"[A fanlisting is] simply an online list of fans of a subject, such as a TV show, actor,
or musician, that is created by an individual and open for fans from around the world to
join."
--The Fanlistings.org
Most fanlistings are approved through
The Fanlistings or its sister site,
The Anime Fanlistings.
This fanlisting is dedicated to the relationship between Motoko and Batou, two characters
from the multimedia series Ghost in the Shell.
*SOME SPOILERS*
"Major" Motoko Kusanagi:
Motoko Kusanagi - called "Major" by most of her team - is the head of Section 9, an elite
anti-terrorism group that deals heavily with politcal and cyber crimes. She is the
Tactical Commander of Section 9 and second-in-command. Due to a childhood accident, she
had to have her mind transplanted into a cybernetic body, which has made her very
insecure about her humanity, and what makes her human - her "ghost".
Batou:
Batou is Motoko's partner in Section 9. His personality is very rough - he gets angry pretty
quickly - but he's got a good sense of humor and a soft spot for "pets". In Stand Alone
Complex, he treats his Tachikoma tank "like a cat", as the Major puts it, and in
Innocence, his only real companion is his Basset Hound.
Motoko and Batou are colleagues and friends, and the movies and anime heavily hint at
something more, though GitS isn't the kind of show to ever let anything "official"
happen between them. Batou is more obviously in love with the Major - he worries when
she gets herself into tough situations, and is one of the few people who notices subtle
changes in her mood or behavior. And, during the last episodes of the first
season of Stand Alone Complex, when Motoko is "shot", he calls out her name several
times in grief. For her part, Motoko is more stoic about whatever she may feel for Batou
(or anyone, for that matter), and never really indicates that her feelings for him are
any deeper than that of a friend and trusted partner. However, there is one wonderfully
tense moment in the second-to-last episode of SAC season one, in Motoko's apartment,
where Batou (shirtless and bandaged) and Motoko (in her underwear) stare at one another
for a long time, before the moment is interrupted by a search helicopter (DAMN that seach
helicopter! >.<). However, Batou pushes Motoko up against the wall to avoid the chopper's
search light, and they do have a brief moment in which their bodies are pretty close
together, which they both seem to notice. ^_^ And, when the GitS story moves on to
Innocence, a lot of the story deals with the way Batou handles Motoko's
disappearance after the first GitS movie, and their relationship is portrayed very
much as a "lost love" situation.
Though none of the francises ever clearly define the Motoko/Batou relationship, whether
they are colleagues, just friends, or much more, they really make a great pair! ^_^
Why Batou & Motoko?
I'm a rabid Batou x Motoko fan. I love the episodes of SAC in which they spend
time together, and even though I *know* GitS isn't the kind of show to let romance
get in the way of its highly-technical plot, I always wish for (and greatly appreciate
the brief moments of) Batou/Motoko fan service that Production IG slips in there. I
feverently reject the manga-based observation that Motoko is a lesbian (I've never read the
manga, myself, but I do know about the infamous splash page, and the numerous hints and
scenes in the anime), and my little fangirl heart refuses to believe that, if Motoko were
to become romantially interested in anyone, it would be anyone else but Batou. They were
meant for each other, and that's final!
This fanlisting is named "Follow Me" after the theme song from Ghost in the Shell 2:
Innocence. It's got a very lonely, sad sense of longing, which I think fits the
Batou/Motoko relationship perfectly.
Follow Me
Follow me to a land across the shining sea
Waiting beyond the world we have known
Beyond the world the dream could be
And the joy we have tasted
Follow me along the road that only love can see
Rising above the fun years of the night
Into the light beyond the tears
And all the years we have wasted
*Follow me to a distand land this mountain high
Where all the music that we always kept inside
Will fill the sky
Singing in the silent swerve a heart is free
While the world goes on running and turning
Turning and falling