There's nothing out of character about it. Character details in every version of GitS changes depending on who is working on it. They're not meant to be in a single continuity which is related to each other. It's just like how Batman the Animated Series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the old Batman movie series, and the newer Nolan Batman movies are not related to each other at all. They're each an original interpretation of the base concept.
The GitS manga, the Oshii GitS movies, the GitS:SAC series, and GitS:Arise are not connected in any way. They each have details which contradict each other, and other than the basic concept of the characters and the setting they do not share the same continuity.