Anchor Bay to Release Ghost in the Shell 2.0 on Blu-Ray in August

According to ICv2, Anchor Bay is set to release the remastered Ghost in the Shell first screened in Japanese theaters last year on US Blu-Ray in August.

The film was remastered from the original prints with retouched animation and the CG sequences were redone using current technology, but the consensus among those that saw the film (including myself) was that the CG proved to be a major distraction and was rather offputting for most.

It remains to be seen whether this version which is intended to be both a cash grab and the definitive version of the film will prove successful and also draw younger anime fans that may not have seen the original movie.  The film itself was adapted by Mamoru Oshii from the manga of the same name penned by Masamune Shirow, with the film becoming the standard by which modern hybrid 2D/CGI animation is judged.