The year is 2029. The world has endured four world wars and ushered in a new age of technological advancement that has largely transformed society as humanity knows it. Cybernetic enhancements, robotic AIs, and cyborgs have now become the norm in a world where humans are more machine than man. However, with this modern change, crime started evolving as well: hackers, corrupt officials, and other opportunists have found ways to sneak into innovative systems for their own personal agendas.

In Japan, where such crimes run rampant, the government establishes Section 9—a clandestine team of highly trained operatives—to counter these threats. Major Motoko Kusanagi, a woman of impenetrable caliber and bravado, leads Section 9 on its mission to tackle cyberterrorism and ensure that the nation's stability does not falter in the pace of the rapidly progressing future.