I dont really agree with you here. The sequence may be in part inspired by Gravity Rush (I am not familiar with the game) but the visual callback to Ghost in the Shell is incredibly overt, to the point where I feel it is deliberately winking at the audience. Not only does this sequence borrow the visuals from Ghost in the Shell, but theres certain plot and thematic elements present in this episode that feel like similar to Ghost in the Shell (the TV series more so than the movie). Finally, I dont think the sequence in Princess Principal cleanly conveys the message that you ascribe to it.
Starting with the Ghost in the Shell comparison, I feel like all I need to do is present these two images next to each other for the visual mirroring to be obvious:
Here are the things which stand out to me as similar, just in these images
- Woman standing on ledge
- A cityscape at night
- The camera is positioned behind and above the woman, with the angle titled down
- This ledge overlooks a ring of four large buildings arranged in a circle
- This ledge also overlooks a ring of roads that are being driven on by cars
Once we take in the other images in this sequence, the visual comparison is even clearer:
- Woman overlooking the city with a technological device, shot from the side.
- Cut to a closeup of what shes observing with her technological device.
- We see her remove the device from her face.
- She takes a moment to observe the city.
- Then she jumps off the edge of the ledge.
Its just steampunk version of the Ghost in the Shell scene, and I think the reason the show draws the comparison is because of the kind of story theyre looking to tell. Both Princess Principal and Ghost in the Shell (especially the TV series SAC) tell the story of clandestine government agency, formed from a small team of specialists, which engages in espionage, kidnapping, assassination, and other dirty spy activities. Both works takes place in morally grey worlds, with morally grey characters. Theres also cool action sequences with people flipping around doing ninja shit and inappropriately dressed women.
The problem is that I dont feel that visually borrowing from Ghost in the Shell is good idea if the scene you create ultimately feels like a pale imitation. Hosannainexcelsis, you are right to point out that the visuals in Ghost in the Shell and the visuals in Princess Principal are trying to convey very different ideas. But my problem is that the visuals in the Ghost in the Shell scene exist for a very clear reason that has a very clear payoff within the scene. The same cannot be said for Princess Principal.
In both sequences, were being introduced to a character who we know nothing about. In Ghost in the Shell, theres a lot of build-up to the Major jumping from the building. We see her disrobe, something which should traditionally make you feel that a character is vulnerable. We see and hear the wind blowing in her hair, which combined with the camera demonstrating how far she has to fall and how solid the concrete below her is, induces a sense of vertigo. As the audience, we cant make sense of whats going on, even as the major dives of the building with a smile in her face, we cant fathom her plans until the very last moment when the camera cuts to a previously invisible thread thats attaching her to the building. Oshii builds up an expectation visually which he then pays off visually. The crucial piece of information concerning the thread is withheld from the audience until the very last moment of the scene. What does this tell the audience? We know that the Major is a character who is control, who is fearless, who is potentially a thrill-seeker and that even if we (in the audience) dont realise it, she is always acting on a plan of her own devising.
The sequence in Princess Principal, by contrast, tells you very little. We observe Ange observing other people, and then she jumps off a building. There isnt build up or payoff within the scene to, because at the end of the scene we dont suddenly see Ange flying around with the orb. This reveal doesnt occur until a few minutes later. All we get instead is a tiny blink-and-youll-miss-it flash of green at the nadir of her fall. Therefore I can't agree that this scene tells us that Ange is a character who can control gravity because we don't get that as part of the scene itself.
Theres nothing necessarily wrong with that as it leaves the exact nature of Anges powers as a mystery, and it also serves to tell the audience that Ange is a character who is fearless. But by visually calling back so strongly to Ghost in Shell I cant help but think about all the more interesting elements present in the original sequence.