It's a fantastic anime (though it's my favorite so I'm super biased) that should appeal to anyone who enjoys swords, pretty characters and major wtf moments. It's something that traffics heavily in metaphors and is usually thrown into the category of mind-fuck anime.

I haven't seen much of ghost in the shell. Though I know it's really pretty. Utena is a bit heavier (intellectually/themeatically) than Bleach and is a WHOLE lot shorter. They both have very memorable characters and the same "anime crack" that we've come to expect from Japan.

Give it three episodes (of the subbed version) and see what you think.