARU’s animation as a world-class product.
July 2026 TV Broadcast Details
After the Annecy premiere, the anime will debut on Japanese television in July 2026. It will air on the “Ka-Anival!!” programming block on Kansai TV and Fuji TV. The show will broadcast every Tuesday night at 11:00 p.m. Japan time.
Global streaming details are still coming together. Reports indicate that Amazon Prime Video will stream the series worldwide, though official confirmation is expected closer to the release date.
Meet the Creative Team Behind the New Series
Mokochan is making his directorial debut with this anime at Science SARU. He previously worked as a storyboarder and key animator on popular shows like DAN DA DAN, The Heike Story, and Tatami Time Machine Blues.
Toh Enjoe, known for writing the novel The Empire of Corpses and working on scripts for Space Dandy and Godzilla Singular Point, is handling both series composition and scriptwriting.
Shūhei Handa from Little Witch Academia and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is designing the characters and serving as chief animation director. The music team includes Taisei Iwasaki (BELLE) as music director, along with Ryō Konishi and Yuki Kanesaka (Dr. Stone) as composers.
The production committee brings together Bandai Namco Filmworks, Kodansha, Science SARU, and Production I.G.
Returning to the Original Manga’s Style
This new version aims to stay true to the original manga created by Masamune Shirow, which began serialization in 1989. The story follows Motoko Kusanagi, a full-body cyborg with exceptional combat and cyber warfare abilities. She leads Public Security Section 9 as they face complex and dangerous crimes in a highly networked future.
The creative team has released a second promotional video and key visual showing the series’ action sequences and art direction. The visuals lean into the 1980s manga art style rather than copying the look of previous anime films.
The second key visual, drawn by Handa, features Motoko Kusanagi alongside a Fuchikoma, the AI-equipped thinking tank units from the original story.
Masamune Shirow’s Comments on the New Adaptation
The original manga creator shared his thoughts on this being the latest anime version of his work. He noted that counting all previous adaptations, this would be the tenth version overall. He referred to it as potentially the first part of a “second generation” of adaptations given the change in production staff.
“The original manga is quite old, so I ask for your understanding on that point (sorry!). That said, I sincerely hope this will once again be an enjoyable visual experience in some form.” – Masamune Shirow, original Ghost in the Shell creator
A Legacy of Cyberpunk Storytelling
The Ghost in the Shell franchise has influenced creators worldwide since its debut. The story explores the blend of humanity and technology along with questions about personal identity. Three manga volumes have been published by Kodansha: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL, 2 MANMACHINE INTERFACE, and 1.5 HUMAN-ERROR PROCESSOR.
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Previous anime adaptations include Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 film, the Stand Alone Complex series, the ARISE series, and the more recent SAC_2045 CGI anime. A Hollywood live-action film starring Scarlett Johansson was released in 2017.
Voice actress Atsuko Tanaka, the long-time Japanese voice of Motoko Kusanagi across many adaptations, passed away in August 2024 at age 61.
The latest anime based on Shirow’s franchise before this new series was Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 The Last Human, a compilation film for the SAC_2045 second season that opened in Japanese theaters in November 2023.
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