Ghost in the Shell Revisited

Ghost in the Shell has to be one of my all time favorite movies. If you can get past all the existentialism, nothing beats the artwork, cinematography, and story. It continues to influence new generations of viewers not to mention being one of the inspirations for the Matrix. GiTS was the movie the Wachowski Brothers showed the Weinsteins to get the greenlight on the concept. The characters are un-forgettable from Batou, Major Matoko and what's the guy with the revolver's name? But it's Shirow Masamune's mecha designs that are the centerpiece of the movie. The original Fuchikoma that you see here is probably my most favorite mecha period. For some strange reason, it does not seem popular enough to make into all kinds of action figures and toys. You are looking at a resin statue made by Yamato in 2001 and distributed by Diamond Select. I pre-ordered all three colors: Red, Green and this Blue one. They also made a Camo version, but I never got my hands on one. They were a great deal at $59 at the time, but you can't find them anywhere now. I have never seen one on display at a store or for sale. Perhaps partly because they are extremely fragile and the arms break easily. For the record, i'm not a fan of the sequel, "Innocence" nor the TV series even though I purchased the entire 4 DVD set. Nor have I purchased the Tachikoma you see here from the TV series "Stand Alone Complex" because I think it looks like a smurf tarantula with a humpback. What I really want is the Section 6 Tank mini figure seen here from the final scene in the original GiTS.