Wallhack meets Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell: A Cultural System, Not Just a Series

First published in 1989 by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell has grown far beyond its original manga form. Over the last 37 years, it has evolved through multiple interpretations under directors such as Mamoru Oshii, Kenji Kamiyama, Kazuya Kise, Shinji Aramaki, and others, each adding a distinct perspective while engaging with the same core questions.

At the heart of Ghost in the Shell lies an enduring tension: the relationship between humanity and technology, identity and augmentation, autonomy and control. Long before contemporary discussions around digital identity, AI, or virtual selves, Ghost in the Shell was already examining what it means to exist in a mediated world.

That philosophical depth is what has allowed the series to remain relevant across generations and what made it a natural cultural space for Wallhack to enter.

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The Ghost in the Shell Exhibition in Tokyo

A Cross-Sectional View of 37 Years of Ghost in the Shell

The “The Ghost and the Shell” exhibition in Tokyo marks the first large-scale exhibition to bring together the full history of the Ghost in the Shell series in a cross-sectional format.

Commemorating 30 years of the anime’s production, the exhibition spans works from every era of the franchise while also looking forward. Alongside materials from past adaptations, it includes content connected to the upcoming 2026 anime by Science SARU.

Visitors encounter more than 1,000 original drawings, storyboards, setting materials, and never-before-seen production documents, as well as immersive installations and interactive works created in collaboration with contemporary artists influenced by Ghost in the Shell.

It is within this environment — part archive, part living system — that the Ghost in the Shell x Wallhack glass mousepad is presented.

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Why Ghost in the Shell Resonates With Wallhack

Living at the Boundary Between Human and Machine

As Wallhack’s Creative Director describes it:

Ghost in the Shell isn’t just an anime. It’s a cultural operating system. It defined how the internet imagines identity, bodies, machines, surveillance, and selfhood. Long before Web2, AI discourse, or digital avatars, Ghost in the Shell was already asking the only question that matters: what’s real when everything is mediated?

Wallhack exists in that same tension. The brand designs objects for people who live digitally and treat technology not as a tool, but as an extension of self. Both Ghost in the Shell and Wallhack reject clean optimism. Both operate in the grey zone between utility and aesthetics, control and freedom, human and machine.

This shared philosophy shaped the foundation of the collaboration long before any visual decisions were made.

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Designing a Glass Mousepad Inside the World of Ghost in the Shell

The collaboration began with a deep love and respect for the original work, and features the iconic opening scene in which Major Motoko Kusanagi in her invisibility suit, right before her free fall through New Port City.

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Presenting the Glass Mousepad as an Exhibition Object

Designing a gaming surface for an exhibition context introduced a different set of considerations.

Within the Tokyo exhibition, the glass mousepad exists alongside film artifacts, original drawings, and historical materials. It needed to function simultaneously as:

• A high-performance glass mousepad

• A designed object with visual autonomy

• An exhibition piece that holds its own without explanation
  
  

This requirement shaped every decision, ensuring the object could exist credibly within a cultural and archival setting rather than only a commercial one.

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Wallhack’s Design Legacy and the Museum

Placing the Collaboration in a Broader Body of Work

The Ghost in the Shell collaboration does not stand alone. It builds on Wallhack’s long-standing practice of developing design-led glass mousepads — each created with its own constraints, narrative, and lifecycle.

This history is documented in the Wallhack Museum, a curated archive of past releases that showcases how Wallhack treats each design pad as a distinct moment rather than a repeatable template. Across these projects, performance remains constant while visual language evolves.

The Ghost in the Shell glass mousepad extends this lineage into a new cultural space, while remaining consistent with the principles established across earlier designs.

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Following the Ghost in the Shell x Wallhack Project

This collaboration represents a meeting point between a long-running cultural system and an evolving design practice.

As the exhibition continues in Tokyo, Wallhack will continue to share insights into the creative process, the ideas behind the object, and the broader design philosophy that shaped it.

If you want to stay connected to the project and receive updates as it evolves, you can register below.

This is not a product announcement. It’s an invitation to follow the process.