Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Highly recommended

Publisher
Manga
Director
Kenji Kamiyama
Production
Bandai, Dentsu, Production IG, Victor Entertainment
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2002

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Volume 7

By otaku_kei
21st Jan 06

The culmination of possibly the finest anime series on release in 2005 is finally here, as the Major and her Section 9 team finally have to deal with the inevitable fallout of exposing the political machinations behind the Laughing Man scandal. But with so many groups out to silence Section 9 it will be a wonder if they are ever to survive to fully expose the real criminals and clear their own names. Production I.G.'s effort concludes in the spectacular style that this show has become famous for, never letting the foot off the throttle until the very end.

Episode 24: Annihilation

Aramaki takes Section 9's case to the Prime Minister, but instead of receiving support for his crack unit he is instead thrown a deal that offers up Section 9 as sacrificial lambs. In no time at all the Section's HQ is under siege by government special forces and the Major and her unit are left with little option than a running battle against a government that has betrayed their loyalty. So expect guns, explosions and a lot of the Major taking charge during the crisis.

This show continues to push the boat out when it comes to exciting set-pieces. The assault on the Section 9 HQ being a gripping action sequence as the squad find themselves outnumbered and outgunned. After all the details of the Laughing Man case were explained in the last volume I personally expected this show to slow down a bit and let some of the repercussions ripple out but this brutal silencing of the team is shocking to the viewer. Just how can the team clear their names when they are being hunted down ruthlessly?

Episode 25: Barrage

Section 9 has been dissolved and labelled a terrorist unit. The unit are on the run, some more successfully than others, as Togusa still languishes in a cell somewhere. Batou on the other hand continues to elude capture by government forces, and he goes on the trail of the Major who he has not heard of since they separated the night of the siege at HQ. While investigating one of the Major's safehouses Batou is cornered by the government's strike team! But Section 9 are not as alone as they think they are and we get a welcome return of the few remaining Tachikomas who have not yet been decommissioned! The mini-tanks get embroiled in a climactic battle with the government's mecha armours that ends in tragedy. And just so you know, when it comes to shocking cliffhangers this episode surpasses anything I have ever seen before!

Once again GITS: SAC delivers another action-packed episode, and with the ultimate fate of the Tachikoma's a tragic episode. These robot characters have always been one of my favourite aspects of the show and the noble way in which these three assist Batou is inspiring in its bravery and yet ultimately saddening in its futility. Yet this is a fitting epitaph to those humorous robot mini-tanks that were truly devoted to Section 9! But as I said this episode has a shocking conclusion that completely caught me by surprise. The Major's seeming invulnerability is brought to a crashing halt at the end of this episode, and casts serious doubt over how this series can conclude satisfactorily. With one episode left to go and all of Section 9 either in government custody or otherwise neutralised, this does not look like we are going to get a happy ending!

Episode 26: Stand Alone Complex

Months after the dissolution of Section 9 and the branding of it's operatives as enemies of the state, only Togusa remains at his own liberty. Unemployed and bewildered as to why Aramaki seemingly betrayed his unit, Togusa resolves to find out exactly what is going on! His investigation leads into exactly what happened in the days following Section 9 being hunted down by government Special Forces. And with the Laughing Man case not fully resolved we are left with a lot of loose ends. But Aramaki has no intention of allowing that state of affairs remain, as he draws his net of political influence close to clear his unit's name and bring the real criminals to justice.

Clearly this show required a change of pace to wrap things up, and this episode manages to bring all the loose ends together successfully. The way this episode even comes full circle to the opening scene from episode 1 shows that for this show life goes on. Oh yeah, and we find out what happened to the Section 9 team.

Well I've sung the praises of this show on more than one occasion, and this concluding volume is no different. This show has been one of the best releases of the year, and in my opinion the finest adaptation of Ghost In The Shell available better even than Shirow's original manga. A fantastic release from Manga Entertainment - roll on 2nd Gig!

R2 DVD Notes

Features: Disc 1:English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound; Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound; English Stereo 2.0; Japanese Stereo 2.0; English subtitles; interview with director Kenji Kamiyama; The Science Of Stand Alone Complex 1; trailers; Ghost In The Shell video game trailer Disc 2:English DTS audio; Japanese DTS audio; English Stereo 2.0; English subtitles; quiz; Terratag featurette including interview with Paul Nicholson, designer of the "Laughing Man" logo; DVD-Rom content

Release information: OUT NOW

Notes: The GITS: SAC series has had it's fair share of mistakes when it comes to disc authoring, but I am happy to say that this stunning finale seems to be without blemish! This volume's a/v quality is great and certainly shows off the great quality of this show. Also a nice assortment of extras on this disc, with Kenji Kamiyama offering more insights into this show. Hopefully this quality of release can be kept up for 2nd Gig!

-- otaku_kei 21st Jan 06

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Images