Synopsis:

The theatrical cut was full of lines which were very on the nose. Additionally, there was a subplot, involving Motoko's mother, that went nowhere. These issues have been addressed in the Lean & Mean cut. Moreover the beginning of the movie was re-edited to mimic the way the original animated movie starts. To this purpose, the credits scene was rescored using Kenji Kaway new rendition of the original main theme. Scenes from the very beginning of the movie have been used to create a flashback sequence that now appears much later. Multiple scenes where shortened, lines of dialogues were either deleted or altered or used in different contexts. The cemetery scene was restored to its original state and purpose. As far as I can tell, in the theatrical cut it was sliced in 2 to accomodate for the character of Motoko's mother, which I presumed was added at a later time to address the whitewashing controversy and to make up for the deleted scenes which included the character of Paz.

Intentions:

The purpose of this fanedit was that of making the movie closer in spirit to the original animated movie from 1995. The plot was made more interesting by eliminating all those lines that over-explained the lore of the Ghost in the Shell universe. The pace was made much brisker by eliminating an entire subplot and by shortening many of the scenes. The tone was altered as much as possible to make the movie feel more serious and grounded.

Change List:

Firstly, I started with the major changes: The beginning of the movie was altered to replicate the way the animated movie starts. The credits scene was rescored and the character of Motoko's mother was deleted. Finally, a flashback sequence was added in the middle of the movies using scenes that were cut from the very beginning. Then I moved on to systematically delete every single line that I deemed too on the nose, especially instances of the "I give my consent" catchphrase, or lines that mentioned the words "Ghost" and "Shell". Also, every line including the new name of the Major, Mira, was eliminated. Now she's simply known as "the Major". Every detail that did not add to the plot and that could be easily deleted was sacrificed to improve the pace of the movie.

Additional Notes:

1) Early scenes are cut. Now the movie begins with the Major on the top of a skyscraper. 2) Early apparition of the villain was deleted to add suspense. 3) The scene with the geishas was shortened to eliminate Batou's silly lines. 4) Credits scene was rescored using Kenjy Kawai music. Also, now the title of the movie appears only once during the sequence. 5) Debriefing scene was edited and shortened. 6) Scene with the Major and Aramaki was deleted. 6) Scene with the Major and Oulet was heavily altered to eliminate silliness. 7) Scene with the Major, Batou and Dr. Dhalin was altered to eliminate, once again, silly lines (ex. "She's being hacked!"). 8) Action scene in the nightclub was heavily edited so that the Major always appears in control of the situation. 9) Scene with the Major and Oulet was heavily edited to eliminate instances of lines of dialogues deemed too on the nose or that referenced the name "Mira". 10) Scene in which the Major meets a prostitute has been eliminated. 11) Fight scene in the pool of water has been shorted. Also, the chase sequence that comes before has been shortened too. 12) Interrogation scene briefly shortened to eliminate the suicide of the prisoner from the cut (needlessly edgy). 13) The Major's explanation of the villain's objective has been eliminated, to add suspense. Also, the villain himself explains what he's doing just a few minutes later. 14) Dialogue between the Major and Kuze lightly trimmed. 15) Flashback sequence added using scenes cut from the beginning of the movie. These too were altered to eliminate the name Mira. 16) Dialogue between Batou and the Major on the boat slightly edited to eliminate silly line ("You are a corporate man"). 17) Dialogue between Oulet and CEO of Hanka heavily altered to eliminate, yet again, on the nose lines. 18) Subsequent scene involving drugged Motoko and Oulet heavily edited to add suspense. Now it truly seems like Oulet is killing the Major by injection of a fatal substance. 19) Cutter's (CEO of Hanka) line deleted. 20) Entire subplot involving Motoko's mother deleted. Last scene from the movie, in which the Major visits her own tomb, moved here. 21) Dialogue between Kuze and Motoko lightly trimmed. 22) Cutter's line shortened (eliminated the part where he says "You freak!"). 23) Death of Cutter re-edited to, you guessed it, eliminate unwanted silliness ("I give my consent"). 24) Last apparitions of Motoko's mother eliminated from the movie.

Other Sources:

Additional music used in the fanedit: 1) Enjoy the Silence by Ki:Theory 2) Utai IV_ Reawekening by Kenji Kaway.

Special Thanks:

Thanks to TM2YC for taking the time to review the fanedit multiple times and for the suggestions that helped improving it.