For both the 1995 movie and the original manga, the basis of both stories are more or less the same. They largely revolve around how an advance AI known as the Puppet Master is wreaking havoc and Section 9 has to stop it. Other than following the same plot and using the same characters, the execution largely differs. Though they both focus on the Puppet Master, the manga has a lot of filler content and branches out in the way Stand Alone Complex does with its respective series by having episodic chapters, and other chapters focused on finding the Puppet Master.

As previously stated, Stand Alone Complex, in terms of pace, does take from the manga. As opposed to having the Puppet Master as the antagonist, we have the Laughing Man, an original character based on an actual incident with the kidnapping of a company president in Japan back in the 1980s. Later on, we learn that he’s actually one of the good guys and like in pretty much all versions, the true villains are corrupt politicians and big business who collaborate with them.

Ghost in the Shell in all of its incarnations share a great balance of style and substance with its exciting action sequences, and its relatable philosophical explorations as to what defines existence, and what it means to be human. In a world where people can now find a sense of immortality by becoming machines, you see the benefits and the risks. But if there is one thing that the manga does to distinguish itself, it uses a lot more humor. As for the 1995 movie, the humor is non-existent and the humor comes across as rather casual in Stand Alone Complex from time-to-time. However, the supporting cast in all versions are all the same characters and serve the same roles, but they tend to carry more humor in the manga and even sing a song about how much they love the Major.

The difference in tone can also be contrasted in how colors are used. In the manga and Stand Alone Complex, you get a lot of blue, purple, and white as part of the color scheme, but the 1995 movie takes a different approach by mostly portraying a gray and black world, you feel a sense of urban decay, but the manga and Stand Alone Complex give you a cleaner and brighter world. The Major’s design in the manga and the movie are significantly different as well. In the manga (and in Stand Alone Complex), she does have a very generic design in-tune with the nature of anime with bigger eyes, purple hair, and almond eyes, but in the 1995 movie, she has shorter hair that is colored black, and her eyes are blue and aren’t as exaggerated to reflect the movie’s more serious tone.

In all versions to Ghost in the Shell, the Major always means business (though the movie has her very calm and collected. In the manga, she can be rather hot-headed), is an amazing leader, and is an effective soldier. However, most of the anime adaptations tend to ignore her bi-sexuality. As a matter of fact, Kusanagi’s bi-sexuality is instantly emphasized very early in her introduction in the manga as she is shown to be on a virtual lesbian cruise, and later, she kisses a man. In the anime movie, she is portrayed as asexual and the TV series does show she is capable of love but doesn’t really emphasize her sexual nature. Though the anime movie does have her nude, it’s mostly used as a battle tactic to help her with her optic camouflage.