20 Of The Coolest Female Robots In Science Fiction

Motoko Kusanagi, Ghost in the Shell (Screenshot image via Bandai Entertainment)

15. Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)

Hope you’ve liked our detour into non-sexualized territory, because now we’re diving into the world of manga and anime. While there’s a lot to like about both art forms, and about Ghost in the Shell, you’ll also encounter plenty of pin-ups. Fair warning.

Don’t let that completely deter you, however. There’s a lot to like (or at least be interested in) about Major Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg at the center of the Ghost in the Shell franchise. Just be aware that you’ll occasionally encounter silly male gaze-type things like a strapless leotard. I’ll warn you now that the manga is especially egregious in this sense. There, Kusanagi engages in “E-sex” a lucrative robot-based side-hustle that amounts to prostitution.

No shame for sex workers here, but it does lead to a gratuitous splash panel featuring a lesbian hookup. Masamune Shirow, the artist who created the manga, said in Intron Depot 1 that “I drew an all-girl orgy because I didn’t want to draw some guy’s butt.” So… there’s that, for your information.

Kusanagi is a “full-body prosthesis augmented-cybernetic human”. In short, her body is completely synthetic, while her mind remains human. Kusanagi sometimes wonders if her consciousness isn’t also synthetic. It would certainly be possible for her memories to be constructed, rather than lived. She frequently wonders if her soul, or “ghost”, retains any humanity at all.

Such philosophical musings are typically sidelined in favor of her work as the field commander of a law-enforcement division. In both her professional and personal lives, she’s highly intelligent, strong-willed, and commanding. Few fools dare to argue with her. Kusanagi is also physically powerful, thanks to her top-line cybernetic body. The occasional splash panel aside, she’s ad admirable character.