Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG

Following the closure of the "Laughing Man" case, Section 9 is re-established by Japan's newly elected Prime Minister, Youko Kayabuki, to combat the persistent threat of cyber-terrorism.

A group calling themselves "The Individual Eleven" has begun committing acts of terror across Japan. While Motoko Kusanagi, Daisuke Aramaki, Batou, and the other members of Section 9 investigate this new menace, the Japanese government faces a separate crisis, as foreign refugees displaced by the Third World War seek asylum in Japan. But as the members of the special-ops team continually encounter Gouda Kazundo—a leading member of the Cabinet Intelligence Service—in their hunt, they begin to suspect that he may be involved, and that the events of the refugee crisis and The Individual Eleven may be more connected than they realize...

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kusanagi, Motoko Main

Tanaka, Atsuko Japanese

Batou Main

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Togusa Main

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Aramaki, Daisuke Main

Saka, Osamu Japanese

Tachikoma Supporting

Tamagawa, Sakiko Japanese

Saito Supporting

Ookawa, Tooru Japanese

Ishikawa Supporting

Nakano, Yutaka Japanese

Kuze, Hideo Supporting

Koyama, Rikiya Japanese

Kazundo, Gouda Supporting

Nishida, Ken Japanese

Pazu Supporting

Onozuka, Takashi Japanese

Maseba, Yutaka Producer

Kunisaki, Hisanori Producer

Kamiyama, Kenji Director, Script, Storyboard, Series Composition

Wakabayashi, Kazuhiro Sound Director

Reviews

Oct 2, 2009

Archaeon

Recommended

"Life without truth is not possible. Truth is perhaps Life itself" - Franz Kafka

One of the keys to creating a successful story is innovation, in particular, creating something that is both interesting and relevant, but approached from a different perspective. Of all the genres of the storytelling medium, science fiction is the only one that holds up a mirror to a possible future be it good or bad. It's for this reason that the genre is often lauded and derided, sometimes by the same person, as science fiction is predictory by nature, in other words, it posits how humans would behave in certain circumstances.

During ... the last twenty years there have been numerous sci-fi tales in one form or another, many of which came about because of the end of the millenium. Some of them were simply terrible, whilst some were only average. Of the good ones, only a few had a lasting influence on the stories that came after. One of those is Ghost in the Shell.

Following the phenomenal success of the original movie and the TV series Stand Alone Complex, director and chief writer Kamiyama Kenji, together with the staff of Production I.G., formulated the direction in which the story would progress. What they needed, according to Kamiyama, was a completely different direction to the first series, with new goals, a new focus, and a chance to explore the world of GitS. After discussions with Oshii Mamoru it was decided that, in light of the events of 9/11, the issue of war could no longer be avoided.

This decision ultimately paved the way for a sequel that is not only superior to the original, but one that is also far more relevant to modern society.

Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig is set several months after the end of Stand Alone Complex. At this point in time Section 9 is training, however the changes to the Special Forces bill mean that they are still not a legal force, and their status is akin to that of a terrorist organistion. The chief, Aramaki Daisuke, is attempting to resolve this but, like any modern society, the paperwork needs to be in order (gotta love bureaucracy).

During this time, a new Prime Minister hascome to power, and she has promised to fix the problems caused by crippling taxes and the waves of Asian refugees who are coming to Japan because of the Fourth World War (or, the Second Vietnamese War).

One of the areas where 2nd Gig deviates from SAC is that the story is based far more on world events and history than before. SAC is essentially the platform from upon which this series stands, and it's advisable to watch that series first before watching this one as the viewer is then familiar with the characters and the work of Section 9. Unlike SAC, the focus in 2nd Gig isn't on the work of Section 9, but rather on the society itself. I mentioned in my review of the first series that the phenomenon of Cyber Brain Sclerosis was also a metaphor for the gradual deterioration of society, and while SAC alluded to this, here it is made all too clear.

2nd Gig is nothing if not brutal in a certain sense. The series has a more defined sense of plausibility than anything before, and also a sense of inevitability. The power plays, politics, machinations, plots and plans are as complex and devious as they were in SAC, however here they have more of an edge to them because of the parallels with real world events. There is a lot of action in 2nd Gig, however like SAC, the action is not the important part of the show. The focus is on political and social movement, so when the action happens it's usually the result of a series of circumstances or plans. Here, taking action is an effect for the most part, not a cause, and this is one of the key plot elements in the story as the "reactionary" mentality of society is tested by the Individual 11.

As with SAC, and any other GitS project for that matter, the pacing and flow of the story is excellent. Each aspect of the plot is very clearly covered, used and acted upon. Each element of the story is involved and well thought out, especially in relation to other elements. In this respect the series shares a few things with SAC's Laughing Man Arc, however this aspect is carried here for 26 episodes with almost no let up.

One interesting point to note is that the history given in 2nd Gig is the same as that given in the Appleseed Databook. This suggests that both stories take place at different times in Earth's history and, when one considers the technology used and applied in Appleseed, it gives the entire GitS story a slightly different perspective.

In terms of visuals, 2nd Gig is nothing short of excellent. The animation is ever so subtly better than SAC, especially the blending of 2d and 3d, with movements and actions flowing as freely as they did before, but without any of the clashes that occured from time to time. The colour scheme is extremely well suited, and reflects the grim reality of the story, while the level of detail in the back and foregounds pushes the bar even higher than it was before. The visual effects are also excellent, and way above those used in other sci-fi series.

In addition to this, the art direction is superb throughout the series, especially in the smaller moments before action is taken. In one episode the team from Section 9 is seen gearing up to respond to a hostage taking. The animation and detail in this one sequence in particular, highlights the level of detail and quality, as well as the sense of realism that Kamiyama was aiming for.

Sound is, once again, way above par. The effects are extremely well used and, whilst some people may be a little overwhelmed by some of the explosions, most will find them quite satisfying. One thing I do like about the effects in both series is that of the bullets fired from different guns, as they do sound different to the naked ear (because they are).

As I've already talked about the voice acting in my review of SAC, I'll skip that part as the acting in 2nd Gig is at least equal to the first series, and the main roles are essentially the same. I will, however, mention Koyama Rikiya (who plays Hideo Kuze), as he gives the character a kind of reserved charm that is very much in keeping with the story.

The music is, once again, composed by the one and only Kanno Yoko, and her style and flair is such that the series just wouldn't be the same without her compositions. The OP, "Rise" (sung by Origa once again), has actually split opinion as to which of the two is the better song - "Rise" or "Inner Universe" (personally I love them both). The ED, "Living Inside the Shell" (sung by Steve Conte), is also a great track, but I have to admit that I prefer "Lithium Flowers" from SAC.

One thing to note about the OP and ED for 2nd Gig is that it actually has three of each. The original broadcast featured the two tracks mentioned above, however the second, terrestrial, broadcast featured two different tracks. The second OP, "Christmas in the Silent Forest" (sung by Illiara Graziano), is a more haunting track than the martial "Rise", and has a very Bjork-esque quality about it. The ED, "Snyper" (sung by Iliara Graziano and Steve Conte), has much the same feel as the OP.

The third OP and ED, "Torukia" (sung by Gabriella Robin), and "I Do" (sung by Iliara Graziano), only appear in the final episode.

As far as the characters go (and it's pretty damn far to be honest), they are simply astonishing. Because of the groundwork laid by the movie and SAC, the each member of Section 9 is an almost complete persona from the start of the show. Now, hardcore fans of character development probably won't like what I'm about to say next, but the truth is the truth. Sometimes character development gets in the way of the story proper, something which we have all seen happen in other anime. The fact that almost every character is not only an adult, but also an almost fully realised characterisation, means that there is nothing to hold back the story. Granted there are times when the characters come into sharp focus, but the series deals with these times with aplomb, grace, and sometimes violence.

I have seen, on occasion, people remark that the episodes that focus on a particular character are often slow and boring. I disagree with this view as, in any story, there are occasions when a character becomes more "audience friendly" and accessible. These "slow" episodes also help modify the pace of the story as a whole, and invite new routes down which it could progress.

I will freely admit that I actually prefer 2nd Gig to SAC. This isn't because I found SAC inferior though, it's simply because I related more to the events, action, social and politcal movements and impact, and overall sense of realism in the second series. Where SAC focused on both society and individuality, this also did the same, but from a slightly different angle. One of the things that I have been impressed by in both series is how, in the main story arcs, the "bad guy" isn't quite as evil and bloodthisrty as we initially believe him to be, something which calls the definition of "evil" into question.

This is, like every other part of the GitS franchise, a superb anime. The blend of action, drama (both political and otherwise), intrigue and mystery is on a completely different level to most other anime.

As with SAC, 2nd Gig continues to be an intelligent series for intelligent people. In addition to that it is also a scathing criticism of how wealthy nations have coped with the global refugee crisis, as well as a visionof how bad things can get if society is not more aware of it's own failings.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jan 20, 2008

Qwerkzy

Mixed Feelings

The 2nd gig is a real disappointment compared to the first season of Ghost in the Shell. There are two interconnected storylines (Gouda and the Cabinet of Intelligence; The Particularist Eleven) that run side by side and eventually are tied together. It's an interesting storytelling approach but wasn't executed particularly well. They should have taken a more conventional approach by having the storylines run more in parallel within each episode, and not have episodes dedicated mainly to one or the other. I can't help but feel some coherence was sacrificed for this interesting innovation.

As far as stories go, there ... was nothing all that original. We have the scarred, evil antagonist (Gouda) on the one hand and the revolutionary with a heart of gold (Kuze) on the other. These are very transparently obvious archetypes and it becomes a bit underwhelming. The story gets worse over time. I'm not going to spoil anything (you can't spoil anything which is already rotten, after all), but let's just say the ending reveals that Gouda was involved with a certain country that was going to secretly use nuclear weapons on Japan. Sigh. A weak plot with stereotypical characters, leading up to a predictable, weak finale.

Oh, for sure, there were some decent parts. Saito and Pazu finally get some reasonable character development (sorely and very conspicuously missed from the first season), with episodes (13&14) dedicated specifically to the backstory of those two characters, how they joined Section 9 for example. We also get some interesting history on the Major and the other characters. Still, as before, only the Major, Aramaki, Batou, and Togusa get any real action. The rest of the Section 9 team doesn't really do or say much of interest.

We are treated to some well done computer-assisted art, although it pales when compared to the first season here as well.

There were some annoying, noticeable gaffes. Like in the first season, we still have to put up with the nonsense about "offensive" firewalls (there's no such thing, firewalls are software that intercept and block or filter traffic, you can't use them to damage any software, just lock nosy people out or keep spies within from sending stuff out.) Also, encryption only prevents people from understanding your communication, it does not prevent people from realizing that a connection is being established (the series makes this error in Episode 10). There are more annoying mistakes but I will not bore the reader with them.

Unlike the first season, the second season does not make any clever references to Western literature, which was disappointing, as I was quite impressed by how the first season worked the J.D. Salinger angle into the Laughing Man incident.

All in all, a disappointing follow up to a terrific first season.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Sep 15, 2019

LightningComet

Not Recommended

Funny

In my previous review (on Eden of the East, please read it :D), I provided a long explanation and list of arguments that detail why director Kenji Kamiyama is a hack writer. I have nothing against the man on a personal level, I have never interacted with him, I currently have no reason to believe that he is not a kind person, and I have quite a bit of respect for his directorial style, but I do not find his writing very appreciable. So far, the only work of his that I thought was actually good was the first season of Stand Alone Complex (I ... gave it an 8). The reason I want to write a review for the season I despise rather than its better half is because I want to further my own understanding as to why it's terrible, recognize the qualities that make it so, and share them with all of you in the hope that we, as a community, can apply that knowledge to make sure that a show this terrible never gets an 8.55 rating ever again.

I didn't say that goal was entirely realistic, but you miss all the shots you don't take, isn't that the saying? While seeing a work that's actually good be given a low rating burns me, seeing a horrible work be lauded as a masterpiece is near the top of a long list of things that burn me even worse.

Now, onto the review!

Looking back on the series, the first serious problem I had with GitS:SAC 2nd GIG absolutely must be its distinctly downgraded visuals, with whole episodes suffering a severe drop in quality. It was episode 7 that was given this treatment first, but a more interesting case study would definitely be episode 14. It fully encompasses the spectrum of visual quality of the entire season, and in a way that would be kind of hilarious if it didn't feel so tragic. We open with a scene that looks like any season 1 episode (i.e. really good, even by today's standards), then we transition into a flashback sequence that looks worse than anything I have ever seen come from Production I.G., and it stays this way for nearly the rest of the episode (all of episode 7 was like this, mind you). We then end the flashback segment with a brief scene that has such high quality art and animation that I was only then reminded that Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was a Wit Studio original and Wit Studio employs a lot of the same people that worked on this show. That's how good that scene looks, and it nearly had me laughing at the baffling dissonance with the rest of the episode.

In fact, that one scene looks far and away better than anything else in 2nd GIG. Very few shots even come close to looking as good as the average action scene in season 1, and the show as a whole is simply not up to par with its predecessor. Somehow, many people still pretend that it looks as good as season 1, and those viewers need a nice, big bucket of cold water to splash them out of their daze. I can type here all day and night, but until they revisit the show, until they see the sheer lack of season-1-quality on display, they won't believe what I write.

The one good thing I can say about the visuals in 2nd GIG is that I am SO VERY GLAD that they finally gave the Major an actual suit that looks like the ones worn by the other Section 9 agents. Don't get me wrong, there's still a ton of gross fetishizing of the Major (seriously, in one episode she offers to have sex with a minor, it's freaking disgusting) and she'll still wear the occasional plunging dress (yes, I am rolling my eyes, too), but at least the fanservice is dialed back somewhat.

In contrast to the visuals, the sound design is consistently on par with the first season. Cars, mechs, weapons, the Tachikomas, they all sound amazing. The English dub is pretty great, too; Kirk Thornton as Kuze was definitely a highlight. The music is also good, being composed by Yoko Kanno and all, and as usual some of the tracks really stand out (though I wouldn't say her SAC soundtracks as a whole are even as good as the work she did for Escaflowne, let alone Bebop). While I enjoy the season 2 opening theme even more than season 1's, its ending theme is infinitely worse; we get a rather slow, methodical, boring song over a STATIC, UNINTERESTING BACKGROUND. Uuuuugggghhhhhhh.

But now for the seriously horrific part, the part that took 2nd GIG from an initial 6 out of 10 down to a 3: the goddamn story and characters. Spoilers from here on out.

In my review of Eden of the East, I made mention of how some character actions (e.g. Takizawa erasing his memory) either don't make any sense within the context of the story or don't fit with the established characters' personalities or (more often) motivations. As could be expected from Kenji Kamiyama, we see instances of both of these in 2nd GIG, but especially the latter type.

Let's start with Kuze, our main not-a-villain-but-still-fights-with-Section-9 character of this season.

When he's introduced, Kuze is portrayed as basically a racist Japanese Nationalist, joining an organization known as the Individual Eleven that intends to "liberate" the Asian post-WWIV refugee population that has recently entered Japan's borders. This "liberation" would mean more autonomy for the refugees until the Japanese population gets fed up with them and drives them all out. Basically, the Individual Eleven's end goal is to get rid of all the refugees. Do you get that? Well, gotcha, because Kuze totally reverses his whole ideology halfway through and becomes THE REFUGEES' LEADER fighting for their genuine freedom and equal rights. It turns out that the whole Individual Eleven terrorist group was just a hoax created by an actual Nationalist, this intelligence agent named Goda, who something something virus that corrupts people something they eventually kill themselves something something the whole group dies in a mass suicide in episode 12 leaving Kuze as the sole survivor.

A big question that the main characters ask is how Kuze survived the virus; the provided answer is that he has a consciousness that copies the minds of the millions of refugees' cyberbrains (yeah, soak that in) and somehow this consciousness saved him from carrying out the virus' final directive. Well, MY question is this: why even bother with that whole "Individual Eleven hoax" part? Why not just skip to Kuze being a nuanced, sympathetic character instead of wasting our damn time with what amounts to pointless filler? The phrase "Individual Eleven" is so irrelevant that it's barely even spoken after Kuze emerges as the refugees' leader. Some may say the hoax was necessary to establish Goda as an antagonistic figure pulling strings in the background, but could they not have found some other way to do that than with a scenario that ended in a total butt-pull?

Also, let's further consider that consciousness thing; Kuze, a man with a totally prosthetic body, is able to copy and store the minds of millions of people into his own? I get that this is to make him empathetic, but it just feels so... artificial. His whole backstory as a soldier-turned-beneficiary-to-the-oppressed could have been enough, but apparently that wasn't cyberpunk enough for GitS. Also, if he can store millions of individual minds in his head, he must have some serious storage space, so why the hell couldn't he realize that the Major was the girl who survived the same plane crash that he did? Did he really not remember someone so important to him? Well, psych, it doesn't even matter in the end because that plot thread goes absolutely nowhere; neither Kuze nor the Major change in any meaningful way after meeting each other near the end, and it's not as though Kuze even HAS A FREAKING CHANCE to change.

Let's break this whole finale sequence down:

1. Major and Kuze are stuck under rubble, talking some meaningless babble with apples in hand while Batou digs them out with a giant cross (there is no way I could make this up).

2. Americans launch a nuke, Tachikomas "SACRIFICE" themselves to destroy it. Yeah, it's not as though they can easily upload their AI somewhere else and survive, RIGHT?!?!? Nooo, they have to sing a ham-fisted song about how they are all "alive!!!" and try to make the audience cry while they die. Screw you, show. Of COURSE they show up in Solid State Society.

3. Kuze is arrested, Goda decides to defect to the Americans.

4. The Prime Minister tells Section 9 to just straight-up murder Goda so they send freaking everyone (like, seriously, EVERYONE) to stop him and the Major riddles his stupid face with bullets.

5. The Major is like, "Oh crap, that's right, the Americans are here and they're probably going to kill Kuze!" so she jumps out the window to try and get there in time to save him. OOOOOPS!!!

6. Major mopes cause she's an idiot who didn't trust Togusa and those hundred other cops to just shoot Goda. It's not rocket science.


Million dollar question, everyone!!!!!:
If Section 9 knows that basically everyone wants Kuze dead and that the Americans are waiting for a chance to kill him, why the flying hell did the Major LEAVE HIM ALONE?!?!?!?!!??!?!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Look, Eden of the East had some bedrock of themes and a core message (about how NEETs can contribute to society as well as anyone else) and with that, I was able to describe how the franchise fails from a thematic standpoint, going back on some of its ideas and not doing enough to realize them. GitS:SAC never had any real themes; it was just about telling a cool mystery-thriller story in an awesome cyberpunk setting and showing off great production values. So, and note that I have nothing against political thrillers, this was just executed horribly, why is it that 2nd GIG tells a rather boring story with lacking production quality and doesn't attempt to explore any themes but still tries to force some Christian symbolism in the finale like it all meant something? There's nothing to this show, nothing to latch onto in a way that can actually make the viewer think carefully about something, and that automatically puts it beneath Eden of the East. At least that show had ideas that it got across to me, even if it didn't do it in a way that made sense in the context of its narrative and characters.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG is more of a meta-tragedy than an actual one, even if its ending would try to convince you otherwise. It completely cheapens its predecessor by being lackluster in basically all but two ways, those being less fanservice and a better opening theme, but both of those are subjective to my personal enjoyment, so I can't even really count them. Maybe upon revisiting the first season I would find a bunch of problems with it that I hadn't seen before (like the garishly bright color palette, for one); maybe it doesn't deserve that 8 out of 10 that I gave it. But, even after seeing both seasons only once, I know for a fact that 2nd GIG absolutely pales in comparison on every level, but for no reason more than because Kenji Kamiyama shows his true lack of writing prowess with this season.

There's a reason why the Bandai release of the first season can be so easily bought online while you have to pay out the nose to get 2nd GIG.

It's not worth your money, it's not worth your time, and, unlike Eden of the East, it's not even worth an iota of your brainpower.


Happy Watching!
- LC

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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