Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002–2005)
"Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex" (original title)

The futuristic adventures of a female cyborg counter intelligence agent and her support team.

Stars:

Dino Andrade, Kevin Brief, Loy Edge

Cast

Series cast summary:
Dino Andrade	...	Children (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Kevin Brief	...	Kanzaki (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Loy Edge	...	SWAT (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Barbara Goodson	...	Maruta (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Michael Gregory	...	Reiko (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Kate Higgins	...	Children (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Paddy Lee	...	Fom (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Michael McConnohie	...	Commander (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Liam O'Brien	...	Fake Laughing Man (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Peggy O'Neal	...	Girl (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Douglas Rye	...	Litton (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Barry Stigler	...	Foreign Minister (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Doug Stone	...	Matsuoka (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Julie Ann Taylor	...	Miyahara (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Kari Wahlgren	...	Sales Person (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Tom Wyner	...	Interior Minister (51 episodes, 2002-2005)
Bob Papenbrook	...	Doorman (50 episodes, 2002-2005)
Mari Devon	...	Seymour (27 episodes, 2003-2005)

Storyline

The second season of Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex begins with Section 9 being called back to work after a hostage situation of concern to the Ruling Party renders the Police useless. The entire team returns to the front lines: Kusanagi, Batoh, Togusa, Ishikawa, Saito, Paz & Borma, with four of the original Tachikomas restored after the firefight of Episode 26. The hostage situation announced the rising of a new terrorist cell, which takes much after another one in the headlines of today's papers. The Individual Eleven, whose members are neither individuals, or total up to eleven are a new threat to Public Security. How does a specialized public security group face an enemy more faceless than the "laughing man" during a time of political unrest? Among the broad changes from the first show involve the new ruling party, headed by the new Prime Minister Kabayuki after the prior ousting in GITS: SAC, the Japanese Residents caught in the middle of the affairs and paying the taxes...

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Plot Keywords:

japan | terrorist | counter intelligence | cyborg | major | 

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Taglines:

A New Beginning, A New Threat...

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

7 November 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, DENTSU Music And Entertainment, Kodansha

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 25 min (52 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are two sources for the title of the show. The first is the text at the beginning of the first episode, where it describes the psychology of some of those without cybernetic implants. Essentially, they have a "Stand Alone Complex"; they feel that they "stand alone" from the rest of humanity who have cybernetic implants, which allow those with them to communicate at any time with anyone who also has implants. The second source is a reference to the story itself. The term is used to describe an event where multiple people who have no associations with each other and are not part of a common group(thus they "stand alone"), through similar actions, seem to work together towards a common goal. This "complex" is referenced a number of times in the story, mainly about the laughing man case, but also in reference to a few other cases the group encounters.

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Quotes

Major Motoko Kusanagi: [Section 9 is disbanding after being attacked by Government forces] Public Security Section 9 is hereby disbanded. That is all.

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Connections

Referenced in Anime Abandon: Macross Plus: Part II (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Lithium Flower"
(ending theme - 1st season)
Performed by Scott Matthew
Music by Yôko Kanno
Lyrics by Tim Jensen

User Reviews

MMM MMM Good

This has to be the best television anime I have ever seen. As the other reviewer said, the plot centers around a fictional futuristic special operations squad in Japan called section 9 that specializes in computer crimes. The plots are amazing in that they present possible future technologies and crimes in a very compelling way. They also include a good deal of humor, sentimentality, awesome animation and humor. The only warning is that some of the content is mature- one scene showed a brief scene of a character watching an xxx rated movie. However, as long as you understand and enjoy the adult themes the show is a wild ride.

A+