| Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex |
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Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex poster |
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| 攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX (Kōkaku Kidōtai Sutando Arōn Konpurekkusu) |
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| Genre | Science fiction noir, cyberpunk, Action |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Written by | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Licensed by | Bandai Entertainment Manga Entertainment Madman Entertainment |
| Network | Animax |
| English network | YTV Sci Fi Channel, Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) SBS One Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) Sci Fi Channel (Animax) Animax 2x2 AnimeCentral, Scuzz Animax Asia |
| Original run | October 1, 2002 – March 25, 2003 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Original video animation | |
| The Laughing Man | |
| Directed by | Kenji Kamiyama |
| Produced by | Production I.G |
| Music by | Yoko Kanno |
| Studio | Bandai |
| Released | September 23, 2005 |
| Runtime | 160 minutes |
| Novel | |
| Written by | Junichi Fujisaku |
| Published by | Tokuma Shoten |
| English publisher | Dark Horse Comics |
| Original run | May 2006 – November 2008 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Yu Kinutani |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | Kodansha Comics USA |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Young Magazine |
| Original run | December 2009 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Manga | |
| Tachikoma na hibi | |
| Written by | Yoshiki Sakurai Mayasuki Yamamoto |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Monthly Young Magazine |
| Original run | December 2009 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 3 |
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX Kōkaku Kidōtai Sutando Arōn Konpurekkusu, "Mobile Armoured Riot Police: Stand Alone Complex") is an anime television series produced by Production I.G and based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. It aired on Animax from October 1, 2002 to March 25, 2003 and was positively received by critics.
The series revolves around the members of Public Security Section 9 investigating a case on a corporate terrorist and elite hacker known as The Laughing Man. A series of associated short comic animations, entitled Tachikomatic Days (タチコマな日々 Tachikoma na Hibi), aired after each episode. These shorts star the Tachikoma "think-tanks" from the main series, and typically relate directly to the story of the preceding Stand Alone Complex episode.
The series was expanded with a second season entitled Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, which aired on Animax from January 1, 2004 to January 8, 2005 and a TV-film sequel entitled Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society was released in 2006.
The first season was also adapted into a feature-length OVA entitled The Laughing Man, which was released in 2005.
Contents |
The series takes place in the year 2030, where many people can become cyborgs with prosthetic bodies. Primarily set in the fictional Japanese city of New Port, the series follows the members of Public Security Section 9, a special-operations task-force made up of former military officers and police detectives. The series presents individual cases that Section 9 investigates, along with an ongoing, more serious investigation into the complex Laughing Man incidents.[1]
A detective investigating a series of corporate terrorism and blackmail events called The Laughing Man Incident discovers that the task force has been injected with specialized micro-machines to spy on them illegally. The detective sends evidence to Togusa right before he is murdered. Once Section 9 exposed the government officials to the media, a mysterious hacker called the Laughing Man hacks onto one of the government officials and states he will be returning to defraud them. Section 9 then begins to investigate the Laughing Man incidents.
Throughout the course of their investigation, Section 9 discovers the background behind the original Laughing Man incident. The Laughing Man is revealed to be a computer hacker named Aoi, who discovered an internal memo revealing that a tuberculosis vaccine was more effective than micro-machine therapy at treating a form of sclerosis called cyberbrain sclerosis. Members of the micro-machine industry in Japan and the Japanese government suppressed the memo in order to profit from the costly but less effective micro-machine therapy being developed. Outraged, the hacker kidnapped the CEO of micro-machine corporation Serrano Genomics and tried to convince him, at gunpoint, to disclose the ineffectiveness of the therapy on live TV. The CEO refused, and the Laughing Man fled the scene. To protect his identity, he simultaneously hacked every electronic device viewing him and replaced his face with a stylized laughing face instead. The kidnapping and the hacking skill required to make his getaway turned the Laughing Man into a folk hero.
Section 9 also inadvertently discovers evidence that suggests top micro-machine corporations and politicians staged fake corporate terrorism attacks for profit, and used the Laughing Man's trademark stylized face to place the blame on him. Because of these discoveries, Section 9 becomes the target of a public misinformation campaign to discredit it. In addition, extensive efforts are made to eliminate Section 9 members at all costs. Near the end of the series, Section 9 is declared a rogue organization by the Japanese government. To survive, Section 9 members carry out an elaborate deception, leading the Japanese government and military forces to believe Section 9 members have all been killed. Section 9 itself is temporarily disbanded by Chief Aramaki.
The members of Section 9, safely in hiding, disseminate information on the internal memo concerning cyberbrain sclerosis and the truth about the fake Laughing Man incidents. This causes a public scandal, leading to the downfall of the Japanese Prime Minister and his administration, as well as several micro-machine corporations and their CEOs. In the aftermath of the scandal, Section 9 is reinstated to its former position in secret. The Laughing Man himself is offered a position at Section 9 but refuses. The series ends with the members of Section 9 once again settling into their accustomed routines.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was animated by Production I.G, and produced by Bandai Visual, Bandai Entertainment, Dentsu, Nippon Television Network, Tokuma Shoten, Victor Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment.[3] The series was directed by Kenji Kamiyama and written by Yoshiki Sakurai. Masamune Shirow, author of the original Ghost in the Shell manga, provided plot for several episodes, sketches of characters and mechanical designs (including the Tachikoma), and gave his approval to the scripts before production. [9]
The series was first licensed and broadcast in 2002 by anime television network Animax across most of Asia, as well as Latin America.[10] It was subsequently licensed by Bandai Entertainment/Bandai Visual in the North America,[11] Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom,[12] and Madman Entertainment in Australia.[13] It was broadcast in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block,[14] in Canada by YTV[15] and in the United Kingdom by AnimeCentral.[16] A series of associated short comic animations, entitled Tachikomatic Days (タチコマな日々 Tachikoma na Hibi), aired immediately after each episode of the series. These shorts star the Tachikoma "think-tanks" from the main series, and typically relate directly to the story of the preceding Stand Alone Complex episode.
The second season of Stand Alone Complex, entitled Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, aired on Animax from January 1, 2004 to January 8, 2005.
A TV-film sequel entitled Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society was released in 2006. [17]
The soundtrack for the series was composed by Yoko Kanno and produced by Victor Entertainment. The first season's opening theme is "Inner Universe" (lyrics: Origa, Shanti Snyder; music: Yoko Kanno; vocals: Origa). The lyrics are in Russian, English, and Latin. The first season's ending theme is "Lithium Flower" (lyrics: Tim Jensen; music: Yoko Kanno; vocals: Scott Matthew).
When the series was later re-broadcast on terrestrial television, "Inner Universe" was replaced with "GET9" (performed by jillmax and written by Tim Jensen), while "Lithium Flower" was replaced with "I Do" (written and performed by Ilaria Graziano).
A three-volume novel series adapting the story of Stand Alone Complex was written by staff writer Junichi Fujisaku. The novels were published by Tokuma Shoten and distributed by Dark Horse Comics in the United States. The first volume, entitled Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Lost Memory (攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX 虚夢回路 Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex Imaginary Dream Circuit), was released on January 21, 2004 in Japan and on May 24, 2006 in the US. [18][19] The second volume, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Revenge of the Cold Machines (攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX 凍える機械 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Frozen Machine), was released on July 8, 2004 in Japan and on September 26, 2006 in the US.[20][21] The third volume, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - White Maze (攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX 眠り男の棺 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Coffin of a Sleeping Man), was released on February 4, 2005 in Japan and on January 2, 2007 in the US.[22][23]
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man is a feature-length OVA which retells the first season of the TV anime series. Minor alterations were made to the storyline of the first season to accommodate an abbreviated take on the Laughing Man affair. Some additional animation and voice work was also added. Although the Japanese language version retained the voice cast from the anime series, the English version has a new cast of voice actors. The dialogue recording for the English version was produced by Ocean Productions. The Laughing Man was released in Japan on September 23, 2005, and in North America on October 2, 2007. [1]
Two manga series based on Stand Alone Complex were published by Kodansha. The first series, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Tachikoma na hibi ( 攻殻機動隊S.A.C. タチコマなヒビ ), was based on the associated shorts Tachikomatic Days. The manga was drawn by Mayasuki Yamamoto and was launched on December 9, 2009 in Monthly Young Magazine.[24] Three tankobon volumes were released on November 5, 2010, March 4, 2011 and August 5, 2011 respectively.[25]
The second manga series, entitled Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex ( 攻殻機動隊STAND ALONE COMPLEX), was drawn by Yu Kinutani and launched on December 14, 2009 in Weekly Young Magazine.[24] The manga holds same storyline as of The anime with Section 9 investigating the Laughing Man Incident. Three tankobon volumes were released on April 6, 2010, November 5, 2010 and August 5, 2011 respectively. [26]
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex received a generally positive reception from reviewers, who praised the series' high quality of animation and the musical score by Yoko Kanno.[27][28][29][30] In particular, reviewers reacted positively to the world of high-technology that Stand Alone Complex presents,[28][29][31] described as "believably futuristic".[28] Lawrence Person from Locus Online wrote that "the world of [Stand Alone Complex] is recognizably our own, or rather, one recognizably extrapolated from modern Japan. While parts of the technology seem unlikely in the time-frame allotted, none seems impossible."[31] In addition, several reviews mentioned what they perceived to be overarching themes explored in the series as a result of the setting; specifically, the meaning of humanity in a world where the lines between man and machine were becoming increasingly blurred,[29][31] as well as various societal issues that might emerge as a result of advances in technology.[27][31]
Reviewers agreed that the main "Laughing Man" storyline was satisfying, characterizing it variously as "interesting",[31] "complex",[32] and "engaging".[28] Reaction to the series' "Stand Alone" episodes, however, was mixed: some reviewers considered these episodes to be boring and, in some cases, the worst episodes of the series,[28][31] while others contended that they allowed further development of the characters and the futuristic setting.[27][32]
Certain commentators specifically focused on the series' success or failure in achieving the high standards set by the critically acclaimed 1995 film Ghost in the Shell. Opinion in this regard was divided: although these reviewers took an overall favorable view,[27][28][30] some reviews criticized the quality of animation,[28] while others felt that the series' story lacked the depth of the original film.[30] This "lack of depth", however, was attributed to the fact that Stand Alone Complex is an action-oriented series with a limited episode length in which to explore deeper themes.[30]
Bolstering the generally positive reviews of the series, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex won an Excellence Prize (Animation Division) at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival,[33] a Notable Entry Award at the 2003 Tokyo International Anime Fair,[34] and was featured in June 2004 by Newtype USA, with a "double scoop" cover story.[35] The Japan Media Arts Festival provided a brief summary of Stand Alone Complex, calling it a "completely original television series...entertaining and easy to understand".[33]
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