The American Empire or AE is a fictional country appearing in Masamune Shirow's anime and manga series' Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed, featuring most prominently in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. The AE exists from before 2020 and at least until 2147, and consists primarily of the American states that had formed the Confederate States of America, plus parts of the Great Plains and Southwest. Its name has also been translated as Imperial America, and (in Appleseed) Imperial Americana.