 The production team used a 3 @-@ D layout system to render the interior shots ahead separately and in advance . The art team was tasked to draw lighting boards to show the position of light sources in the scene to improve the overall quality of the animation . One of the themes in the series was " Motoko Kusanagi 's <unk> " . The team had a difficult time portraying Motoko Kusanagi and her return to Section 9 . Kenji <unk> stated that he felt the characters have obtained " ghosts " of their own and that Kusanagi needed a convincing story in order to return to Section 9 . <unk> <unk> noted that Kusanagi was more going back to her old self rather than showing the new strength she found when she left Section 9 . 
