On July 12 a surprise is coming to Japanese theaters. The original Ghost in the Shell movie is playing in 5 theaters throughout Japan. But this isn’t just a re-run of the movie; Mamoru Oshii’s masterpiece is being remastered.

A whole new voice acting track will be laid down by nearly all of the original actors, and all sound and music has been remastered by Skywalker Sound (of Star Wars fame). Most important of all, some of the animation is being replaced for new, shiny CGI. Below is a promo video for the event and 3 before/after images comparing it to the original.

If you ask me the original animation still holds ground and most of these “after” shots just seem darker and browner. Hell, add some bloom lighting and you can slap a Gears of War sticker on the cover!

Watching this has made me realize that the exotic aura surrounding older movies like GITS and Akira is missing from today’s productions. I remain excited. Expect a DVD of this remastered version to come out in a couple of months and hit the torrents a couple of weeks after that.