Movies like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
The best movies like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) are Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008), Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014). If Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence hooked you with its animation and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGhost in the Shell (1995)7.9/10 from 4,139 votes
- NewestLove Me (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseGhost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)Also in Japanese
Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)
In the year 2029, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell (1995)
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014)
The upcoming installment's story takes place amidst signs of postwar reconstruction in the winter of 2028. Tensions are rising in New Port City as demonstrations are held concerning the interests of foreign cartels. This leads to a shooting incident involving riot police. It all started with a cyberbrain infection released by the terrorist "Fire Starter." An independent offensive unit led by Makoto Kusanagi entrusts the suppression of the situation to their ghosts and aims for their own justice. Below the surface of the incident, lies the "tin girl" Emma and the "scarecrow man" Burinda Junior. As Kusanagi deals with the incident, she draws near to what those two ghosts were seeking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 2: Ghost Whispers (2013)
Freed of her responsibilities with the 501 Organization, Motoko Kusanagi must now learn how to take orders from Aramaki. Someone hacks the Logicomas, and Batou enlists the help of former army intelligence officer Ishikawa and former air artillery expert Borma. Kusanagi also seeks to enlist ace sniper Saito and undercover cop Paz into the new Public Security Section 9.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2007)
The story takes place in the year 2034, two years after the events in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. Female cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi has left Public Security Section 9, an elite counter-terrorist and anti-crime unit specializing in cyber-warfare, which has expanded to a team of 20 field operatives with Togusa acting as the field lead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG - Individual Eleven (2006)
The year is 2030, and an influx of refuges have effortlessly transformed themselves into a terrorist organization known as the "Individual Eleven." With a sadistic intent of mass destruction, will they triumph in victory or discover the gloomy pitfalls of defeat?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: The New Movie (2015)
When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle Angel (1993)
In his travels as a bounty hunter, Hunter–Warrior and cyborg healer Ido one day discovers and repairs the remnants of a cyborg whom he names Gally. Though possessing the body of a young woman, Gally now embodies Ido's most sophisticated and lethal cybernetic skills. The preternaturally strong, amnesiac Gally begins to forge a life for herself in a world where every day is a struggle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 1: Ghost Pain (2013)
The story is set in 2027, one year after the end of the fourth non-nuclear war. New Port City is still reeling from the war's aftermath when it suffers a bombing caused by a self-propelled mine. Then, a military member implicated in arms-dealing bribes is gunned down. During the investigation, Public Security Section's Daisuke Aramaki encounters Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg, wizard-level hacker assigned to the military's 501st Secret Unit. Batou, a man with the "eye that does not sleep," suspects that Kusanagi is the one behind the bombing. The Niihama Prefectural Police detective Togusa is pursuing his own dual cases of the shooting death and a prostitute's murder. Motoko herself is being watched by the 501st Secret Unit's head Kurutsu and cyborg agents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like this009-1: The End of the Beginning (2013)
In a universe where the Cold War never ended and growing conflicts result in the rapid advancement of technological warfare, the cyborg spy Mylene Hoffman of the 00 Organization battles the agents of the Eastern block in a game of high tech espionage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMardock Scramble: The Second Combustion (2011)
Rescued by Doctor Easter from a deadly assault on their headquarters by Dimsdale Boiled, Rune Balot finds temporary shelter in "Paradise," a high-tech laboratory where the Scramble 09 protocol originated. While the severely injured Oeufcoque regenerates in a healing vat, Rune struggles to find the answers within herself that will let her equally injured psyche find some measure of peace. But as the search for clues to the location of Shell's hidden memories continues, Boiled finds them again, and Rune and the Doctor decide it's time to carry the war to the enemy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMardock Scramble: The First Compression (2010)
Rune Ballot is a down-and-out teen prostitute in Mardock City. One day, she's picked up by an ambitious casino manager named Shell who gives her everything she could want. Renewed by a false innocence, a false past, and now the false life Shell has given her, Ballot feels grateful. However, she can't help but be curious about why he's done so much for her, so she does some research about his past on a computer. This turns out to be a mistake which will change her life greatly. When Shell finds out what she's done, he attempts to burn her to death by blowing up her car.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 3: Ghost Tears (2014)
Posing as lovers on vacation, Motoko and Batou work to try to stop a terrorist organization whose symbol is the Scrasath. Meanwhile, Togusa investigates a murder of a man who possessed a prosthetic leg manufactured by the Mermaid's Leg corporation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable War (2021)
In the year 2045, after an economic disaster known as the Synchronized Global Default, rapid developments in AI propelled the world to enter a state of "Sustainable War". However, the public is not aware of the threat that AI has towards the human race. A compilation film with newly added footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho-Pass: Sinners of the System - Case.2 First Guardian (2019)
2112; the summer before Akane Tsunemori was assigned to Division One of the Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Department. Teppei Sugo, an accomplished pilot of the Defense Army's 15th Integrated Task Force, joins the military operation in Okinawa. Three months later, an unmanned combat drone opens fire on the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo. Enforcer Tomomi Masaoka of CID Division One is dispatched to Sugo's military base to investigate the truth behind this case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005)
The year is 2030 and six years have passed since a criminal known only as "The Laughing Man" swept through top medical nanotechnology firms committing acts of cyber-terrorism, kidnapping, and espionage leaving no known suspects. New information is revealed, as Section 9 enters the hunt for a suspect capable of unfathomable actions in this compilation of Stand Alone Complex content.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPsycho-Pass: Sinners of the System - Case.1 Crime and Punishment (2019)
In the winter of 2117, a runaway vehicle crashes into the Public Safety Bureau Building. The driver is identified as Izumi Yasaka, a psychological counselor at the Sanctuary, a Latent Criminal Isolation Facility in Aomori Prefecture. But right before her interrogation, Inspector Mika Shimotsuki and Enforcer Nobuchika Ginoza are tasked with promptly escorting Yasaka back to Aomori. What awaits them there is a False Paradise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho-Pass: Sinners of the System - Case.3 On the Other Side of Love and Hate (2019)
Following the incident in the Southeast Asia Union in 2116, Shinya Kogami resumes his vagrant journey. In a small South Asian nation, Kogami rescues a bus of refugees under attack by armed guerrilla forces. Among the refugees is a young lady by the name of Tenzin, who begs Kogami to teach her how to retaliate against the enemy. Just what does the girl who wishes for revenge and the man who has exacted revenge see as they gaze upon the edge of a world from which there is no escape?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlade Runner 2049 (2017)
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMardock Scramble: The Third Exhaust (2012)
The final plans to finish Shell off in court have been made by Easter, Balot, and Oeufcoque. But in order to execute those plans, they must set foot into Shell's domain: the BlueEgg Casino in the center of Mardock City, and find the chip where his memories lie. If they can't find the chip, their case will be dismissed in court, and their "usefulness" will be gone – resulting in all of their deaths. Will Balot find the chip in time, while still dodging Boiled and his now mad search for her and Oeufcoque?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSailor Victory (1995)
In the future, five female high school students form Sailor Victory to command three giant ninja robots: Gion, Momoyama and Sagano, so that they can fight against evil in the virtual-future of Mikado City. In these two episodes, a disgraced and disgruntled city employee aims to humiliate the Sailor Victory crew by joining up with the evil Margarita. Little does he know that she is bent on destroying the city...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Buying Time (2024)
It is the year 2028 and antibiotics are no longer effective. A corporation called Lifeline has invented a health chip which everyone can get for free via the NHS. You can buy an upgrade which is effective against more infections and diseases. In 2028 computing and processing power is restricted however for someone to have an upgrade some one has to die for the power to be transferred. People are dieing randomly. Lifeline are launching their 2nd upgrade which is expected to earn them billions along with their ministerial backer. Daniel Avery has lost his wife and daughter in such circumstances and recent nightmares and flashbacks have instigated him to investigate. He slowly uncovers the truth with the help of a rebel group of the pull for power and greed that goes right to the top.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & science fiction
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here – Past (2015)
It all began quite suddenly. Akihito, who appears human but is actually half yomu with the power to quickly heal himself, sees a freshman girl who appears ready to jump from the school rooftop. The girl, Mirai, who has the ability to manipulate blood, which is unique even among members of the spirit world, continues to fight her isolation. Akihito decides at that moment to save Mirai, but disturbing events soon begin to unfold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemories (1995)
Three back-to-back anime films by three different directors make up this sci-fi trilogy three years in the making.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGATCHAMAN (1994)
An enormous dragon-shaped warship decimates a city with plasma beams and giant robotic arms. Its target is the Mantel Plan, a network unifying the world's energy resources. As the sinister ship heads for its next target a team of specialists rise to the rescue: the Gatchaman. Piloting their ship, the Phoenix, the Gatchaman launch a counterattack. Once inside the enemy ship they come face to face with the Galactor's entire army of assassins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Love Me (2025)
In a story that spans billions of years, a buoy and a satellite meet online long after humanity’s extinction. As they learn what life was like on Earth, they discover themselves and what it means to be alive and in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCape of Pleasures (TBA)
In a near future in Brazil, a totalitarian regime forces the elderly into residences where they extract memories from their brains to train an AI system. Horrified by this new reality, one man escapes one of the residences and joins a guerrilla cell led by fellow dissidents over 75.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Sea Prince and the Fire Child (1981)
The God of Water and the Goddess of Fire, who once lived in harmony, were torn apart by the Lord of the Winds. Their children, Sirius, heir to the Water Kingdom, and Malta, heir to the Fire Kingdom, become aware of the existence of their other worlds and fall in love. Their parents, however, disapprove, leading to a tale of star-crossed lovers trapped between life and death, water and fire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Julie & Jack (2003)
In this love story with Hitchcockian overtones, a computer chip salesman meets the perfect girl (a brilliant software developer) -- and then she disappears. After Jack Livingstone (Justin Kunkle) finds Julie Romanov (Jenn Gotzon) through an Internet dating service, he's convinced life is perfect. But when she vanishes, he's left distraught and confused. Turning to Julie's mother (Hitchcock vet Tippi Hedren), he learns a startling revelation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Case of Hana & Alice (2015)
After transferring to Ishinomori Middle School, Tetsuko "Alice" Arisugawa overhears her classmates discussing a strange rumor. The previous occupant of her seat, a nondescript "Judas," is missing and presumed murdered. Amidst dealing with her mother's undesired meddling in her affairs and warding off her classmates' bullying, the troubled Alice starts to investigate the mystery surrounding Judas' disappearance. The trail of clues leads her to the house of her next-door neighbor, the quirky and reclusive Hana Arai.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence?
The closest matches to Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence are Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008), Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence?
Start with Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008), the closest match to Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence?
Ghost in the Shell (1995), rated 7.9/10 by 4,139 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence?
Love Me (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence?
Yes: Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008), Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014).
How are movies similar to Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.