Ghost in the Shell (1996) - Quotes

Love for Machines in 2029 A.D.

Tagline: People love machines in 2029 A.D.

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The Fluidity of Identity and Change

Major Motoko Kusanagi: You talk about redefining my identity. I want a guarantee that I can still be myself.

Puppet Master: There isn't one. Why would you wish to? All things change in a dynamic environment. Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you.

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Standard Issue Firearm Discussion

Major Motoko Kusanagi: What the hell did you use?

Batou: Your standard issue big gun.

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Uncertainty Surrounds Project 2501's Motives

Nakamura: I don't understand anything anymore. Why would Project 2501 run to Section 9?

Dr. Willis: No one can be sure. But whatever the motive, or whatever's pushing him, there must surely be a reason. ... I don't know. Maybe he's got a girlfriend there he's got the hots for.

Nakamura: Utter nonsense.

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The Complexity of Memory and Existence

Puppet Master: I entered this body because I was unable to overcome Section 6's reactive barriers. However, what you are now witnessing is an action of my own free will. As a sentient life form, I hereby demand political asylum.

Chief Aramaki: Is this a joke?

Nakamura: Ridiculous! It's programmed for self-preservation!

Puppet Master: It can also be argued that DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself. Life has become more complex in the overwhelming sea of information. And life, when organized into species, relies upon genes to be its memory system. So man is an individual only because of his intangible memory. But memory cannot be defined, yet it defines mankind. The advent of computers and the subsequent accumulation of incalculable data has given rise to a new system of memory and thought, parallel to your own. Humanity has underestimated the consequences of computerization.

Nakamura: Nonsense! This babble is no proof at all that you're a living, thinking life form!

Puppet Master: And can you offer me proof of your existence? How can you, when neither modern science nor philosophy can explain what life is?

Chief Aramaki: Who the hell is this?

Nakamura: Even if you do have a ghost, we don't offer freedom to criminals! It's the wrong place and time to defect.

Puppet Master: Time has been on my side, but by acquiring a body, I am now subject to the possibility of dying. Fortunately, there is no death sentence in this country.

Chief Aramaki: What is it? Artificial intelligence...?

Puppet Master: Incorrect. I am not an AI. My code name is Project 2501. I am a living, thinking entity that was created in the sea of information.

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Exploring Identity Beyond Physical Appearance

Major Motoko Kusanagi: That robot. Did we seem similar to you?

Batou: Of course not.

Major Motoko Kusanagi: No, I don't mean physically.

Batou: Just what, then?

Major Motoko Kusanagi: Well, I guess cyborgs like myself have a tendency to be paranoid about our origins. Sometimes I suspect I am not who I think I am, like maybe I died a long time ago and somebody took my brain and stuck it in this body. Maybe there never was a real me in the first place, and I'm completely synthetic like that thing.

Batou: You've got human brain cells in that titanium shell of yours. You're treated like other humans, so stop with the angst.

Major Motoko Kusanagi: But that's just it, that's the only thing that makes me feel human. The way I'm treated. I mean, who knows what's inside our heads? Have you ever seen your own brain?

Batou: It sounds to me like you're doubting your own ghost.

Major Motoko Kusanagi: What if a cyber brain could possibly generate its own ghost, create a soul all by itself? And if it did, just what would be the importance of being human then?

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Questioning Ethics in Neural Surgery

Batou: Chief, you've ever questioned the ethics of the neural surgeons who monkey around inside your brain?

Chief Aramaki: They undergo psychiatrical evaluations, especially those in security. They're subjected to a stringent screening of their personal lifes. Of course, the ones who check are only human.

Batou: I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it.

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Confrontation Between Law and Fugitive

Batou: Got him, huh? Well, the breech and the barrel really screwed up. That's what happens when you use HV bullets in one of these things. Oh yeah.

Fugitive: It's no use arresting me! I'm not talking to you goddamn cops!

Batou: Talk?! And just what are you going to talk about? You don't even know your own name, you stupid dickhead!

Fugitive: Huh?

Major Motoko Kusanagi: Can you remember your mother's name or what she looks like? Or how about where you were born? Don't you have any happy childhood memories? Do you even know who you are?

Batou: Ghost-hacked humans are so pathetic, it's a shame. And this poor bastard has been hacked pretty badly.

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Questioning Independence and Support in Adversity

Togusa: Tough chick needs backup? Since when did she ever need a hand?

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Confronting the Consequences of Actions

Togusa: Jesus Christ, what a mess! You didn't have to go that far.

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Endless Excitement in Everyday Life

Togusa: Yes siree, the excitement never stops.

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Skepticism About Life After Death

Batou: When I die, since I'm a real skeptic, I'm gonna gripe to the Lord and make sure I get back my original investment when I'm reincarnated...

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Batou's Reflection on Military Equipment

Batou: Hm... pressure sensitive triggers and a gorgon mine? Or is it a dummy...? Either way, what a waste! I ought'a take it home as a souvenir.

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Reflection on Identity and Existence

Batou: Nice indeed. Everything's accounted for, except your old shell.

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Embrace Humanity and Let Go of Anguish

Batou: You're treated like other humans, so stop with the angst.

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The Endless Cycle of Doubt

Batou: I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it.

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A Warranty on Humanity's Body

Batou: You and the chief are the only ones out of the whole section whose bodies don't come with a warranty.

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The Nature of Information and Experience

Batou: That's all it is: information. Even a simulated experience or a dream; simultaneous reality and fantasy. Any way you look at it, all the information that a person accumulates in a lifetime is just a drop in the bucket.

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Exploring the Infinite Possibilities of Existence

Major Motoko Kusanagi/Puppet Master: And where does the newborn go from here? The net is vast and infinite.

Embracing Change Over Limiting Identity

Puppet Master: Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you.

The Cycle of Life and Sacrifice

Puppet Master: Life perpetuates itself through diversity, and this includes the ability to sacrifice itself when necessary. Cells repeat the process of degeneration and regeneration until one day they die, obliterating an entire set of memory and information. Only genes remain. Why continually repeat this cycle? Simply to survive by avoiding the weaknesses of an unchanging system.

Reflections on Perception and Reality

Puppet Master: What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror. Then we shall see face to face.

Betrayal and Revenge in Ghost in the Shell

Major Motoko Kusanagi: As revenge for the fact that two of my men were killed, I even set it up so he would shoot his own son – through a door.

The Importance of Proximity in Combat

Major Motoko Kusanagi: What we really need, Togusa, is not sharpshooting skills, so much as the ability to get close enough to make sure the enemy can be killed. If you want to play at long-range sniping, you can always go shoot an elephant at 500 miles with a miniature cruise missile...

The Nature of Identity and Existence

Major Motoko Kusanagi: Maybe someday your "maker" will come... haul you away, take you apart, and announce the recall of a defective product. What if all that's left of the "real you" is just a couple of lonely brain cells, huh?

Concerns About Identity and Separation

Major Motoko Kusanagi: So what happens if she turns over in her sleep? Won't her ghost separate from her body?

Cyborg Paranoia and Origins Explored

Major Motoko Kusanagi: Well, I guess cyborgs like myself have a tendency to be paranoid about our origins.

The Complexity of Individual Identity

Major Motoko Kusanagi: There are countless ingredients that make up the human body and mind, like all the components that make up me as an individual with my own personality. Sure, I have a face and voice to distinguish myself from others, but my thoughts and memories are unique only to me, and I carry a sense of my own destiny. Each of those things are just a small part of it. I collect information to use in my own way. All of that blends to create a mixture that forms me and gives rise to my conscience. I feel confined, only free to expand myself within boundaries.

Exploring Identity and Transformation in Weightlessness

Major Motoko Kusanagi: When I float weightless back to the surface, I'm imagining I'm becoming someone else. ... It's probably the decompression.

Diversity of Thought Prevents Predictability and Weakness

Major Motoko Kusanagi: If we all reacted the same way, we'd be predictable, and there's always more than one way to view a situation. What's true for the group is also true for the individual. It's simple: overspecialize, and you breed in weakness. It's slow death.