Hi friends!

Something I've been wondering for a while is how free the Major really is. It seems this isn't really discussed in the incarnations of GitT that I have read/watched so far - The first two volumes of the manga, the 1995 movie, SAC.

In two American fundamental works of the cyberpunk genre, *RoboCop* and *The Six Million Dollar Man* in particular, the question of who owns the cybernetic augmentations - and consequently the cyborg themself - is a central aspect of the story. Sure, the characters gain superhuman abilities, but they lose at least a part of their freedom. Their treatment does not come free. *RoboCop*'s cruel and ruthless OCP wants to erase Murphy's very personality to pursue their programme, and even in the old *Six Million Dollar Man* show, it seems clear that the protagonist is owned by The Government (though admittedly I'm not too versed in the series, so please correct me if necessary).

In GitS, there are cyborgs of various shapes and extents. Some were augmented beyond their human forms, hulking brutes or square boxes, for example. Others, like Batou and Borma, have augmentations that are at least somewhat unsettling (Where I come from, the eyes are considered "windows to the soul", and those characters not having them felt scary to me when I first saw them as a child. Plus, anime and manga in particular emphasize the eyes more than other media).

Now, the Major doesn't really seem to have any drawbacks I know of. She's faster, stronger, and more durable than any human, can wrestle tanks and pull down helicopters, and safely jump hundreds of meters, all while hacking into a computer at the same time, if necessary. And all that in the shape of a living goddess, not some inhuman war machine. 

All things considered, she's by far the most advanced cyborg we see, with all the advantages and none of the drawbacks. Beyond that, she's treated as nothing but an independent person with highly developed skills and abilities. Especially in the manga, she seems to be just a mercenary/operative who happens to be a cool cyborg.

Of course I know that the original manga is first of all an action comedy by an artist who wanted a hot action babe first, and discuss possible darker implications second in the footnotes, as opposed to the 1995 movie who has none of the comedy and emphasizes the philosophy. Also, as far as genre-conventions are concerned, anime protagonists in general are often more powerful than entire armies, and often for no apparent reason.

But maybe there is more to it I am missing. What do you think? Who paid for the Major's super prosthesis, and what do they want from her in return?

How free is the Major? What's in the fine print?