‘Project 2501′ Working To Recreate ‘Ghost In The Shell’ Title Sequence Shot-For-Shot [NSFW]

Even back before manga and anime exploded (or E X P L O D Ed, as the case may be) and became as widely available as they are today, Masaume Shirow's Ghost In The Shell and Mamoru Oshii's anime adaptation were considered to be true high points of the cyberpunk genre around the world. It's one of the most well known franchises in the entirety of anime, producing multiple sequels and influencing films like The Matrix.

Obviously, it's going to have a pretty dedicated fanbase, and now, a group of artists and filmmakers have gotten together to produce a live-action fan-film adaptation of the original Ghost In The Shell anime's title sequence, reproducing it shot-for-shot. Check out a NSFW video of the process behind the recreation below!

Produced by director and CG artist Ash Thorp and starring Christine Adams as Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg heroine of Shirow's original GitS series, Project 2501 is an incredibly involved process, especially for a fan-film. It features artists working from all over the world, many of whom have actually never met each other in person, something that Thorp believes underscores the original story's themes of life in a technologically connected society where even someone's brain can be accessed by outside forces.

Interestingly enough, Project 2501 is happening at the same time as an American live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell is in development by Dreamworks under producers Steven Spielberg and Avi Arad. Given Hollywood's track record for adapting anime -- and I'm saying this as someone who had to sit through Dragonball Evolution -- maybe they could take a few cues from Thorp and his crew as far as recreating the feeling of the original.

Watch below for a behind-the-scenes process video, but keep in mind that it's Not Safe For Work, owing to a kind of hilarious use of Claude Debussy's Clair de Lune as a soundtrack. Oh, and also a lot of full-on nudity, just like the original's title sequence.

For more, including concept art, posters, and beautiful shots of the actual fan-film, check out Project 2501.