Village Voice by J. Hoberman

You can call me fanboy, but this is the best anime I've ever seen.

Portland Oregonian by M. E. Russell

Innocence revisits imagery from the first film. But this time computer animation pumps everything up to epic proportions. The results are overwhelming.

Chicago Reader by Andrea Gronvall

That rare sequel that surpasses the original.

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

Innocenc doesn't just reveal a wealth of visual enchantments; it restates the case that there can and should be more to feature-length animations than cheap jokes, bathos and pandering.

New York Daily News by Jami Bernard

The love and attention Oshii poured into animating Batou's pet basset hound proves that the human instinct dominates even in a movie dependent on technology.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Carrie Rickey

The imagery is uniquely that of Oshii, who deserves a place in the pantheon of visual artists.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

The title Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is a brain banger. But as sci-fi nomenclature goes, it's easy to read--no twistier, certainly, than "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."

Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Sean Axmaker

The impressive marriage of CGI backgrounds and traditional hand-drawn characters gives Oshii more tools to sculpt his vision in color and light.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Crust

The dark sequel offers gorgeous images, with an updated and stylish design, but its characters' angst gets in the way of storytelling.

Los Angeles Times

The dark sequel offers gorgeous images, with an updated and stylish design, but its characters' angst gets in the way of storytelling.

Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt

Ingeniously crafted with flashes of intelligence, if not very memorable.

Dallas Observer by Luke Y. Thompson

There's a lot of imagination at work here; too bad just a little bit of it couldn't have been channeled into the creation of a better narrative.

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

A downbeat story line layered with philosophical discourses will restrict the audience to fans of the animated genre.

Film Threat by Eric Campos

Unfortunately, the outcome here is so over-the-top that it’s going to wind up alienating most everyone that sees it.

L.A. Weekly by David Chute

This sophomoric stuff is pure self-indulgence, a drone to accompany the admittedly eye-popping sound-and-light show. Oshii looks like yet another director who has gone off the deep end, believing too absolutely his own good reviews.

The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson

At times, Innocence feels like a clip show of Oshii projects past. But the effect proves more dulling than warmly familiar.

Variety by Derek Elley

Talky, repetitive and largely covering the same ground with no new thoughts, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is a major let-down.