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A whole new generation of fans is discovering the world of Ghost in the Shell now that the first faithful anime adaptation is airing. Now, there will be even more reason to dive into Masamune Shirow’s iconic world. This time, we’re exploring the iconic Ghost in the Shell setting from an American perspective as the FBI has its own encounter with the Puppeteer.

The announcement came earlier this month. The new series, Glitch Witch, will be set at the same time as Ghost in the Shell but on the other side of the world.

“As the FBI, AI researchers, and the military investigate, they witness an extraordinary battle between Project 2501, also known as ‘the Puppeteer,' which merges with protagonist Kusanagi at the end of The Ghost in the Shell, and a Solomon-class AI entrusted with the fate of humanity,” is the description given in the official announcement.

Related: Best back-to-school supplies for anime fans in 2026: 16 picks we actually recommend [Pop Shop]

Masamune Shirow is credited with the original concept for Glitch Witch, while Naoki Azuma (Dragon & Ape) will be drawing the new Ghost in the Shell spin-off manga. The first chapter was posted on Kodansha’s YanMaga Web website, with new chapters expected every other Wednesday.

The Ghost in the Shell manga was first published in 1989 and has received two sequels over the years. The most recent was published in 1997. From 2019 to 2025, a spin-off manga by Junichi Fujisaku and Yuki Yoshimoto was published, but this is the first time that a story is set within the American Empire, as it is known in the setting.

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

• Aggretsuko vs Chainsaw Man: Two Wildly different anine with the same anti-capitalist message
• The Summer Anime season return of Kaiju No. 8, Sakamoto Days, & Dan Da Dan are forcing me to break my vow of watching less anime
• From Tomo-Chan to Oshi No Ko: How some of your favorite manga creators got their start in hentai
• Piracy is baked into anime's past, but, like Crunchyroll, we should move on from it
• Flying whales, mechs, and Miyazaki vibes: Inside Netflix's Leviathan anime with the people who made it
• How AI translations of manga continues the 'enshitification' of the medium, and why Japanese publishers are "less precious" about it
• I never wanted a Cyberpunk Edgerunners sequel, but God help me I'm going to watch it
• The Summer Hikaru Died delivers its cosmic horror at an agonizingly slow pace
• The one thing that Dan Da Dan does better than Demon Slayer ever did
• Studio Ghibli movies have never been as cozy as you think they are and that's what makes them magic