Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex- Solid State Society. It has been two years since "Major" Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9, a Special Forces unit assigned to cyber crime and answerable only to the Prime Minister of Japan in 2034. Family man Togusa is now leading a much larger force. Chief Aramaki has visibly aged in the job, walking painfully with a cane and attended by Proto. Batou has become a brooding, depressed commander of the training school. All wonder if the Major will ever return.
This time around our heroes must deal with the seemingly unconnected rash of suicides, mass child abductions, conspiracy involving elderly healthcare, a "Wizard Class" hacker called the Puppeteer, and as always, corporate malfeasance and political wrangling. All tidied up with a terrific subtle "what if?" ending.
At $3.2 million SSS is one of the most expensive TV movie anime's yet, and all the money is up on the screen. Illuminating the convoluted storyline are: Increased detail in both background and foreground (missing in 2nd Gig). "Busy" scenes found only in big budget movies. Naturally smooth movement by people and machines. Small touches like the Nissan concept cars, wrinkled clothing, reflections and small lighting effects, raindrops, "Handheld" camera angles, etc. There are plenty of "remember this?" scenes and other touchstones from the series, including great music by Yoko Kanno, with Origa singing the opening and closing songs. Motoko's face is even cuter than ever and the rest of her- you just don't mess with perfection.
Overall SSS is a fine addition to the cyberpunk SAC universe. Can't wait for the English dub next year. Additional SAC stories are promised by Production I.G.
GITS: SAC is not for anime fans looking for scantily dressed little girls, giant robots or magical swordplay. Its story lines, dialogue and multiple overlapping themes are more suited to readers of William Gibson's "Neuromancer" or P. K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" So if you prefer the new "Battlestar Galactica" instead of "War of the Worlds", Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- Solid State Society might just be for you.
Coda: Rest in Peace, my angel - Origa aka Ol'ga Vital'evna Yakovleva, Oct 17, 1970 - Jan 17, 2015.
This time around our heroes must deal with the seemingly unconnected rash of suicides, mass child abductions, conspiracy involving elderly healthcare, a "Wizard Class" hacker called the Puppeteer, and as always, corporate malfeasance and political wrangling. All tidied up with a terrific subtle "what if?" ending.
At $3.2 million SSS is one of the most expensive TV movie anime's yet, and all the money is up on the screen. Illuminating the convoluted storyline are: Increased detail in both background and foreground (missing in 2nd Gig). "Busy" scenes found only in big budget movies. Naturally smooth movement by people and machines. Small touches like the Nissan concept cars, wrinkled clothing, reflections and small lighting effects, raindrops, "Handheld" camera angles, etc. There are plenty of "remember this?" scenes and other touchstones from the series, including great music by Yoko Kanno, with Origa singing the opening and closing songs. Motoko's face is even cuter than ever and the rest of her- you just don't mess with perfection.
Overall SSS is a fine addition to the cyberpunk SAC universe. Can't wait for the English dub next year. Additional SAC stories are promised by Production I.G.
GITS: SAC is not for anime fans looking for scantily dressed little girls, giant robots or magical swordplay. Its story lines, dialogue and multiple overlapping themes are more suited to readers of William Gibson's "Neuromancer" or P. K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" So if you prefer the new "Battlestar Galactica" instead of "War of the Worlds", Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- Solid State Society might just be for you.
Coda: Rest in Peace, my angel - Origa aka Ol'ga Vital'evna Yakovleva, Oct 17, 1970 - Jan 17, 2015.