Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell seinen manga series is widely regarded as one of the best cyberpunk franchises of all time. The Japanese manga, first serialized in 1989 in “Young Magazine Kaizokuban” (Kodansha), has sparked a number of anime and live-action film adaptations that continue to build upon and expand the sci-fi, cyberpunk universe.
And now, we're about to get a new anime series in 2026.
It was announced this week by Science SARU that a new The Ghost in the Shell TV anime is now in production by animation studio Science SARU (Devilman Crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!). Production is already underway but the series will not release until 2026.
Details are being kept under wraps for now, but science Saru did share a special trailer and teaser visual.
The original Ghost in the Shell manga, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, was serialized from April 1989 – November 1990 in Kodansha's Young Magazine seinen manga publication. An English-language version is currently available through Kodansha, which describes the manga as "an epic dystopian tale of politics, technology, and metaphysics."
Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been inexorably blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including “ghost hackers” who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interfance and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers’ criminal ends. When Major Kusanagi tracks the cybertrail of one such master hacker, the Puppeteer, her quest leads her into a world beyond information and technology where the very nature of consciousness and the human soul are turned upside down.
The manga has inspired numerous adaptations, the most notable being Production I.G.'s 1995 film of the same name and its 2004 sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. Speaking of the sequel, it's set to return to theaters with 4K restoration in celebration of its 20th anniversary. There was also the 2002 television series, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and its 2020 follow-up, Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045. In 2017, the Rupert Sanders-directed live-action Ghost in the Shell film, starring Scarlett Johansson, was released in theaters.
Ghost in the Shell is considered by many to be the "definitive cyberpunk manga." It will be interesting to see if this new TV anime adds anything new or fresh to the franchise.