For the most part, what makes the show work is the same which made the films appealing: Stylish action, subtle world-building, as well as a melancholic, mysterious atmosphere. With the pace higher and the name-dropping gone, the only 20 minute episodes make these elements come across even sharper. The action is more evenly spread out. And with so little time to spare to get through all the twists and turns of each story, the explanation of all the strange technology gets even more brief, treating you almost as if you were a contemporary of the characters, somehow making it all feel so much more real. Finally, with nearly one tragedy of the near future per episode, the melancholic mystery seems to become so much stronger: Part awe over how far we've come, and part sadness over how fruitless it all seems, the universe of Ghost in the Shell becomes strangely poetic, well-helped by Yoko Kanno's legendary soundtrack.
Even the distanced, cold main characters come to show their worth by the end of the show, where the last few episodes, ending the plot surrounding the main antagonist The Laughing Man, serve to make you feel just how much you've grown to care about them. The aforementioned antagonist actually managed to partly predict the now famous "Anonymous" Internet phenomenon, if not inspire it. Apparently The Laughing Man's logo has been used by people acting together under the name of "Anonymous". To make a reference more in the spirit of the movies, the sociologist Anthony Giddens wrote that what makes social science different from natural sciences is that its field of study is changed by its discoveries. Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex is not a work of social science though. On the other hand, it's undoubtedly smart, quality anime which dares to be difficult, but never is obnoxious.
