New Ghost in the Shell Anime Premieres on Prime Video
This is the first Ghost in the Shell anime to recast the iconic role of Motoko Kusanagi following the death of Atsuko Tanaka, with Maaya Sakamoto stepping in for a new generation of the franchise.
Key Facts
- The Ghost in the Shell anime premiered on July 7, 2026, on Japanese television and on Prime Video in over 240 countries and regions.
- Maaya Sakamoto voices Motoko Kusanagi, replacing the late Atsuko Tanaka who died in August 2024.
- Mokochan directs the series at Science SARU in his directorial debut.
- King Gnu performs the opening theme "Go Ghost," and MILLENNIUM PARADE feat. Saya Gray and Daniel Caesar perform the ending theme "Blue."
- The anime had its global premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2026 with its first two episodes.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, AnimationXpress Anime.
The new Ghost in the Shell television anime from Science SARU premiered on July 7, 2026, on Japanese television and began streaming on Prime Video in over 240 countries and regions. The series, directed by Mokochan in his directorial debut, features Maaya Sakamoto as the voice of Motoko Kusanagi, taking over the role after the death of original voice actress Atsuko Tanaka in August 2024. The cast also includes Kazuhiro Yamaji as Daisuke Aramaki, Hiroki Yasumoto as Batou, and Yuichi Nakamura as Togusa. Toh Enjoe writes and oversees the series scripts, while Shuhei Handa handles character design and chief animation direction. Taisei Iwasaki composes the music with Ryō Konishi and Yuki Kanesaka. King Gnu performs the opening theme "Go Ghost," and MILLENNIUM PARADE feat. Saya Gray and Daniel Caesar perform the ending theme "Blue." The anime had its global premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June with its first two episodes, and also screened at Anime Expo on July 4. Bandai Namco Filmworks, Kodansha, Science SARU, and Production I.G are on the production committee.
The series adds several new cast members beyond the core team. Kōsuke Gotō voices Ishikawa, Tōru Nara voices Saito, Marie Ōi voices the Operator, and Tomoko Kaneda voices Fuchikoma. Chafūrin plays the Minister of Home Affairs, Naomi Kusumi plays the Volgarena Representative, Hiroshi Yanaka plays Vice Minister Ito, and Tomoko Miyadera plays the Union Leader.
Additional staff credits include art director Emi Katanosaka, art supervisor Osamu Masuyama, color key artist Satoshi Hashimoto, compositing director of photography Hikari Itō, editor Kiyoshi Hirose, sound director Yuji Tange, sound effects by Shota Yaso, recording by Yasuaki Ōta, and music production by Flying Dog.
The anime premiered on July 7 on "Ka-Anival!!," a new anime programming block from Kansai TV and Fuji TV that airs Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m. JST. Streaming on Prime Video Japan began at 11:30 p.m. JST, right after the broadcast. The global streaming release excludes mainland China, Russia, and Vietnam.
Anime Limited's All the Anime revealed the English dub cast last month. A panel at Anime Expo on July 4 featured director Mokochan, character designer Shuhei Handa, and other producers after the screening of the first two episodes.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News New Ghost in the Shell Anime Confirms Japanese Cast
- AnimationXpress Anime ‘Ghost in the Shell’ returns with new anime on Prime Video