Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and 2nd GiG: A

It's kind of absurd that I would even consider posting this review; like Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell as a franchise is so thoroughly embedded in the collective anime-viewers' consciousness that praising it is less preaching to the choir as it is reading a pre-written sermon to people who not only have already heard it, but have gone on to write their Master's theses on the original sermon.

I first encountered Ghost in the Shell in the 90s, as the first movie, which, notably, started out with a naked robot woman being constructed, an extremely memorable scene for a 12-year-old.  Some years later, in college, I watched the first season of Stand Alone Complex and felt it was kind of impenetrable but had a really engaging combination of action, science fiction and mystery.

I come back to it after over ten years and realize that while the technological direction that the series took was highly inaccurate (nobody predicted wireless, seriously), the thoughtful transhumanist undercurrent is much more readable and due to my greater patience and focus and the plot is more comprehensible as well, though the extra layer of 'do machines have something identifiable as a soul?' remains unanswered and the final episode of the first season was a little unsatisfying after the blazing action of the rest of the series.

I hadn't watched 2nd GiG, the second season of Stand Alone Complex before, but it loyally continues the story of Public Safety Section 9, providing more insight into the characters and what life in the wired and chromed up 21st century of Masamune Shirow's imagination looks like, a place of politics, violence, corruption and techno-evolution.

The plots themselves are well-crafted and engaging, though you cannot get away with half-watching them, too much happens in heavy dialogue and obscure political institutions.  If you do pay attention though it's not particularly hard to follow: the villains and heroes both are recognizable, almost iconic.  Despite now being over a decade old, the animation quality holds up very well, looking smooth and crisp even by modern standards.

In short, while I don't believe Ghost in the Shell is mind-blowingly deep, it is extremely intelligent, and completely deserving of its status as one of the big names in anime.

For you fans who didn't know: there is an in-progress OVA series called Ghost in the Shell: Arise, though it uses completely new character designs and voice actors, being a reimagining instead of a sequel.