GHOST IN THE SHELL - edited and unedited versions?

[Stevens]

OK, I am reading that the initial prints of the monthly a tpb releases for Ghost In The Shell were edited to remove nudity or sexual content and that later on a second tpb printing, in the smaller manga size format, was uncut.

What's the poop on this this? Are the later 1.5 and V2's edited in any way?

Can the unedited GITS V1 be found in the larger American sized format? That's my preference for reading comic books.

Also, is the smaller edition flipped, reading left to right, or Japanese style, reading right to left?

Thanks

[wchua24]

i am never a huge fan of ghost in the shell. i think i watch the edited version. there are many aspects of this story that i dont understand. i think i should get the 1st story upto the last.:smile:

[Stevens]

I don't mean the movie. I am talking about the manga.

[vazel]

What the? My copy is edited? Dang it... I could've sworn I remember nudity in it and it's the normal western TPB size one and you read it from left to right.

Edit: Yea at the beginning of chapter 9 in the colorized part when that android woman gets run over by the truck she's fully nude.

[Melchior]

Both the large and the rerelease are both left to right. I believe 1.5 and 2 are as well, but they were specifically made for a western audience. I do not believe the latter two were edited.

The bit out of the initial release that was edited is 2-4 pages removed from when Batou was calling in the Major during her vacation. No plot points removed, just a gratuitous lesbian threesome in cyberspace.

If memory serves, there were some special releases with the pages of the initial Dark Horse version, but they are very hard to find since it came out a decade ago. Otherwise, you would have to go for the smaller size, or a foreign language version.

[The Xenos]

Wasn't Ghost in the Shell 2: Man Machine Interface censored? I belive Dark Horse released a limited hard cover with explicit sex scenes while the later soft cover release has these scenes taken out. I think this was done with Shirow's permission if not request to have a tamer version. Am I remembering this right? I remeber kicking myself for not getting the original limited release.

[Melchior]

Wasn't Ghost in the Shell 2: Man Machine Interface censored? I belive Dark Horse released a limited hard cover with explicit sex scenes while the later soft cover release has these scenes taken out. I think this was done with Shirow's permission if not request to have a tamer version. Am I remembering this right? I remeber kicking myself for not getting the original limited release.

I believe the floppy comic version was censored. I think the soft-cover release is the full thing unedited, though I remember hearing something about a special hard-cover as well.

This is the ANN article on it, anyway:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2004-09-11/ghost-in-the-shell-2-graphic-novel-announced

I have yet to see any mention of a hard-covered version, and there are no sex scenes in a flip-through of the book (save for one panel at near the end). The soft-cover is standard shrink-wrapped 18+, but that's more for the large amounts of naked and near-naked females in it.

Now I'm all confused. Dark Horse seldom edits their TPBs, even their older releases (though the floppy comics would be edited). If something is missing, I know it's not plot important. They are very good at that.

[jboncha]

I have both the large and the small TPBs of GITS and the smaller one has all the edited material put back in its place.
Its mostly a lesbian sex scene.

[Stevens]

It really irks me that you can have all kinds of graphic violence in comic books, but any kind of sex, then forget it. It has to come out. Give me a break.

[The Xenos]

Well, I thought the uncensored image I saw was a woman getting double penatrated by two guys. Shirow has gotten more sexual and pornographic in his comics, so I'm not too surprised that he would put sex scenes like that in.

[Inkthinker]

Shirow has quite a selection of erotic works. Check out "Galgrease" sometime.

[Stevens]

So I snagged both volumes. I'm about a 1/4 into GITS and ran across the sexual stuff, which was in full color. Very X rated, but at the same time, funny in the context it was used. I can see how Dark Horse thought it was over the top. Removing it does not alter the story in any way.

However, it is annoying that the only way to get this uncut is in the smaller digest sized release. I despise the art when it is so small. My eyes, which are quite good, have a hard time focusing because they are so used to our larger page size.

Oh well. Nothing I can do about it.

[lead sharp]

There is (I have it) an unedited version of the first manga which does include the aforementioned gratuitous lesbian threesome. Frankly it's completely unnecessary to the plot and unnecessarily graphic to try and explain away this filth as character development.

I had to look every where to find a copy.

[Inkthinker]

Just to play Devil's Advocate, the scene shows, in a quick and vivid manner, at least two things:

1- the Major is bisexual. She rarely engages in relationships, but when she does she chooses partners of either gender. This speaks to her character.

2- Cyborgs (and those who engage in cyber-connectivity) have options for entertainment that reflect the unreal nature of the virtual environment. The scene takes place on a boat in the Net, where the characters can engage in their activity without the fuss and muss of reality. This speaks to the world in which the characters live.

While not essential to the overall plot, the scene does serve to fill out the world in which the characters are engaged. It also explains why the Major takes control of Batou long enough to punch him in the eye (it's a gag that makes less sense unless you know what Batou witnessed when he interrupted the Major).

And yes, it's also a gratuitously erotic scene. Which isn't unusual, when dealing with entertainment directed at adults.

[lead sharp]

I was making a little joke. This points to me having a sense of humor.

[Inkthinker]

Yah, I figured with the "had to look everywhere" line. But I likes to play Devil's Advocate. This points to me being a pedantic git.

[lead sharp]

Yep :)

(wow you can't actually type less than three letters, whoda thunk).

Actually to the point in hand (pun so intended cus' I just don't care) is that the scene (which I didn't know about, and come to think of it the book was bought for me as a christmas present) is ott. That's not to say it's not fun or something nice to look at when you've almost forgotten what a womans bum looks like but there are less graphic ways to explore polygamous, bisexual cyborg shinanigans...on a boat.

(and just for the record I have since been reminded many times of what a real womans bum looks like before I get picked up on that one.)