I watched all four episodes of the new Arise series then went back and watched the classic 1995 film. The newer version, despite the advantage of visual technology and with 4 hours to do express itself, still could not touch the original film. The clarity and depth of the storyline, as well as the rich dialogue, is what makes the original GITS a masterpiece that's clearly not easy to replicate. The original version makes it clear from the opening sequence that the major is a cyborg, consisting of ONE organic body part - her brain! The series dances around this clear fact, admitting it at times, and then seemingly contradicting it in other moments with the sexual innuendos. Don't get me wrong, the series was not a completely bad attempt to resurrect GITS; it just missed the opportunity to achieve something epic. The very definition of a classic is that it cannot (and should not) be replicated. Simply let it be. The Americans have decided to see if they can botch the franchise further with a non-animated version due in 2017. All I can do is SMFH!!
