The worst sin a sci-fi show may commit overindulging in "technobabble": introducing technological concepts for the sake of it. Pseudoscientific concepts that may sound engaging, yet often stay vague and undefined, causing more frustration and alienation than enjoyment.
Ghost in a Shell: SAC avoids said mistake. Every technological novelty brought to the table is absolutely essential and explored throughout the anime. Prosthetic bodies and cybernetic implants? Essential to the psychology of all acting characters. Cyberbrain sclerosis? Essential to the plot. The concept of hacking cyberbrains? Essential to the plot.
What Ghost in a Shell: SAC portrays is a believable future. Technology has evolved far beyond the present and enables grand things. But society, economics and politics stay mostly the same, still caught in the same day-to-day corruption and pettiness. To some degree, you could say, humanity is overburdened with it own technological progress. 'Cyberbrain sclerosis', the gradual degradation of artificial organs, has become a major issue. Politics has no clear answer to it. The scramble of pharma corporations for a cure becomes part of the plot. So do their corruption and greed: they've never anywhere, just gone digital and cybernetic.
The world of Ghost in a Shell: SAC isn't merely a one-dimensional, grimdark dystopia that many dumber science fiction works portray. The futuristic, isolated Japan portayed is not a bad country per say: there's fun and fascination to be found in it. Most people live decent lives, using technology for their enjoyment.
Nonetheless, technological progress causes just as many new issues as it solved. Humanity 2.0 is haunted by digital Threats-to-Humanity 2.0. That's where our heroes jump in -- Security Section 9, tasked with investigating cybercrime.
The main characters are Major Kusanagi, a bold and capable female investigator with a fully prosthetic body and her slightly brutish second-in-command Batou. Chasing the anonymous hacker 'Laughing Man', they ultimately uncover a far greater conspiracy. Half of the episodes are standalone stories, further fleshing out the characters of Section 9 and expanding upon the already impressive worldbuilding.
Ghost in a Shell: SAC is well-written enough to namedrop its fancy title ('Stand Alone Complex'), all without sounding ridiculous. A Stand Alone Complex is what ultimately resolves its convoluted, yet fascinating main story. For this artistic achievement alone - elevating an abstract concept to a major plot point - Ghost in a Shell: SAC deserves high praise.
But the good doesn't end here. Ghost in a Shell: SAC also comes with memorable, endearing visuals. The writing and atmosphere come together to create something great: one of the best and most thought-provoking works of science fiction I've seen, leaving me excited for the second cour.
