It's too bad 2045 really didn't live up to what the SAC series used to be.
My personal favourite rendition of Kusanagi has to be her look in Arise, so while the "new seasons" might not've been up to scratch, I do like this blend of OG SAC major with the Arise major.
I've never seen 2045 nor am I interested. Production IG was GITS, and you can't change that.
It's a shame all the licensed stuff from Nexon and the movie went kaput, GITS is to Japan and Cyberpunk what Blade Runner was to the West. If not the genre at large, going off the stuff from RST especially.
I don't think there is a single sci-fi thing in existence since the original manga and initial movie, that wasn't touched by them in some way.
They are foundational. It's been tragic to see the name of the franchise plastered on things that barely even begin to explore the concepts that made the series groundbreaking.
Oh yes, but there was nine years between it and the first film.
I would simply posit that when it comes to impacting the sci-fi/cyberpunk genre, the first film stood alone for long enough to leave a mark all on its own, before the franchise really became, well, a franchise.
The SAC anime and Arise are also big favourites of mine, I just don't credit them with being seminal sci-fi works, the way the initial manga and movie are.