The first season premiered exclusively onNetflix worldwide on April 23, 2020. It received generally negative reviews, with critics considering it inferior to previousGhost in the Shell media due to multiple factors. A second season was released on May 23, 2022, to similarly negative reviews. Two compilation movies of the series were released in 2021 and 2023.
In the year 2045 (11 years after events ofSolid State Society), after an economic disaster known as the Simultaneous Global Default which destroyed the value of all forms of paper and electronic currency, the "Big 4" nations of the world are engaged in a state ofnever-ending "Sustainable War" to keep the economy going. In this world, Motoko, Batou, and other members ofPublic Security Section 9 have contracted themselves out asmercenaries under the group "GHOST," using their cybernetic enhancements and battle experience to earn a living while defusing hot-spots across the globe. However, the emergence of "Post Humans" and a conspiracy uncovered by former Chief Aramaki force Section 9 to reunite.
Kodansha and Production I.G announced on April 7, 2017, thatKenji Kamiyama andShinji Aramaki would be co-directing a newGhost in the Shell anime production.[3] On December 7, 2018, it was reported byNetflix that they had acquired the worldwide streaming rights to theoriginal net animation (ONA) anime series, titledGhost in the Shell: SAC_2045, and that it would premiere on April 23, 2020. The series is in 3DCG and Sola Digital Arts collaborated with Production I.G on the project.[4]Ilya Kuvshinov handled character designs.[5] An English dub was not available until May 3 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic causing production delays for its recording.[6] It was stated that the series will have two seasons of 12 episodes each,[7] with the second set released on May 23, 2022.[8][9]
In July 2021, it was announced that the first season would be adapted into a theatrical compilation film, subtitledSustainable War, which premiered on November 12, 2021.[10][11][12] Netflix released the film worldwide on May 9, 2022.[13] A theatrical compilation film of the second season,The Last Human, was announced in March 2023, and premiered on November 23, 2023.[14][15]
On May 22, 2024, official social media accounts of Hyundai Japan andGhost in the Shell announced a collaboration to promote the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.[16] The Shibuya Tsutaya store hosted the Ioniq 5 N from June 3 to June 22.[16]
The anime received generally negative reviews from critics, with the first season garnering a 13% approval rating on review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, while the second has a 29% approval rating.[17][18]
Max Genecov ofPolygon wrote that the series had "none of the visceral aesthetics or mood that made Ghost in the Shell an indelible element of how we think about our interconnected lives."[19] Writing forThe A.V. Club, Toussaint Egan rated the series a C−, calling the action sequences "awful" and opining that "as wonderful as it is to return to this series’ interpretations of Major Kusanagi and company after more than a decade away, you'd be better off dusting offStand Alone Complex DVDs and give this one a pass."[20] Kayla Cobb ofDecider wrote "time and time againSAC_2045 ignores the deeper path and chooses instead point and drool."[21] Theron Martin ofAnime News Network wrote that the series was "easily the weakest entry in the franchise so far, even belowGhost in the Shell 2: Innocence".[22]
