Ghost In The Shell

The first Japanese animated feature designed for the international market, this cyberpunk policier doesn't make much sense on a narrative level, but the visuals are gorgeously designed and sometimes genuinely breathtaking. Against the backdrop of a dystopian urban future, Major Kusangi, a cyborg policewoman with spiky hair and postmodern attitude, tracks down the Puppetmaster, a robot criminal mastermind whose spirit can possess the bodies of both mortals and machines. Less spectacular but more effectively atmospheric than AKIRA, GHOST IN THE SHELL should gratify anime buffs and may well hook the uninitiated.