Aug 17, 2014
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a television series and sort of a sequel to the 1995 film Ghost in the Shell. You don't necessarily need to see the film before watching this, but I did and it was amazing so I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Part I - Characters: The series focuses mainly on the members of a secret branch of the Japanese police force called Section 9, agents Motoko Kusanagi, Batou, and Togusa, and their Chief, Daisuke Aramaki. Each of these characters has their own backstory that we, for the most part, learn pieces of throughout the series. If, at the beginning, you
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think certain characters are more developed than others, then by the end you will be pleasantly surprised at how much time you've spent with and how much you've learned about every character, and I can assure you that you will care about each one.
Part II - Story: The series has two types of episodes, Stand Alone episodes, that deal with isolated incidents being investigated by Section 9, and Complex episodes, that deal with an ongoing investigation by Section 9 into a mysterious hacker known as The Laughing Man, this is where we are obviously going to get the most plot. I felt that the spread of Stand Alone versus Complex episodes was done very well. The series starts with a lot of Stand Alone episodes to get you used to the characters and overall feel of the show, and then it starts alternating between Stand Alone and Complex episodes when The Laughing Man is first introduced, and finally, at the end we get a marathon of Complex episodes, where every episode ends on an intense cliffhanger and the plot never stops advancing. The Stand Alone episodes are not just their for filler either, with many of them focusing heavily on one of the main characters, giving us a little information on them, in fact, these episodes are mostly where we learn about the pasts and backstories of our characters. Yes, police/investigative stories like this are nothing incredibly new or unique, but combined with the interesting setting and excellent characters, this one sits high above many others.
Part III - Art: This series first released in 2002, and I'm sure you've heard this before, but the visuals in Stand Alone Complex can definitely still hold their own today. The hand-drawn animation is always consistent and beautiful, and the CG animation is some of the best I've seen, even compared to newer anime. One visual example that I can point out off the top of my head is the fire and explosions, they looked amazing, and in regards to the CG, the effects they use with the invisible camouflage and the Tachikoma Tanks look great. The art style has changed a bit from the film, becoming more 'anime-ified' as I like to call it, however this doesn't really bother me, and it probably won't you unless you don't like how a lot of anime looks, and well... On the subject of changes, some may say that Major Kusanagi has been sexualized a little more than she was in the film, and I'd probably agree, however I am a warm-blooded man and this doesn't really bother me.
Part IV - Sound: There really isn't much I can say here, composed by the always brilliant Yoko Kanno, the soundtrack is fantastic. Many scenes in this show are driven by the score. My mouth was left hanging open after many scenes and a lot of the time it was thanks to the music.
Part V - Final Thoughts: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is great, I loved the movie and I love this show, too. I may even like this show more than the movie. If you liked the movie even a tiny bit, you'll enjoy SAC. If you like science fiction/action anything even a tiny bit, you'll enjoy SAC. Watch SAC.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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