"Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex" (2002) TV series 2002-2005

Director:

Kenji Kamiyama

Writers:

Mary Claypool (american version)
Yutaka Omatsu (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

19 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A New Beginning, A New Threat...

Plot:

New government, new office, and a new aggressor... the continuing story of Ghost in The Shell: Stand Alone Complex takes a turn towards today's headlines as Section 9 faces a new terrorist cell called the Individual Eleven.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Terrorist | Cyborg | Major | Counter Intelligence

Cast

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)

Also Known As:

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (USA) (literal English title)
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig (USA) (second season title)
Kôkaku kidôtai: S.A.C. 2nd Gig (Japan) (second season title)

Runtime:

USA:25 min (52 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14 | Australia:MA | USA:TV-MA | New Zealand:M | Canada:14+ (Quebec) | Canada:16+ (TV rating) | South Korea:15 | UK:15 (most episodes) | UK:18 (one episode) | South Korea:18 (some episodes) | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:TV-14 (some episodes)

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

In the first episode, "Section 9," during the scene where the foreign minister tries unsuccessfully to read the stolen report, the camera zooms in on one of his cybernetic eyes. Amongst all of the usual symbols and jargon you'd expect on a camera lens, the words "Directed by K.K." can be seen. This is a reference to Kenji Kamiyama, the director of the series.

Quotes:

[about the terrorist,Hideo Kuze]
Batou: What the hell kind of delusions does this guy have?
Major. Motoko Kusanagi: Frankly speaking, I guess you could call it world domination.
Batou: Say what?
Ishikawa: Got himself a serious case of megalomania, huh? Its not like you to let something like that get to you.
Batou: Geez, you look like some teenager who's just met the man of her dreams.
Major. Motoko Kusanagi: Right. But we know one thing for sure now. And that is although he has manifested symptoms of the Individual Eleven virus, his current actions are driven by the personal qualities and idiologies that he had before he was infected. His delusion might be a cliche, but the reason I can't laugh it off is that he genuinely believes he can bring peace to the world by becoming a dictator. Thats the sense I got from him. Plus, his adrenaline secretion levels were high enough to kill an ordinary man. I think we can assume he is already out of touch.
Batou: What do you mean, out of touch?
Major. Motoko Kusanagi: I'm sayin that he's becoming obsessed. Looking back on history, men like him have weilded unbelievable power. For instance, Che Guevara, Malcom X, and Cassius Clay are text book examples.
Batou: You teling me that he's not the same as Hitler?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Kôkaku kidôtai (1995)

Soundtrack:

Lithium Flower

CSI meets the Matrix!

One of the best new series around (not just anime), Stand Alone Complex follows the investigations of Section 9 as they attempt to stop futuristic terrorism. Helping Section 9 Chief Aramaki are the child-like Tachikoma robots and a team with expertise in hacking the virtual world called the 'Internet' to locate criminals, led by Major Motoko Kusanagi.

Though all the characters from the Ghost in the Shell movie are here, this film has absolutely nothing to do with the feature, instead establishing itself as a well-written and directed anime in its own right. There are also some creative decisions that seem to be aimed at making Stand Alone Complex more mainstream (for example, Motoko no longer has to be undressed to become invisible). The addition of the Tachikoma (from the original manga) may annoy some Ghost in the Shell purists at first, but despite their 'cute' sounding nature, the Tachikoma are ultimately the most emotional and touching characters of the series.

Roughly half the episodes are 'Stand Alone', in that they basically follow the 'case-of-the-week' format, and the other half deal with the 'Laughing Man', a mysterious vigilante-type hacker who seems determined to rid the world of corruption.

Since the glory days of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, all slowly aging extremely gracefully, most of the good anime has come from movies, with TV series being left by the wayside. It's therefore refreshing to see a well-budgeted TV series that mixes the best of CSI and the Matrix, and actually being fun to watch, with the occasional cliff-hanger ending that leaves you wanting more!

10/10