Ishikawa (イシカワ) is a fictional character in Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell series. He's the information warfare/technology specialist in Public Security Section 9. It has not been stated in the series thus far as to the degree that he has been cybernetically augmented, though character dialog suggests that he is one of the least augmented members of Section 9. His appearance is characterized by a large beard and perpetually unkempt hair, and he is the oldest of Section 9's field operatives. He is voiced by Yutaka Nakano in the original Japanese and Michael McCarty in the English dub.

Background

He formerly served with Motoko and Batou in South America when they were with the Ground Self-Defense Forces in the Japanese UN contingent. He was one of the earliest members recruited to be in Section 9 and seems to know the Major and her dislikes quite well. He is shown as being in charge of a gambling parlor called Parlor Ishikawa, and on occasion uses the cyberbrains of the old men who play there to complete particularly heavy data gathering, though it seems the men suffer no ill effects or are even aware of their situation. Ishikawa in terms of personality is the most seemingly laid-back member of the unit.

Despite being a member of Section 9, Ishikawa appears to be relatively physically weak in comparison to the other members. He is almost never shown in combat and takes a support role during most missions in which he is dispatched. When he is captured late in the first season, he is shown as being easily overpowered by Umibozu commandos sent to arrest him. This is possibly due to the fact that he is one of the least cybernetically enhanced members along with Togusa and Saito.

Trivia

• As a point of humor a bottle of what appears to be Jack Daniels is seen in his office in the closing animation of season 1, as well as a similar bottle appearing in the first Ghost in the Shell movie, though no indications are given that he is alcoholic. It is known that he smokes cigarettes and cigars on occasion, particularly in stressful circumstances.

• Ishikawa also makes a cameo appearance in Innocence to deliver important information to Batou.

Ghost in the Shell characters | Fictional cyborgs | Fictional veterans | Fictional police officers