Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex

I couldn't believe that someone compared the series with the movie and found it lacking. It is true that it transforms the very cool idea of Ghost in the Shell into a police series, but the underlying idea of Stand Alone Complex is very consistent with the one in the movie: the evolution of the soul.

Now I don't mean to sound too smart and start explaining the series. It is well done, with nice music and interesting suspense technique. Any GITS lover should watch it, that is for sure. As any movie transformed into series it does have its faults. Sometimes the plot is described by the characters talking to each other and there are inconsistencies in the way the technology is used, but taking into account it is a 2 season of 26 episodes each anime, it does well.

I do feel that the second season was so disconnected from the first that it almost becomes a separate series. I didn't like that. Fill-up episodes when nothing pertaining to the main story is happening also did not make me enjoy it more, but the atmosphere and the world of GITS is detailed enough to keep you waiting for what is going to happen next.

I am not fanatic enough to kill someone if they don't continue either the series or the movies, but I am close enough. :D Get to work! Good work, that is.

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!

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 am a big fan of the movie, and was pleased to see it made the transition into a series.

It's very well done, with well-balanced action and with the same characters we all know from the movie, plus some more.

Though the episodes trickle out very slowly, I'm always looking forward to each one. This series should be in any animewatchers collection, and even if one does not usually watch anime.

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