Story: 9
Animation: 9
Sound: 10
Characters: 8
Enjoyment: 10
Total: 9
The isn't much a have to write about GitS: SAC. The story has many twist and turns I liked, even when I feel that the story felt rushed in the end, especially the resolution.
The animation is solid and blends 2D and 3D very well together, especially for the time period it was made in. Which is kinda ironic considering the opening and how it aged so badly.
The sound has impact and the soundtrack pulls up and down when necessary.
The characters are good by themselves. The biggest issue one might have is that they are veterans and already well developed. There isn't much of character growth to speak of. For most of the time, characters excel in defying expectations of other characters. Which is one part which contributed to the tension of certain scenes.
Nevertheless, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex holds up really well. For its age and for the depiction of a Pre-Cyberpunk-esque world. The setting is more timid and much more down to reality as one might assume from various futures featuring themes of AI, Cyborg, Mechanization and the conflicts inheriting from that setting. But it also has its well share of dark turns into the depths of the abyss of human psychology.
