Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society

Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, is probably the weakest in the Ghost in the Shell series of films and TV shows and is the third entry into the Stand Alone Complex series.

The anime is a good as any of the Stand Alone Complex series though doesn't quite match up to the two feature films. The drawing and shading has improved greatly over the series and is at its best here, there are moments when I noticed flickering but this is rare and again better than the two series of Stand Alone Society.

Where the story falls, compared to the rest of the Stand Alone Society is story, which I didn't find nearly as engaging as with previous efforts. Solid State Society is very slow to get going and really never builds the tension that it really should. Too much time seems to be spent on explaining what has happened over between the previous series and this film, which could have worked with a complete series but bogs the film down, with its much shorter running time.

Whilst I didn't hate the film, I must say that I was very disappointed, It is trying to be clever but for me was a let down in what is a very good series.

Not excellent, not mindblowing, but well done nonetheless. Some interesting points are made about the interconnection between the aging of the population and the exploitation of the youth by the ruling class, the action is interesting AAAAAAAND...Motoko finally is back to not being ashamed in the slightest of her body(ies?) (see the ending frame on that). It's also not required to watch the second gig so it's a plus, but I would recommend reading the GITS 1.5: human error processor before dwelling into this, or the first Stand Alone series.

I will never be the fan of those animated sequels, after the original "Ghost" animations, characters and the idea. But I have to admit that at least this one got back on track with a very deep humanity and society philosophical questions, character development as well and was better than everything before it. Glad to see where Kusanagi as a character went to and just how capable she is, and what kind of a character she is.

I don't know if this was intended to be the third season / Gig in the Stand Alone Complex series. I say this as it could very well have been stretched out into the twenty-six episodes the series runs. However, the one and three-quarter hour film manages to get the point across admirably, while still getting the audience to think of what may be ahead for the human population.

Togusa is now in charge of Section 9 after Major Kusanagi retired two years previous. While on a mission, he and his team stumble upon a lead to an Ultra-Wizard Class Hacker the "Puppet Master". This, in turn, leads them to other conundrums and secrets, including the children that are going missing in the city which nobody knows about. Not only do Section 9 have to investigate and solve these mysteries but they also have to resolve issues within the team, due to the major's retirement.

Even with the complexities of the story and all the twists and turns within it, the screenwriters Shotaro Suga, Yoshiki Sakurai, and Kenji Kamiyama (who also directed) do a great job to tie it all together in a comprehensible and intelligent way.

For me, this is the best of the three story lines in the Stand Alone Complex series as it holds some viewpoints that are relative today. We already have puppet masters in today's society and our elderly population is living longer, it's not too far of a stretch to imagine the film's visions becoming future truth, should we start to wonder down the techno-path. People are already talking about populace explosion... These are issues to fire up the brain cells.

The animation is on par with the series, which is to say, of a high caliber, though still not up to the beauty of the 1995 original, and this can be said for the direction and soundtrack also.

You do not need to watch the Stand Alone Complex series to enjoy this film as it is a stand alone in its own right. I would recommend that you at least watch the original Ghost In The Shell before checking this out, though it's not necessary. You do need to set time aside to watch the movie, any interruptions may affect your overall enjoyment and understanding of the story. It's also a film NOT to watch with people who don't get the concepts of Cyber Punk Science Fiction...

The Netflix subtitles for this movie are so bad it's impossible to follow the plot. The SAC series English subtitles are also crimes against the English language... so why should one expect better quality for this translation?