Togusa shines in this latest episode.Kodansha, Bandai Namco Film WorksThe latest episode of the new Ghost in the Shell, called Robot Rondo, really shows why this anime works so well by sticking to the original manga.This story covers the rise of robots rebelling against their masters. The bulk of these are due to their obsolescence and the psychological impact that has on robots.However, amongst all of these cases, there are some that were seemingly triggered remotely, and this leads Batou and Togusa on the trail of a shady robotics manufacturer, with a corrupt and entirely cybernetic boss.Some of the story elements here also made their way into the second Mamoru Oshii Ghost in the Shell movie, Innocence.This time around, with Masamune Shirow’s manga pacing, the story gets to the point a lot quicker and allows for Togusa to show us that he can indeed kick ass.I am genuinely loving this new Ghost in the Shell anime, as like the manga, it doesn’t hold your hand or endlessly pontificate on the nature of existence.The world of Ghost in the Shell is messy, difficult, and very human. Forcing viewers to strap in and actually try to keep up.The animation is also really great, and the characterization is also a lot more interesting. The previous anime versions treated the characters in a very fixed and rigid way. This iteration doesn’t do that, and there’s more range of expression shown here that makes everything so much more relatable.Like the manga, this anime is also building towards the Puppet Master, and that will be fun to see play out.In the meantime, I’m genuinely loving this new Ghost in the Shell anime, and I wish more manga adaptations took this overly faithful approach to their respective source material.The Ghost in the Shell is available to watch via Amazon Prime Video.Follow me on X, Facebook , and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently writing a regular column in Japanese about mecha games for Game*Spark.