A few new things have surfaced this week in advance of the first episodes release of Ghost in the Shell Arise in Japan. The fun one that’s accessible for overseas fans is the 15 and 30 second promos that were released that ties into the Microsoft Surface product placement pitch where we get to see it tying into the animation a bit. Having been subjected to far too many North American dance oriented ads for the Surface, this is very much a welcome change. The second piece is a nearly five minute interview done for the advance ticket sales which got the interview DVD for the show as an “Invitation to Arise” promo. Sadly, it’s not subtitled which is expected, but for our Japanese speakers and aspirants, we wanted to include it as well.

Plot concept: Set in the year 2027, a year following the end of the non-nuclear World War IV. A bomb has gone off in Newport City, killing a major arms dealer who may have ties with the mysterious 501 Organization. Public Security official Daisuke Aramaki hires full-body cyber prosthesis user and hacker extraordinaire Motoko Kusanagi to investigate, but on the case with her are “Sleepless Eye” Batou who believes Kusanagi is a criminal, Niihama Prefecture Detective Togusa who is investigating a series of prostitute murders he believes are related to the incident, and Lieutenant Colonel Kurtz of the 501 Organization who also wishes to keep an eye on Kusanagi.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOJxWbymcdY?rel=0]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3EifSduOPM?rel=0]

There’s also a new 3 minute short that involves the Surface:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmmT9Of0Ikk?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcWo7_Ihicc?rel=0]