Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 

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

Stars:

Shirô Saitô, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, William Frederick Knight

Top Rated TV #197 | 1 win.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Shirô Saitô	...	Gondo 52 episodes, 2002-2005
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	...	Major Motoko Kusanagi 52 episodes, 2002-2005
William Frederick Knight	...	Chief Daisuke Aramaki / ... 52 episodes, 2002-2005
Richard Epcar	...	Batou 52 episodes, 2002-2005
Crispin Freeman	...	Togusa 52 episodes, 2002-2005
Peggy O'Neal	...	Girl / ... 52 episodes, 2002-2005
Dino Andrade	...	Sakakibara / ... 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
Kate Higgins	...	Children / ... 51 episodes, 2002-2005
Patricia Ja Lee	...	Fom / ... 51 episodes, 2002-2005
Michael McConnohie	...	Commander / ... 51 episodes, 2002-2005
Liam O'Brien	...	Fake Laughing Man / ... 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
Mari Devon	...	Seymour / ... 28 episodes, 2003-2005
Darren Pleavin	...	Togusa (Animax Asia dub) 26 episodes, 2002-2003
Grant George	...	Akamine 26 episodes, 2004-2005
Carrie Savage	...	Tachikoma 26 episodes, 2004-2005
John Snyder	...	Kazundo Gouda / ... 24 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:

artificial intelligence | anime | japan | future | terrorist | 

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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-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

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, Kôdansha

Technical Specs

Runtime:

24 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

Spin-off Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2005)

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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

The most powerful series ever created

I've been a fan of "Ghost in the Shell" since 1997 when I saw it for the first time. The movie offers sophisticated entertainment that Hollywood couldn't even come close to. Then "Innocence" came out and was an extraordinary achievement with an incredible story and special effects (I still wish they would come out with an English dub).

I didn't think that a TV series could come close to the movies.

I was wrong.

Even though the graphics are a downgrade from the movies, the story has an impact that will give you with goose bumps! The story is an interweaving of events that span for sometime through the series. You have to pay close attention to everything or you'll lose some insight on what is going on.

"SAC" gets into tough subjects like corporate corruption; political corruption and scandals; individuals fighting to restore some semblance of justice and sanity; self sacrifice; robots and their individuality that creates a "Ghost" or a sort of living entity; among other subjects that normal movie production artists wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole. It may require most people to watch it at least 3 times to take in all of the information.

For the ultimate in entertainment, sound effects, music - this IS a must own for any individual!