Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex

This animated series puts most live action drama films & TV series to shame. The animation is excellent; the stories are even better. Every episode is an absolute gem, much like a little techno-thriller feature film.

It's a real pity cyberpunk fiction never really made much impact in the film world - but this series makes it all work.

Apparently set in a world where Motoko Kusanagi never met the Puppet Master, this series involves complex political intrigue, cyber-crimes, people being hacked as one would hack a computer nowadays, etc.

If you even remotely liked the Ghost in The Shell feature film, check this out if you get the chance.

This is a beautifully animated series format derived from the characters of the philosophically oriented movie 'Ghost in the Shell'. The animation is closer to the original concepts for the manga and adds amazingly gorgeous music to produce a show that is an instant draw. The characters draw some of the aspects familiar in the movie... Motoko's commitment to her job, Batou's casual-tough guy attitude, etc... though it adds some surprisingly refreshing characters like the blue child-like mini tanks Section 9 rides around in so much.

The same philosophical elements of the movie -consciousness in a cyber-oriented world- are present, but definitely take a back seat to plots focused on political wranglings, terrorism, and general lawlessness. The series seems to be more "all in a days work" themed than the cerebral current of the first film.

Overall I highly recommend this series to all fans, though hope they watch the movies as well.

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!

I was very skeptic about this show. Like most of the people I already watched and was a huge fan of the movies and its philosophical themes, so all the talking about this show being a CSI-like anime didn't give me a good felling. The different look and outfit of Major Motoko Kusanagi didn't help too much either.

And indeed, the first three episodes were pretty boring and they have increased my fears about this show, mostly because the creators tried to put too much in a runtime of only twenty minutes. Fortunately, when the main plot was introduced everything changed and started to become better and better. After a seven episodes long ending of the first season my mind was blown, and the second season was even better because it has almost none standalone episodes. All standalone episodes are nothing special except the ones who are about the past of some characters, and the 18th episode of the second season which is a undisputed master-piece.

The animation is amazing. Along with Cowboy Bebop, this show is one of the best animated ones ever, and even now after more than ten years it still looks like it was released today.

I also recommend this show in English dub, although the Japanese dub is way better. The thing is this show is mostly "talk" than action. If you choose Japanese dub you will find yourself reading subtitles all the time and that can affect your personal enjoyment.

Stand Alone Complex is definitely not for little kids, not because it's violent or contains nudity, but because it's very intelligent and complicated and requires some knowledge of history and culture in general to be fully understand. This is not your usual police-detective show. This is something much much more.

Top notch! solid animation, catchy music. Great action. But above all intriguing characters and stories that make you think... Has a depth that no single movie can achive, the series format is used to its full potential. The stories treat issues of the future that are becomeing a reality, AI, cyborgs, technology acheveing more and mor of the impossible. But it is also about life... this series goes much further than the movie in all aspects. The only problem I had was the silly looking outfit our heroine seems to prefer, but you get used to it. Anyhow, a must see! Average 10(10)