Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX
Cyberpunk by Production I.G Based on a manga by Masamune Shirow
Season 1+2+Movie Length: 26+26 episodes Aired: 2002 (Fall), 2004 (Winter), 2006 Rating: S
Plot: Based off the world hub of New Port City, the Public Security Section 9 operates in almost total secrecy, keeping it safe from terrorist and cyber attack threats, as well as aiding in investigations or situations the police might have exhausted their channels. It is led by Daisuke Aramaki, a man with incredible talent to operate between the lines of law and political interests, and in the field by Major Motoko Kusanagi, aided by Batou and Togusa.
Thoughts: Quite some time ago, I've mentioned talking about the movie that I'd do SAC sometime, and I'm kinda disappointed with myself it took me this long to finally get to it, even more as it is the last upper tier shows (outside Sailor Moon) I was yet to cover. With the new version of the franchise by Science SARU making its premiere shortly, I thought this would be the right time to rewatch and add it here, even if it's just a different continuity where (probably) nothing that happens here matters.
Heading into the first season, the story is split in two types of episode: Stand Alone are stories self contained in one episode, things like an AI tank going berserk and the investigation why that could be the case, several older models of androids self-terminating or a serial killer from the CIA war crimes division, while Complex are stories directly connected into the Laughing Man incident (not to be confused with the Smiling Man, that's just Ed Zitron calling out all the dumb shit in tech months in advance), a complex (HAH!) weave of interests that started with the unsolves mystery of the kidnapping of the Serano Genomics CEO years before, and goes all the way up the higher echelons of government. These would be compiled in an OVA that compresses the story in 160 minutes, which as usual with compilation series, I might watch in the future. As for the characters, Aramaki as the chief of Section 9 is the man who not only knows where the bodies are buried, but also where to bury them, many plots hinging on his ability to navigate the world of politics, Motoko is still a serious character as she was in the 1995 film, but while she isn't the almost gremlinish character of the manga, she's a lot more relaxed and willing to mess around, best exemplified when Batou challenges her to a fight after suggesting she could just move to a stronger male body... so she just takes control of his arm, gives a cute smile and them makes him punch himself (something that happens in the original manga, but to one of the cabinet members). Batou also mostly works as the comedy relief, although not in a silly way, mostly often joking around, teasing Motoko or playing with the Tachikomas. Togusa is... Togusa, same as he always was. Family man, no prosthetics, still uses a revolver, excellent detective. But something it does very well is making Section 9 feel like an actual unit, even if the focus is on Aramaki, Motoko, Batou and Togusa. You might not always see what Ishikawa, Saito, Paz and Borma are up to all the time, but they do appear in the missions, are given orders, attend meetings and appear when their expertise (more commonly Ishikawa, while Borma is often forgotten) is required. There's also the Tachikoma, the walking spider-like tanks who have a childlike curiosity and personality, even getting half an episode where Batou's preferred one goes on an adventure around the city, debate philosophy with a very confused Batou or give a paradox to confuse one of the androids serving Section 9, and around midway Motoko starts to become concerned about the quick development of the Tachikoma reasoning capacities. It's a exceptionally strong season, the best follow-up to the movie or even as an introduction to the series. S
The second season, 2nd GIG, released little over a year later, picks up where the story ended, with Section 9 is being secretly rebuilt after Aramaki's gambit pays off. The same episode categorization happens, although even the more individual stories have something tying them up to the main plots, this time having some fun referencing Taxi Driver and Cat's Eye, Togusa getting into some hot water and more importantly a story about young Motoko. The main plots deals with the Individual Eleven storyline, about a charismatic leader who rallies the refugees Japan has brought to help with reconstruction and growing the societal pressure on what to do with them, and the political games being played, culminating in a standoff between the refugees, the JSDF, Section 9 and the American Empire. Like the Laughing Man storyline, the Individual Eleven would get this story repackaged in a 2006 OVA, maybe also for a future occasion. S But for now, it would also receive an actual movie in 2006, Solid State Society, taking place two years after the conclusion of the Individual Eleven plot and Motoko's resignation from Section 9 to chase cases on their own without the official constraints, with Togusa, now with a haircut, some undisclosed cyberisation, and an automatic pistol becoming the field commander of a much larger organization, after Batou passes on the opportunity. Like the series, rather than approaching more philosophical issues, It involves an investigation over several incidents, including suicides, political assassinations and missing children that converge into one government-level conspiracy (or it wouldn't be SAC, would it?). The reason I mostly skip compilation movies is the same why SSS is a fine movie (not by itself, as it calls back previous events), but lagging behind the series: This would have been a fairly good 13 episode season (or just the episodes dedicated to it), but to contain so much in less than two hours instead of roughly five hours it would get to explore ideas it explores, or strike a balance between suspense and action would be a feat hard to accomplish. A
From here on, the SAC timeline would return in 2020 with SAC_2045 although it's something that is not high on my watching priorities and it would make this post too long, so the coverage for this post ends not here, but with the many shorts made: both seasons had shorts called Tachikomatic Days, that are mostly about the Tachikoma being... well Tachikoma. It's short, less than one minute long gags, nothing that expands or explains anything on the episodes, feeling mostly like animators having fun with their 3D toys, I think it even includes a reference to the Bomberman games. Unless it's canon, and Batou takes his eyes before going to sleep, and stranger, Ishikawa takes off his beard, and the Tachikoma are born from eggs, and the Uchikoma are the ugly ducklings. I usually don't rate bonus material, and there's not enough here to make me change my mind, but if you like the silliness of the Tachikoma, you'll probably have a bit of fun with this.
Like the 1995 movie, both seasons are a Production I.G job, and they brought back a lot of people to this project, so even knowing it obviously can't match the quality of the movie, you can expect a quite good TV version of it - occasionally faces are a bit off in proportions in some cuts, but nothing to take away from it. A lot of it visually remains, like the monitor glow illuminating the faces of the characters in dark rooms and the high caliber weapons doing almost irreparable damage to structures in tightly directed action scenes, but with less of the densely populated decaying urban settings (although they do make an appearance in the second season), but that's more of an Oshii thing in general. One of the most impressive parts of the series are the Tachikoma: they were fully rendered in 3D for practical reasons, but carefully cel-shaded to match the rest of the artstyle almost seamlessly, only looking more apparent when there's a bit too much movement. Same can't be said of cars, but thankfully 3D use is quite limited here and the PS2 FMV quality thing that ruined so many adaptations only takes place in the OP, or I think some weapons in the first season are full 3D in some shots, and rendered in a way that removes all detail, making them just dark grey shapes, and if you you've seen anything Shirow has drawn, you know drawing weapons and smaller electronics with intricate detail is one of his strong points. The music, by Yoko Kanno, is fantastic, and one of those I'll certainly come back to when the time to do soundtracks comes.
Thematically, the show is more of a detective procedural and less introspective regarding the question of what it means to be a human and consciousness, the Tachikoma are the ones who sometimes lose some time debating those considerations among themselves (well, not being a human, but you get the point), although it does look at other things, particularly how it looks at individuality: the "stand alone complex" of the title is a key concept on both seasons that can be succinctly described as "a copy without an original": imagine all those right-wing panics (D&D satanism! Hard drugs in Halloween candy! Knockout game! Shopflifting waves!) that are said to be happening but nobody can actually point to actual examples, but a narrative is created around them for other purposes, only except of just a lot people saying "this didn't happen, fuck off", some were just actually doing it. The other key aspect is politics, particularly during the second season, set in the context of a refugee crisis after two world wars and increased militarism in Japan, as well as the occasionally bitter relationship between Japan and the US and Article 9. With a hand from Oshii, you might feel some of these themes were also explored in Patlabor 2, although in a different context, as the movie came as Japan became more willing to deploy forces abroad in peacekeeping missions, and SAC looks at the place of Japan in a post 9/11 world.
I don't know how deep in the weeds the new GITS is going to be, but it may have to choose between approaching some themes in a lighter manner or use the length to tell a full story, and as someone who usually appreciates more the smaller stories that develop the characters, that might become a problem for me. Also: this takes part, at the time of writing, in less than an handful of years in the future. People in the 1990s were really optimistic about the advances in technology in the near future, weren't they?
Plus:
A great introduction to the series
Good assortment of types of plot
Minus:
Sometimes gets a bit carried away with infodumps and long plot heavy scenes with no time to breathe
