Review of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig Vol. 6

Introduction

The climax of this awesome series is fast approaching, as I sample the penultimate volume of Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig. That familiar numerical awkwardness with episode numbers applies, and the final two volumes are lighter in episodes, with only three apiece to fill the runtime. But with matters coming to a head, and storylines to resolve, the absence is barely felt.

Ghost In The Shell inhabits one of those strange new worlds we often hear tell of. Set in the not too distant future, the divisions between man and machine are blurring. AI is a reality, and life like androids do the menial jobs that humans used to. It isn`t unusual for the average citizen to be enhanced in some way with implants or prosthetics. For some the enhancements are to such a degree that little of the original human remains. Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 is one such person, who since the age of 6 has been equipped with a totally cybernetic body. The only biological component left is her brain. The differences between man and machine becomes ever more meaningless when machines can develop personality. It also opens up a whole new area of criminal activity, when cybernetically enhanced senses can be fooled by an enterprising hacker, or worse their brains themselves can be hacked into, subverting the innocent by reprogramming their `ghosts`. In the light of such terrifying possibilities, a special unit is created to head off the threat of such cyber-crime. Section 9 led by Aramaki is at the forefront of combating the new cyber criminals.

A buttock-clenching cliffhanger has barely been leavened by a mercifully short gap between volumes. We left Kuze and Batou in a stand off, face to face as the terrorist attempted to flee with illicit plutonium. We dive straight into the resolution of this tense confrontation with volume 6, as the situation between the government and the refugees worsens. Manga Entertainment releases Ghost In The Shell on 2 discs. This time Disc 1 contains three episodes and the bulk of the extras, as well as DD 2.0 and DD 5.1 soundtracks. Disc 2 contains the same episodes, but with DTS soundtracks.

21. Embarrassment
Kuze manages to elude Section 9 once again, and it seems that nuclear material has fallen into terrorist hands. It`s another humiliating setback for the Major, but from the debris of the confrontation, a new lead emerges pointing to Sagawa Electronics. However, when Paz, Borma and the Major get there, it appears that the mastermind behind the scheme has got there first.

22. Reversal Process
A nuclear weapon has been found in Fukuoka, prompting the evacuation of the entire city. Blame is being assigned to the refugees, and her hand forced, the Prime Minister activates the Special Defence Forces and orders them to prepare for an assault on Dejima. Meanwhile, the Major is acting oddly, and Batou is concerned. He has good reason to be, as she orders him to go straight to the horse`s mouth and confront Gohda. The trouble is, Batou isn`t known for his tact and diplomacy.

23. Martial Law
With the SDF poised to enter Dejima in force to recover the plutonium, the Prime Minister`s position is looking precarious. As a last ditch attempt to stall, she invites the UN to inspect the refugees` nuclear potential. With any luck, it`s enough time for the Major to resolve the standoff peacefully. But the situation is a powder keg primed to explode, and all it takes is one spark.

Every episode is followed by a short Tachikomatic Days animation.

Video

Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex gets an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer that is sharp, clear and vivid. The image quality is of greater clarity than the best of Season 1 if anything, with even the colour banding usually associated with animation reduced to a minor degree here. Digital artefacts were absent, and if there was any grain, it seemed more of an artistic decision. Ghost In The Shell is a dynamic and brilliantly animated show. The character design remains of high quality, again improving on Season 1, and the action is striking and dynamic, with both the 2D and 3D imagery used effectively to tell the stories.

The world of Ghost In The Shell grows as well in the second series. Season 1 was about the technology; it was all about the machines, and the new world. Everything was bright and shiny and wondrous. 2nd Gig goes about painting the background to this world, and introduces a much more tangible sense of age, of grime and of decrepitude. It also feels much larger in scope. We are taken into the darker niches of society, and the colour palette consequently becomes grimmer and more subdued. This series makes much greater use of light and shade in comparison to the first outing. It also still marries 2D animation to 3D CGI in a way that works brilliantly. In almost every way, the new series is step up from the first.

Audio

This release comes with a full selection of soundtracks, as per usual for a Manga Entertainment release. Disc 1 has soundtracks in DD 2.0 English and Japanese Stereo, as well as DD 5.1 English and Japanese, whereas Disc 2 allows you to watch the show with DTS 5.1 English and Japanese (encoded at 754kbps), as well as a repeat of the DD 2.0 English Stereo track.

The surround is excellent and there is ample action that makes full use of the soundstage, with plenty of futuristic machinery and vehicles. 2nd Gig also provides some all new Yoko Kanno tunes, including the theme tunes. As the climax of the show approaches, and the story becomes more serious, there is a shift from electronica to orchestral pieces that add to the drama. My preference will probably always be for the original language, but the English dub is better than most. That`s high praise when you consider that most recent anime dubs have been of good quality. Here the character voices are perfectly suited, and the actor performances capture the emotion of the scenes well. The translated English subtitles are legible throughout, although in an odd change, the name Gohda (as it has been spelt up till now) is now spelt as Gouda, making me think of Dutch cheese.

Features

The menus follow a simple holographic theme, and this time they follow a blue and purple scheme. It`s pretty nifty to look at, user-friendly and lacks the occasional colour-clash of season 1.

On Disc 1 you get episode synopses. There are also two featurettes. The first is an interview with Director Kenji Kamiyama, Osamu Saka (Aramaki) and Yoshiko Sakakibara (Prime Minister Kayabuki). The director and voice actors discuss the characters and the way they develop, both on this disc and the series as a whole. The second featurette is a compilation of clips from the previous interviews that didn`t make it onto the discs. Both last for eleven minutes.

Disc 2 once again has the trailers; the usual suspects are there, Manga Attacks, Karas, and GITS 2 Innocence. New trailers include the Naruto DVD trailer, and one for a show called Dead Leaves, which looks very Tank Girl-esque.

Just as before, there is no Play All option, but this time each episode is preceded by an IDT Entertainment logo, which adds 10 seconds of inescapable CGI before we get to the good stuff. At the end of the final episode on the disc, you can see the English dub cast in an extra credit sequence.

Conclusion

With only three episodes to this volume, you would expect a lowering of the overall grade, simply because of the apparent lower value for money. However, as we approach the climax of the series, the pace of the story is accelerating, it`s densely packed with plot and action, and there is nary an ounce of filler, or a millimetre of padding. Despite the reduced episode count, it is still a satisfying and entertaining experience.

We also come to that point of the series where any significant analysis of the episodes will definitely veer towards spoiler territory. Much as I want to talk about the stunning confrontation between Batou and Kuze, the machinations behind the nuclear threat on Fukuoka, or the seemingly unstoppable descent to civil war, to do so would spoil what looks to be a climax even more thrilling than the one to the first series. The way things are being set up, nothing seems certain about the way the show will end, with even the Major behaving out of character following her attempt to Ghost-hack Kuze. An additional sweetener is the introduction of a new character among the refugees that seems oddly familiar. If you watched the first series his identity becomes obvious.

I never would have expected this a year ago, but the 2nd Gig of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex is in many ways an improvement over the first series. Given that the first series was a groundbreaking animation, with an awesome overall storyline and some brilliant stand-alone stories, improving on that is no small feat. Having said that, something had to give for the second series, and that is the personal, more intimate feel to the stories. The first series was very much Section 9 versus The Laughing Man. This time around the scope has widened considerably, and Section 9 seem very much like cogs in the machinery. The story has a more epic scope; the political situation portrayed here is constructed in a way to have a relevance to our world today (the UN Inspections in episode 23 is a rather unsubtle jab at a certain middle eastern situation). It`s a more complicated story that invites multiple viewings to better appreciate. Indeed the one drawback about the release schedule is that the gaps between discs cause the flow of the story to be broken somewhat, and I look forward to viewing all the episodes consecutively.

Anything could happen in the final three episodes, but it promises to be an absolutely breathtaking resolution. The three episodes in this penultimate volume add to the tension and the suspense, and make the wait for the conclusion of this awesome series even more tantalising. At this point recommendations are pointless. If you are a newcomer to Stand Alone Complex, then go back to the beginning, if you have been following the series as assiduously as I have, then this review merely serves to validate what you already knew, you`re going to buy this volume. Ghost In The Shell, I just love it!