The 1995 fan-favorite anime film ‘Ghost in the Shell’ was recently released in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in the United Kingdom and Ireland. With the DVD comes promotional material featuring illustrations from Sheffield artist Matt Ferguson, who has worked on other franchises artwork including Marvel Studios’ ‘WandaVision’ and LucasFilm’s ‘Star Wars.’
He spoke with Funimation about his work on ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and identifies his favorite anime.
“Well, I had a conversation with the team at Funimation, they told me what they’d like,” he said on how he got the job. “If memory serves it was all about trying to evoke the serious tone of the film. Then I watched it and made note of sequences and elements that I liked. I really liked when Major’s body is built in the opening credits. That floating, featureless body was very affecting. So that’s where I jumped off from. It all spun out from that central theme of ‘what makes a person.’”
The interviewer asked what is the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of ‘Ghost in the Shell,’ he replied, ” I’d say it would be that theme of what makes us who we are. It goes hand in hand with Blade Runner in that regard. So it’s not the visuals, or the action. It’s the deeper philosophical themes that I instantly think about.”
“It’s got a tone to it, very serious and dramatic. The world is meticulously thought out and it all seems very plausible. It’s also hugely influential, you see it in a lot of science fiction films and stories that have been made since its release,” he said on the importance of the anime flick.
When asked about his favorite anime, he answered that it was the 1988 cyberpunk feature ‘Akira.’
“It’s such an impactful film,” Ferguson explained. “I’d love to do some art for it one day. I also really love Studio Ghibli. Me and my daughter love watching Totoro.”
You can watch the 4K Imax trailer below:
ClownfishTV.com strives to be an apolitical, balanced and based pop culture news outlet. However, our contributors are entitled to their individual opinions. Author opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of our video hosts, other site contributors, site editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. This website contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. We disclaim products or services we have received for review purposes, as well as sponsored posts.
