Ghost in the Shell Standalone Complex
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| I just found a nice anime stream on jtv. It's currently being played here http://www.justin.tv/arconai_136#/w/4211272656/3 |
| Not the best ending but was still nice, it really rounded off and at the same time brought an opening for the next season! In general the whole anime wasn't all to bad but I wasn't all overjoyed by many episodes as they where boring and didn't entertain me all to well, although it was a nice and interesting watch! Lets see what the second season has to offer but first the movie summery of this serie ! 8/10 |
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| And so it ends. Well I have to say the ending was perfect. I was glad to see that all the team is alive and well. The series were incredibly interesting. |
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| So many cheapskates, going 9/10 but not giving a full 10. Yeah i know you think that maybe there is always something better and hesitate to give that 10 but after you watch a tone of anime you realize that ain't lots of Ghost in the Shell going around and should appreciate it more. Also i don't get why some of you people call the stand alone episodes as boring filler and shit. Almost all of them where quite nice little stories and considering the time limitations and such they where directed pretty much perfectly. Also without those episodes the other episodes would have seem less colorful and the characters and their world more distant. Those episodes drove the familiarity with the characters and gave a perspective on the current world in the Ghost in the Shell universe and the team. Anyway due to Arise arriving in a few months i thought to re-watch the SAC series and damn i am so happy that even re-watching after so many years the series still is the awesome stuff i remember it to be and the Major fully deserves the favorite character spot it has in my profile all this years. The only thing that seems slightly less impressive that what i remembered is the artwork but hey now is more than a ten years old series. Considering that fact it shows it was quite well made since it can be watched even now and not feel like something made in a different era. I doubt other series would have managed to look better in that time. |
| Awesome series, i don't really know what to post lol, except that this one it's going to my favorites. |
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| After watching both the movies, I had to check at this series and I'm glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed the series and it's one of my favourites. Mokoto is going down as one of my favourite characters of all time |
| So, I'm quite confused about one part of the series, having to do with the complex episodes. From what I understand, the man wrongly accused of being labeled the Laughing Man happened to stumble across the blackmail email unveiling the thesis about the rejection of the Murai Vaccine (the cure for cyberbrain sclerosis) in favor of the inferior microchips, which (the email) was created by the supposed original unknown Laughing Man. From that point The man accused of being the Laughing Man (at the end of anime) decided to take matters into his own hands; however, he stated he wasn't at all responsible for the actual consecutive blackmailing of these microchip corporations, but that it was actually the assemblyman, some public official, that used the initial blackmail by the Laughing Man as a means of furthering the blackmails in some way. This is the part(end of paragraph) that I'm confused about. What exactly did the assemblyman and his colleagues do to blackmail these microchip corporations? I recall them mentioning in the show that the assemblyman would guarantee that they would publicly announce that the blackmailing incidents by the Laughing Man would stop if the companies would provide some sort of "public donation" in return. This is where I didn't understand what the hell was going on. Can someone please explain this to me? A second question of mine is involved with the earlier laughing man episodes, there was the incident with Togusa's old police academy friend, who was killed by the higher ups in the police force when he stumbled upon the truth of the the police putting interceptors illegally in their subordinates' eyes without them knowing, leading to the public hearing with Commissioner where he is threatened by the laughing man who hijacked one of the police security guards. Were the police also in league with the government officials who were responsible for the corporate blackmailings? Why did the Laughing Man target the Commissioner? Why did The government officials try to stop the public unveiling of the scandal of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare to approve the application of microchips and turning down the Murai Vaccine by using the DEA to silence the Sunflower Society? Is it because it would somehow lead to the revelation of the corporate blackmailing they were involved in? A little help |
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| This show definitely surprised the HELL out of me. The characters, pacing, music, art, animation and story all fit nicely. Loved the Catcher in the Rye references! tbh, I kind of liked this series more than the movies. I even enjoyed the "fillers" that some didn't. I hope season two will be just as great. Off we go~ |
| The ending was great. Its good to see that all the members of the Section 9 are alive and well. So the one who abandoned that file in the net was the original Laughing man. Too bad that Aoi declined the offer to join the team, but its ok. The series had a very twisted and mind blowing plot especially the last 2 episodes. I hope that the second season will be as good as this one or even better. I will give it a 10/10. |
Always-HungryMay 30, 2013 10:08 AM
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| Great anime,one of the best sci-fi out there. |
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| One of the best animes I have ever seen, wow! Going to have to start 2nd gig soon :D |
| Powerful eyebrows. |
| 5/5 End of season awesome, not too good maybe a few episodes, but the speed with which they were addressed, but overall everything went smoothly and look forward to a second season at the same level! |
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| Amazing. Love this anime soo much!!! Major is soo awesome haha. I think Major wans't always usinga remote body until the end when she used the clone of her younger self so she could get batou. So what happens at the end when AOI and Major has the talk? |
| Words aren't the only way to tell someone how you feel.- Tifa lockhart Which is it? A memory or us? -Tifa lockhart |
| It seems I'm one of the few that wasn't too impressed with this series. I think one of my biggest problems with the show was the divide between the Stand Alone and Complex episodes since it disturbed the flow. Not to mention that the quality of the Stand Alone episodes varied from really good to downright boring. Thanks to this I wasn't really compelled to watch until around episode 20 which is why it took me more than 3 months to actually finish it. Also, I was a little disappointed with the Laughing Man. It was a nice twist that he actually wasn't a bad guy but I can't help but feel he was underutilized. With all that said though I'd give it a 7/10(Great music, English Dub and interesting ideas)and will probably end up watching season 2 soon. |
| Loved this show. Wish I watched it sooner! 9/10 |
| I thought this series was fantastic, I loved the Serrano assassination scene because I was wondering what happened to that guy after he killed Nanao-A. At least I assume that's the same guy so it felt like a sequel hook of sorts. I'm definitely looking forward to 2nd GIG now, I'm almost regretting not jumping straight into this after liking the movies. The only thing I don't understand though is, they technically killed all those Special Forces guys for no reason right? That explains why the one Exo-Skeleton pilot flips out on Batou in episode 25. That's pretty messed up and seems conveniently forgotten simply because they weren't in on Aramaki's plan. Anyway easy 9/10 for me. |
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| Utterly silenced. Great masterpiece. The Stand Alone episodes in my opinion were not fillers. They were extremely important in bringing out the characterisation of not just the characters, but also the societal state, the political scene, and even the mindsets of the Tachikomas. In addition, the Complex episodes promised us with great action and thriller, with some of the best twists (though predictable) in them. 10/10. |
| "If you reject me, I'll blast a hole in you!" Kanzaki H. Aria Just kidding.  |
| I'm not really a huge fan of this genre but this is a great cyber punk anime although some of the episodes felt boring. The animation is severely fluid and totally blow many TV series anime today and the CGI is probably one of the best that i have seen in anime as it really works and blend successfully in the hand drawn animation. Oh and the Tachikomas are adorable as fuck. |
| So, all connected together in the end. It was a great conspiracy. I like the fact that the Laughing Man motive were really basic, nothing too complicated. He was also pretty much just a marketing product. I didn't really understood the very end. Was the car trapped? Who was the guy smilling? The next antagonist? |
| «Time is passing so quickly. Right now, I feel like complaining to Einstein. Whether time is slow or fast depends on perception. Relativity theory is so romantic. And so sad.» - Kurisu Makise a.k.a. The Zombie |
| Finally finished Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (well, technically I did that a few days ago) & it's probably the best example of a show that I find really well-crafted yet for whatever reason, it just doesn't do it for me. For the Complex episodes, I'll say first of all the Aoi is an extremely fascinating character and the most notable scene in this episode, the library scene, is also one of my favorites. However, the other elements of The Laughing Man story, particular the last batch focusing on Section 9's separation, just weren't engaging to me at all. It worked well within the context of the story & I applaud it for keeping me on my toes & going in a direction I didn't see coming (though not exactly what I'm talking about, that Motoko posing as Laughing Man twist is still awesome). The Stand Alone installments varied for me. Some were really good (the boxing one with Batou & the Aramaki hostage episode stand out the most to me, those episodes were excellent), some really pissed me off (pretty much anyone focusing heavily on the annoying creations known as Tachikoma's for example [what sucks is, the last third of that one episode was A-quality stuff but the rest of it was a hardly related in any sense story about a Tachikoma]) & then there are a handful that made no impact on me whatsoever & I've already forgotten their existence. Outside of Aoi, I really liked Batou from the get-go. The rest of the main cast honestly took some time growing on me & that's if they did (never really found Togusa that interesting and that never changed). Aramaki was a really good character though & Motoko too, though again, I warmed up to them after some time through the series. On a side note, I hope Ishikawa get's some more screentime come 2nd Gig. His part during the Section 9 disbandment segment of the story was by far my favorite (the rest, meh). The Art & Animation were both solid & lest I forget that the OST was really good too. Not Yoko Kanno's best work *cough* Wolf's Rain *cough* but certainly still some beautiful work here. |
| One of the best shows I've watched in recent memory. A bit more development/backstory on the various members of the Section 9 would have been nice. Overall, a solid 9/10. |
Kagami_Hiiragi said: Idc if you think its weird, I have a life and friends and an income of money. |
skyzblue said: One of the best shows I've watched in recent memory. A bit more development/backstory on the various members of the Section 9 would have been nice. Overall, a solid 9/10. My thoughts too. The stand alone eps were great but I'd have loved an in depth exam of chief, Batou, aoi (perhaps a less trivial motivation), Major's beginnings/ghost, etc, esp as it relates to the man vs machine contrast and how it influences their thoughts /actions /desires. That opening w/ the school yard flashback and breaking the doll, music...freaking bitchin. All in all, an amazing series. |
| Worthy finale to a thrilling series, not all the mysteries have been revealed and there are so many quotes and points to ponder, intriguing dialogues. Who is who? Drawings and animations great, the soundtrack is great. Go with the second series! Yay! |
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| Really good serie with really good ending. It go to my top 10 anime |
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| few good episodes, but overall it was boring, even good graphics cant save it from 6/10 |
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| Lol all planned eh? I was totally raging for the past few episodes |
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| Oh wow, what a finale. I'm guessing that assassination at the end is going to kickstart the story for the sequel? 10/10 in all aspects. Sophisticated writing, compelling characters, glorious setting, and a careful blend of action packed/thought provoking dialogue-driven episodes lead to something truly wonderful. All backed by an insane OST and super visuals. Did this honestly do anything wrong that isn't a very minor concern in the grand scale of things? I genuinely don't think so. It delivered more than I could have imagined. |
| the official MAL hall of fame/cursed comments is now open for business - you are welcome to PM me any potential quotes to include |
| Wow. Togusa really did almost murder someone. I'm glad Batou stopped him. The threat to reveal Batou's reaction to Motoko's "death" was funny too. I thought the Stand Alone episodes and Complex episodes meshed well. The Stand Alone episodes added to character development and world building, as well as providing bite-sized thematic messages (although they were somewhat static). That they were semi-disconnected made watching multiple in a row quite easy, which I liked as well. Elements from them were referenced in the Complex episodes as well, preserving the continuity. As for the Complex episodes themselves, the mystery was developed well and the tension in the last few episodes in particular was well crafted. I also liked how, in the end, Aoi was humanized and brought down to a normal level- his overwhelming skills at what he does is all cast aside to show us how typical he is, although he's a bit of a thinker. There were some hooks for the sequel, but I don't think that takes away from the ending. Still, in the end much of Stand Alone Complex lacked much of that "wow" factor that really makes me enjoy a series, which is to say, I think the characters in particular could have been developed more. The Complex episodes were very good, but I think the impact would have been much greater had more attention been given to the characters over the plot- in this sense, some of the Stand Alone episodes could have been put to better use. My lack of familiarity with the cyberpunk genre may have something to do with it as well. It may not be the sort of thing I'd enjoy all of the time. Even so, given how many crime dramas I've seen before, I think this series did a wonderful job at keeping my attention- it could have easily becoming boring or unoriginal drivel. Terror in Resonance comes in mind as an example of a crime drama that had this sort of potential, but went horribly wrong. In any case, this is a solid series and then some. I think it would be a good recommend to anyone who likes cyberpunk or crime drama. I definitely got the thought-provoking series I asked for, and thus I think it's worthy of a 9/10. This could change after I watch other cyberpunk and crime drama, or after I rewatch the show (and if this series is one thing, it's rewatchable). |
| Pretty good but took me a while to get into. |
Monad said: Also i don't get why some of you people call the stand alone episodes as boring filler and shit. Almost all of them where quite nice little stories and considering the time limitations and such they where directed pretty much perfectly. Also without those episodes the other episodes would have seem less colorful and the characters and their world more distant. Those episodes drove the familiarity with the characters and gave a perspective on the current world in the Ghost in the Shell universe and the team. This. I don't know what's wrong with people. Change of pace is good, too. You need character digging if anyone at all cares about details like that, which you should as it is essential. And the fact is they weren't watered down episodes, either. They even say which kind of episode it is in the beginning. You get the best of both worlds, which is funny because it's all one world. Win/Win. |
Wicked_Edward said: Monad said: Also i don't get why some of you people call the stand alone episodes as boring filler and shit. Almost all of them where quite nice little stories and considering the time limitations and such they where directed pretty much perfectly. Also without those episodes the other episodes would have seem less colorful and the characters and their world more distant. Those episodes drove the familiarity with the characters and gave a perspective on the current world in the Ghost in the Shell universe and the team. This. I don't know what's wrong with people. Change of pace is good, too. You need character digging if anyone at all cares about details like that, which you should as it is essential. And the fact is they weren't watered down episodes, either. They even say which kind of episode it is in the beginning. You get the best of both worlds, which is funny because it's all one world. Win/Win. I dont agree with this. I guess some of episodes were good for showing political power, some connection but thats about it. Saying that these episodes are "character digging" is wrong. We got nonexistent character development, no character history except for one episode with Batou which changed nothing. Bascially they are filler episodes that were used to prolonge series. I would say nothing if they used them as some sort of information connection with main story characters (good guys and bad guys), something like they did with Darker than black or UN-GO. It would be much better if they went with first 3,4 Stand Alone episodes to get used to a crew and background and rest of the show only complex episodes. |
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NaCro said: Because, you know.... stories just aren't a good watch.Wicked_Edward said: This. I don't know what's wrong with people. Change of pace is good, too. You need character digging if anyone at all cares about details like that, which you should as it is essential. And the fact is they weren't watered down episodes, either. They even say which kind of episode it is in the beginning. You get the best of both worlds, which is funny because it's all one world. Win/Win. I dont agree with this. I guess some of episodes were good for showing political power, some connection but thats about it. Saying that these episodes are "character digging" is wrong. We got nonexistent character development, no character history except for one episode with Batou which changed nothing. Bascially they are filler episodes that were used to prolonge series. I would say nothing if they used them as some sort of information connection with main story characters (good guys and bad guys), something like they did with Darker than black or UN-GO. It would be much better if they went with first 3,4 Stand Alone episodes to get used to a crew and background and rest of the show only complex episodes. |
| Well, yea, when they make story driven show filler episodes are unforgivable imo. While they did amazing job in 2nd Gig, they failed with SA episodes in first season. You cant make bunch of filler episodes that has no connection to main crew or main story, its pointless and it makes me angry when i need to wait 9 episodes ( of which 6 were boring) for a main story to continue. |
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NaCro said: Yeah, video games with side quests are boring, too. Not.Well, yea, when they make story driven show filler episodes are unforgivable imo. While they did amazing job in 2nd Gig, they failed with SA episodes in first season. You cant make bunch of filler episodes that has no connection to main crew or main story, its pointless and it makes me angry when i need to wait 9 episodes ( of which 6 were boring) for a main story to continue. |
| Pretty great way to incite a status quo ending. Very impressed overall |
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Homolust said: This show was outstanding. Kind of a shame that Aoi didn't join the crew, that would of had been cool. Giving this a 9/10 for intelligent plot, good characters, and glorious OST. This was exactly what I was thinking, like down to the word. o.O |
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| It's been a long time since I have watched an anime that made me pay attention to everything that's happening. The plot of the Laughing Man is simply brilliant. Made me want to rewatch the Oshii movies. Onward to the 2nd season! 10/10 P.S - I didn't consider the Stand Alone episodes as fillers, they were very good. |
Wicked_Edward said: NaCro said: Yeah, video games with side quests are boring, too. Not.Well, yea, when they make story driven show filler episodes are unforgivable imo. While they did amazing job in 2nd Gig, they failed with SA episodes in first season. You cant make bunch of filler episodes that has no connection to main crew or main story, its pointless and it makes me angry when i need to wait 9 episodes ( of which 6 were boring) for a main story to continue. You cant compare games and anime. Its just not possible. |
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NaCro said: Wicked_Edward said: Yeah, video games with side quests are boring, too. Not. You cant compare games and anime. Its just not possible. SA episodes had a connection to the main crew. They contributed a lot to the world building and character development/portrayal. |
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| What a stunning epilogue to a great anime series... I had always known Ghost in the Shell was special, but this episode made me feel like it's probably the only and one of its kind artwork that will never be matched. Looking forward to watch the 2nd GIG and hopefully it won't be any less captivating. It's hard for me to say anything without going deeper and writing a Master's thesis about everything for what was this anime outstanding for. I know a lot of people might feel discouraged from all the complexity this show forces the viewer to deal with, but in the end, I can even freely say that watching this has helped me get through my depression. It's such a shame Aoi won't join Section 9, but then again I wouldn't really seem him fit in a squad of ex-militarists and policemen. He did such an outstanding job for what he was good at and Aramaki understanding it too was great. Everything is just so deliberate about Stand Alone Complex that I can't even describe what has this anime changed inside me and how worthwhile it was. Thank you, Shirow-Sama. |
| 7/10 Because stand alone episodes were boring as fuck |
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| When watching episode 26 I remember Togusa finally meeting his team again after thinking that they were gone for 3 months. But I can't understand why Batou said "Who cares about that bitch anyway?" when Togusa asked how Kusanagi was. Any input here? It's been bugging me for quite a while. Thanks! |
Lloydy33Aug 16, 2015 4:56 AM
| He was just joking, thus the laughter from the rest of the team. |
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| Ah I see, I was thinking he may have been joking but it wasn't so convincing! I thought "is he joking or not?" Anyway thanks! |
| Wow, the Laughing Man and the Major were quoting books, so pretentious. |
| fucking incredible, idk why tf it took me so long to finish this series lmao |
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