Joseph Campbell's Oriental mythology in *Ghost in the Shell* (1995) and Occidental mythology in *Ghost in the Shell* (2017)

The paper examines how cross-media and cross-cultural adaptation reshapes narrative when Japanese anime is adapted into a Hollywood live-action film. Focusing on Ghost in the Shell (1995 anime) and its 2017 live-action adaptation, the authors frame the comparison through Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and, crucially, his Masks of God volumes on Oriental and Occidental mythologies. Against a backdrop of Hollywood’s adaptation boom and debates over fidelity versus intertextuality, the study aims to explore identity and cultural ideology shifts between the Japanese original and the American remake, moving beyond fidelity critiques to investigate deeper mythological and philosophical differences.

• Adaptation theory: Change as intrinsic to adaptation; pleasure of repetition with variation; necessity of cultural indigenization (Hutcheon & O’Flynn; Jenkins; Friedman). Fidelity once dominated (Bluestone) but contemporary scholarship balances fidelity and intertextuality (Gkikas; Yoshimoto), using comparative factors (e.g., poetics, feminism).
• Campbell and the Hero’s Journey: Enduring influence across media; critiques of gender (Murdock; Carriger) and universality (Lefler; Bond & Christensen; Segal), yet continued applicability in creative and analytical practice (Sadri). Female hero applicability to Ghost in the Shell’s protagonist is argued despite heroine-specific models.
• National/transnational cinema and Japanese identity: From Higson’s national cinema to transnational and Pan-Asian practices (Khoo; Wada-Marciano), with Japan’s hybrid cultural identity (Ko; Dissanayake). Anime’s global orientation and hybrid mythic content (Ruh; Djihed) coexist with works expressing Japanese identity (Grajdian; Huang).
• Prior discourse on Ghost in the Shell (2017): Criticisms of cultural imperialism, individualistic heroism, and Robocop formula (Bastien; Haden; Daliot-Bul), alongside some noted merits (Edwards). These provide context for a mythological comparative approach using Campbell’s Oriental/Occidental frameworks.

Conceptual comparative analysis of the 1995 anime (Oshii) and the 2017 live-action film (Sanders) using Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey supplemented by The Masks of God: Oriental Mythology and Occidental Mythology as the primary comparative framework. The authors:

• Identify narrative structures, motifs, and thematic emphases aligned with Oriental (unity of divine and secular, ambiguity, transcendence) versus Occidental (separation of Heaven/Earth, individual rationality, redemption) mythologies.
• Conduct close reading of selected scenes, images, and sound: opening choral theme lyrics (wedding song/Shinto resonances), frame-within-frame compositions, ocean dive, Puppet Master dialogues, merging/transcendence (1995); corporate “idol” holograms, mentor figures, virtual dive, glitches/hallucinations, Kuze and Project 2571 revelations, rejection of transcendence, and final narration (2017).
• Situate findings within adaptation studies debates (fidelity vs intertextuality) and cultural representation literature, interpreting how cultural ideology informs narrative transformation.

• 1995 anime aligns with Campbell’s Oriental mythology: • Shinto resonances in the opening choral theme (wedding song invoking unity; emphasis on ‘dance’ over doctrine) and creation myths emphasizing union. • Visual and narrative ambiguity: frame-within-frame shots conveying entrapment of self; philosophical dialogue on identity and “ghosts”; Puppet Master’s statements foregrounding life’s ambiguity and diversity. • Transcendence and unity of divine and secular: Kusanagi merges with the Puppet Master (angelic vision preceding merging), undergoes metaphorical/physical death-rebirth, awakens in a child cyborg body as “master of two worlds,” and ends with an open, poetic ambiguity (“The Net is vast and infinite”).
• 2017 live-action aligns with Campbell’s Occidental mythology: • Structural separation akin to Heaven/Earth: Hanka Robotics as godlike corporate power; city dominated by towering “idols” (holograms). • Individualistic hero arc with mentors (Ouelet, Aramaki; expanded Batou role) guiding Killian toward understanding her human “ghost.” • Threshold crossing via virtual dive; glitches/hallucinations as trials; encounter with shadow figure Kuze revealing Project 2571 and true identity (Motoko Kusanagi). • Defiance of the gods and rejection of ascension: Killian refuses transcending with Kuze, chooses to bring down Hanka (blank skyline free of idols), embraces identity, reunites with mother (redemption motif), returns to site of death/rebirth, and claims mastery of two worlds in the closing narration.
• Comparative insight: The anime’s poetic, non-dual, and ambiguous resolution reflects Oriental mythic sensibilities, whereas the film’s clear antagonism, redemption, and assertion of individual agency reflect Occidental mythic structures and a superhero-origin style narrative.
• Adaptation value: Differences reflect cultural-mythological reconfiguration rather than mere unfaithfulness, supporting intertextuality-based evaluation.

The findings demonstrate that the narrative and thematic divergences between the 1995 anime and the 2017 film correspond to underlying mythological ideologies: the anime’s Shinto-inflected, ambiguous unity and transcendence versus the film’s dualistic separation, individualism, and redemption. This addresses the research aim by showing that cultural frameworks (Oriental vs Occidental mythology) more fully explain adaptation changes than fidelity alone. The analysis reframes critiques of the 2017 version, suggesting its departures are culturally grounded and artistically purposeful within an Occidental mythic paradigm. The work advances adaptation studies by exemplifying how Campbell’s broader mythological taxonomy can serve as a comparative lens for cross-cultural remakes, enriching intertextual interpretation and moving beyond binary judgments of faithfulness.

The article contributes a comparative, mythologically grounded interpretation of Ghost in the Shell’s anime and live-action iterations, arguing that Campbell’s Oriental and Occidental mythologies clarify each work’s distinct narrative logic and ideological emphasis. The 1995 anime embodies Oriental motifs of unity, ambiguity, and transcendence through Kusanagi’s merger with the Puppet Master and open-ended enlightenment. The 2017 film manifests Occidental motifs of separation, individual agency, defiance of godlike authority, redemption, and self-actualization, culminating in a clear assertion of identity and purpose. By applying Campbell’s Masks of God alongside the Hero’s Journey, the study broadens tools for cross-cultural adaptation analysis and supports intertextual evaluations over fidelity-bound critiques.