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DVD Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex (Vol. 5) - Deluxe Edition with Collectible ID Card & DTS Disc
The subplot about the Tachikoma robots developing an awareness of their existence falls by the wayside in two episodes focusing on Chief Aramaki's life outside Section 9. He visits an old flame in London and is drawn into a bizarre money-laundering scheme, then outwits a former co-worker's son who's become an assassin. In episode 20, the filmmakers finally return to the central storyline of the Laughing Man, which may be tied to J.D. Salinger's 1949 story of the same name. The cyber-criminal may also be linked to the Sunflower Society, a group that files class action lawsuits against large corporations, including one involving a cure for "cyberbrain sclerosis." The tangled multiple storylines detract from an otherwise engaging series with strong characters. The extras include interviews with the mecha designers, and the directors of photography and 3-D computer graphics. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Review(s): DVD Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex (Vol. 5) - Deluxe Edition with Collectible ID Card & DTS Disc
"I mustn't act out of personal feelings..."
I've been away from this series for a while, due mostly to the slow release of the DVD's and a sudden interest in Chinese fight films. Since this is one of the best releases in the series, I wish I had been a bit more impatient. Or maybe not. One thing that's good about coming late to a series is that the anguish of cliff hangers (and this DVD sports a doozy) is easier to relieve.
The first three episodes focus on Arimaki, and his peculiar sense of duty that compels hime to announce that he can't misuse his position for friendly reasons. Of course, he goes on to do exactly that - 'accidentally' needing to investigate the exact thing he just refused to look into.
Angel's Share introduces an old lady friend of Arimaki, who is now the manager of a wine investment fund. She realizes that the fund has been used for money laundering by the mafia and promptly becomes a target for both some mafia renegades and the real criminals, who engineer what is supposed to be a 'fatal' rescue
In Lost Heritage A visiting Chinese Vice Minister is the object of a death threat. Arimaki takes a short break to visit the grave of and old war buddy who died of cyberbrain sclerosis and discovers that the son of his friend is somehow involved with his father's ghost. The result is an eerie story of revenge.
Captivated. This time the daughter of former Prime Minister Kanzaki's vanishes in a fashion identical to a series of organ-legging kidnappings attributed to a group called blind Ivan. But the odd thing is that Kanzaki was one of politicians who helped cover up the crime. Batou finds himself facing an old enemy as Kanzaki must decide whether his political life is more important than his daughter.
Re-View returns to the escapades of the Laughing Man. Togusa, still bothered by his failure at the vocational center fixates on the Laughing Man - especially as a reflection of Catcher In The Rye. He finds an unexpected clue and discovers a list of individuals who were treated for cyberbrain sclerosis by an experimental vaccine. This treatment was suppressed in favor of another and a government agency is very anxious to keep everything hush hush.
All of these episodes are tightly written little masterpieces, and this DVD might very well be the best of the series so far. Laughing Man episodes tend to be a bit too philosophical, but this is hardly the case here. Everything moves at a very satisfying pace.
...An OK chapter highlighted by Episode 20...
I wasn't that into the English translation of Episode 17 when I saw part of it on TV, partly because it didn't seem to involve a threat worthy of Section 9, partly because I feared ( needlessly ) that the animation was going in a direction I didn't like. However, this chapter of Stand Alone Complex is a worthy addition overall.
Finally some more movement on the Laughing Man plot. I was gratified to hear Togusa's view that Aoi was the Laughing Man, because I didn't want to see Aoi simply dropped as a plot point or anything like that.
There is, I believe, some newer background music on here.
Also, for those wondering exactly who in the development staff is really into nice cars ( and it's been clear from the beginning of this series that SOMEONE is ), the interviews in this installment make that clear.
Basically the only thing I don't like about this chapter is that Episode 19 doesn't really live up to its billing. Supposedly ( according to the back of the DVD case ) there's a character who is Motoko's equal, but there's not much in the episode to back that idea up... a missed opportunity.
The London episode is a little off-putting because it takes the typical idea of police corruption with ties to organized crime and puts it in a supposedly British setting. In fact, in this installment there are a few influences from films like The Professional. With the general semi-Anglicization of the characters in this series, and everybody speaking Japanese anyway, it all seems essentially the same as what was going on in Section 9's home country. Is this globalization???
The other strange thing about this episode is that nobody gets killed. Oh, and also the part where Aramaki, his girlfriend, and the robbers hide in the wine cellar.
Aramaki is a cyborg like the rest. Doesn't his body have any special abilities that could have been used in a situation like that? I'm not a reader of the manga so I don't know if the extent of Aramaki's cyberization has ever been used as a plot device.
Anyway, the addition of an actual cliffhanger between this chapter and the next DVD is a nice touch...I really doubt they would kill off the most likable character in the series, though.
Related DVD's Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex (Vol. 5) - Deluxe Edition with Collectible ID Card & DTS Disc
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Major Kusanagi and the other agents of Public Security Section 9 hit the ground running as the second season of the Ghost in the Shell broadcast series begins. The new storylines have a more overtly political tone than the previous sci-fi adventures about the Laughing Man and the scandals surrounding cures for "cyberbrain sclerosis." Chief Aramaki gets his funding restored when he resolves a hostage situation for the new Prime Minister. This terrorist incident is linked to the poor treatment of Asian refugees and their role in the economy of the world following World War IV. When military helicopters go haywire above a refugee compound, the government faces a potential uprising, while evidence suggests that an even bigger plot may be unfolding. In the unusually sardonic episode... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 20 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Mamoru Oshii's landmark Ghost in the Shell (1995) largely defined the cyberpunk genre and influenced the Matrix films in the U.S. The long-awaited sequel continues the adventures of Batou, Major Kusanagi's former assistant, who was left behind when she disappeared into the cyber-realm of the Net. With his new human partner, Togusa, Batou investigates a series of bloody murders involving gynoids, robots with sexual functions. The case leads them to the headquarters of the Locus Solus company, where Batou uncovers the evil secret behind the creation of the gynoids. Innocence includes some staggeringly beautiful CG images, especially a parade depicting characters from Chinese mythology. Oshii contrasts this glittering beauty with a Blade... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Akio Ôtsuka - Atsuko Tanaka - Tamio Ôki Director(s): Mamoru Oshii DVD Release Date: Released the 28 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The 2004 Appleseed feature is a reworking of the earlier video based on the manga by Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell). In 2131, most of humanity has withdrawn to the glittering city of Olympus after a devastating war. When the curvaceous Deunan Knute comes to Olympus, she encounters her former comrade Briareos, now a cyborg, and the lovely android Hitomi. The fate of Hitomi, Olympus, and humanity rest on the lost "Appleseed" technology that Deunan's mother helped to develop. A standard series of chases, mecha battles, and confrontations leads to a predictable ending. When the original Appleseedappeared in 1988, it felt like a summary of anime's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. This new version feels like a mishmash of Ghost in the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Ai Kobayashi - Jûrôta Kosugi - Yuki Matsuoka Director(s): Shinji Aramaki DVD Release Date: Released the 10 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The broadcast series based on Mamoru Oshii's influential film Ghost in the Shell (1995) has been eagerly awaited on both sides of the Pacific. Although its production values are lower, and director Kenji Kamiyama never equals Oshii's inspired camerawork, Stand Alone Complex does an impressive job of re-creating the setting and characters. Major Motoko Kusanagi moves through a deadly city of mecha, cyborgs, humans, and human-prosthetic hybrids. (The series takes place in a parallel world, where Kusanagi never encountered the Puppet Master.) With the help of Batou, Togusa, and other officers from Public Security Section 9, she battles terrorists, hackers, and rogue machinery. An insect-like tank with a grating, babyish voice is a dubious addition to the cast, but fans... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Kenji Kamiyama DVD Release Date: Released the 27 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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