Ghost in the Shell ending explained: Major Killian's true identity

Ghost in the Shell is a manga authored by Shirow Masamune in 1991, that has been adapted over numerous mediums. These include the 1995 anime film, the 2002 series titled Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and the 2017 live-action adaptation starring Scarlett Johansson.

The 2017 film features Scarlett as Major Mira Killian, a survivor of a terrorist attack that is rebuilt with a new artificial body by Hanka Robotics. The CEO of the company, Cutter, decides to enlist Killian as a counter-terrorism agent and get her assigned to Section 9.

The ending of Ghost in the Shell reveals that Major Killian's backstory was fabricated. Her original identity was that of a Japanese anti-augmentation radical named Motoko Kusanagi. Hanka Robotics had her, her compatriot Hideo, and countless others kidnapped to be used as test subjects.

It ends with Motoko regaining her true memories, as she avenges herself and Hideo. Section 9 chief Aramaki kills Cutter with Motoko's consent, and she reunites with her mother and continues to work at Section 9, free from Hanka Robotics's influence.

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What happens in Ghost in the Shell?

The film stars Scarlett Johansson as Major Killian. (Image via Paramount)

Ghost in the Shell follows the story of Mira Killian (Scarlett Johansson), who's a survivor of a terrorist attack. Her body is rebuilt by Hanka Robotics, who have figured out how to transplant the human brain into an artificial "shell", turning Killian into a cyborg.

Despite the apprehensions of Dr. Ouelet, who designed Killian's new shell, Hanka Robotics CEO Cutter decides to employ Killian as a counter-terrorism agent. She is subsequently employed with Section 9. She works under Chief Daisuke Aramaki, and her teammates are Batou and Togusa.

Within a year, Killian ascends to the rank of Major. Things escalate when she thwarts a terrorist attack on a Hanka business conference and violates protocol to digitally "dive" into a robotic geisha that was remotely controlled as part of the attack.

The controller, known only as Kuze, lures Section 9 into a yakuza nightclub where they're ambushed, and Batou's eyes and Killian's body get damaged in an explosion. Cutter is incredibly upset about Killian's maverick behavior and warns Aramaki to keep her in line, lest Section 9 be shut down.

Kuze murders Dr. Dahlin, a Hanka consultant for Section 9, and moves to go after Dr. Ouelete next. Killian and Batou manage to thwart the attack by subduing the sanitation workers hacked by Kuze for the job. Togusa traces Kuze to a makeshift network site, which consists of people who have mentally linked themselves.

Kuze captures Killian and reveals that she's been lied to about her origins, and has been prescribed medications that suppress her true memories. He then frees her, and she heads to Dr. Ouelete to confront her.

By this point in the film Ghost in the Shell, Cutter has written Killian off as a liability and ordered Ouelete to kill her. Instead, Ouelete admits to having fabricated Killian's memories and gives her an address she can go to to learn the truth about her origins.

After Killian leaves, Cutter arrives and murders Ouelete. He pins the murder on Killian and tells Section 9 she's gone rogue.

The film tackles themes of human identity in the age of cybernetics. (Image via Paramount)

When Killian goes to the given address, she meets a widowed woman at an apartment. Her daughter, Motoko Kusanagi, ran away from home and was arrested by the police. According to them, Motoko subsequently committed suicide.

Killian reports back to Aramaki with this information. Cutter eavesdrops on them and sends his men after Section 9, but Batou, Aramaki, and Togusa thwart the ambush.

Killian follows her memories to Motoko's last known location. She meets with Kuze and learns that she once knew him as Hideo. They were both anti-augmentation radicals who were abducted by Hanka for human experimentation.

Cutter tries to kill them using a spider-tank, which critically injures Kuze and costs Killian an arm before being destroyed. Killian promises to keep Kuze and Hideo's memories alive as he succumbs to his wounds before a Hanka sniper finishes him off.

Sector 9 rescues Killian, and Aramaki kills Cutter with her blessing. She's repaired the next day, and embraces her true identity as Motoko Kusanagi while reconciling with her mother.

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The Ghost in the Shell live-action movie proved to be a contentious production, both for the handling of its source material's themes and for the casting of Scarlett Johansson in the role of an originally Japanese character. The overall quality and merits of the Ghost in the Shell film remain hotly debated to this day.