WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, now streaming on Netflix.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is a thought-provoking extension of the classic anime/manga series set within the Stand Alone Complex continuity that deals with how the world has evolved into a state of perpetual war. In fact, combat is as big a business as ever and everyone's for sale -- evidence by Japan being run by America's puppet, Prime Minister Tate, to consolidate world power.
With that in mind, let's break down the two big concepts the show introduces: the Sustainable War, and how the emergence of post-humans seems set to break this down and hurt those who profit from death and destruction.
WHAT IS THE SUSTAINABLE WAR?
The Sustainable War is tied to World War III in the series; specifically, how countries tried to stop nuclear war because they couldn't deal with radioactive fallout. With the "Great Four" -- America, China, Russia and the European Union -- looking towards technology more than ever, World War IV was fought from 2012 to 2024, paving the way for nuke-free warfare.
Mercenary groups were hired, no matter which country they belonged to, making it more like a sporting game. There was no loyalty and militaries were strengthened based on who could afford the best. As a result, war became a business that the one-percenters made a lot of money from as they barricaded themselves into unique territories and commissioned factories to manufacture weapons, robots and new threats. They were protected while the rest of the country suffered from whoever else attacked, becoming richer as global power shifted to more developed nations.
America and Japan proved ahead of the curve, ergo their unofficial partnership, which is why the series starts with Sector 9 running around Los Angeles protecting the elite. The system's all about constant yet controlled warfare, which alters the prices of things such as oil, goods and the stock market. As the elite profits off the chaos, the Sustainable War system becomes the official model, put in place by a global artificial intelligence under the code 1A84.
That code is a reference to George Orwell's 1984, which dealt with the breakdown of society and how armies who didn't think for themselves became mankind's deadliest weapon. And here, humanity suffers the same way because in 2044, the Global Simultaneous Default occurs, crashing the global economy. Conventional/paper currency is devalued along with cryptocurrency, rendering savings of the working class worthless and driving the upper-class to push more war to recoup what they lost.
WHAT ARE POST-HUMANS?
In 2045, Major's team discovers a new species of human-robot hybrids, more powerful than the super-soldiers of old. They first encounter a post-human in LA, a rich person who's funding insurrections to attack the one-percent. His name is Patrick and when they confront him, they find he can predict any attack -- dodging bullets, healing quickly and moving faster than a speeding bullet.
In his case, he has a huge mech-like armor as well to kill Major's crew, but luckily, they restrain him. However, when Major tries to cyber-link and hack his brain, she almost dies. She realizes it's a unique virus that evolved him and they're forced to blow his head off. This is why America hired them: to capture post-humans alive so they can weaponize them. They meet another one held captive by the NSA in Las Vegas and it turns out the virus-infected him. He can predict anything and hack tech with his mind, even though he seems to be in a coma.
Sector 9 ends up killing him too when he tries to escape but they make it to America by arresting a boxer who's killing corrupt politicians in Japan. America gets a fresh post-human to study but this worries Japan as they don't know the source of the virus or what America has planned. It's clear, though, that a revolution is coming as this virus seems to be a unique malware that affects people over time, turning them into the ultimate killers. Sector 9 is very grateful when they discover Takashi, a 14-year-old post-human who might know the source, and also the other 10 around the world are, as well as the other post-human in Japan.
However, they struggle to capture him. They later discover that he created the Think Pol social justice warrior app, which allows users to murder the corrupt in society by frying their cyber brains after voting on targets; it led to Takashi getting infected as he spent a lot of time in cyberspace perfecting the program. That's where Major realizes the post-human virus code is from: dark corners of the web that are seeking out rebels such as Takashi and Sector 9's Togusa who want to hit back at society, and are prepared to give up their minds and bodies to do so.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is directed by Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki. Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.