About this product: Major Kusanagi and the rest of Public Security Section 9 hit the ground running as the second season of Stand Alone Complex (2004) begins: Their new adventure centers on a complex mystery even more dangerous than the case of the Laughing Man. Terrorist incidents linked to the mistreatment of Asian refugees after World War IV threaten to ignite a powder keg in Japan. Kusanagi, Batou, and even Chief Aramaki chafe when they're drafted to protect Prime Minister Kayabuki from would-be assassins. But the threats to the government are linked to the Individual Eleven, a cell that recalls the May 15th Incident. (On May 15, 1932, a group of junior naval officers and army cadets assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, ensuring that power would remain in the hands of the militarists.) The members of the Individual Eleven--except for Hideo Kuze, their charismatic leader--commit mass suicide in a bloody spectacle that recalls the theatrical death in 1970 of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. Kuze's campaign to win political freedom for the refugees grows increasingly violent, involving suicide bombers, Russian mobsters selling stolen plutonium, and strained relations between Japan and an Imperial America that is trying to reassert its military dominance in the face of economic weakness. And what role does the devious, hideously scarred intelligence officer Kazundo Gohda play in these actions? The Tachikoma robots speculate that as they are abandoning collective consciousness and developing individuality, a dependence on the Net is leading humans in the opposite direction. That trend makes people more vulnerable to cyber-viruses involved in the plot--unless Section 9 acts in time. Most of the adventures take place in bleak, gray and brown settings, which contrast effectively with the bright, colorful cyberworld the Major and the Tachikomas visit. S.A.C.--2nd Gig continues the tight plotting, dynamic action sequences, and interesting character relationships that made the series a hit. (Rated 13 and older: violence, violence against women, brief nudity, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
About this product: The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centerfold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."
Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon
About this product: The 2002 broadcast series based on Mamoru Oshii's landmark film Ghost in the Shell (1995) takes place in a parallel world, where Major Motoko Kusanagi didn't vanish into The Net. Although its production values are lower, and director Kenji Kamiyama never matches Oshii's inspired camerawork, Stand Alone Complex does an impressive job of recreating the setting and characters. With the help of the other officers from Public Security Section 9, Kusanagi moves through a deadly city of mecha, cyborgs, humans, and human-prosthetic hybrids. Batou emerges as a more complex and compelling character in the TV series than he was in Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence: He engages the other characters, instead of endlessly quoting philosophers.
Politics and cyber-espionage collide in a somewhat tangled plot that centers on the pursuit of The Laughing Man, an über-hacker whose pseudonym is linked to J.D. Salinger's 1949 story of the same name. The master cyber-criminal leads Kusanagi and Batou into a web of murder and deceit involving bogus cures for "cyberbrain sclerosis" and corrupt government ministers. In the secondary story, the Tachikomas, crab-like robots used by Section 9, develop personalities and an awareness of their existence. The Tachikomas recognize some of the implications of their growing consciousness, but their childish voices--modeled after the performance of Japanese actress Akiko Tamagawa--sound odd discussing philosophical questions. Not surprisingly, the story ends with Kusanagi, Batou, et al. tackling a new case that leads into the 2nd Gig. (Rated 13 and older: considerable violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
About this product: 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 Runner-esque dystopia. But even his skill as a director can't disguise the fact that the underdeveloped story and flat characters are far less interesting than the opulent visuals. (Rated PG-13: graphic violence, violence against women, brief nudity, profanity, alcohol and tobacco use.) --Charles Solomon
About this product: The television movie Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society (2006) continues the adventures of the cast of Stand Alone Complex, the TV series based on Mamoru Oshii's watershed feature. It's been two years since Major Kusanagi left Public Security Section 9 and struck out on her own. Batou pursues only investigations that interest him. Togusa is in charge of the Section, largely by default. All three characters, plus Chief Aramaki and the Tachikoma robots, join in the investigation of a string of suicides by agents of a foreign general. The trail leads them to a terrorist plot involving micro-machines created to release a deadly virus, and to the master-hacker known as the Puppeteer. The depiction of a corrupt politician using resources earmarked for the care of an aging population for his own ends reflects recent scandals in Japan. But Solid State Society feels derivative. The plot borrows heavily from the "Laughing Man" storyline, and the general lack of inspiration is evident in the failure to resolve the mystery satisfactorily. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon
About this product: The television movie Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society (2006) continues the adventures of the cast of Stand Alone Complex, the TV series based on Mamoru Oshii's watershed feature. It's been two years since Major Kusanagi left Public Security Section 9 and struck out on her own. Batou pursues only investigations that interest him. Togusa is in charge of the Section, largely by default. All three characters, plus Chief Aramaki and the Tachikoma robots, join in the investigation of a string of suicides by agents of a foreign general. The trail leads them to a terrorist plot involving micro-machines created to release a deadly virus, and to the master-hacker known as the Puppeteer. The depiction of a corrupt politician using resources earmarked for the care of an aging population for his own ends reflects recent scandals in Japan. But Solid State Society feels derivative. The plot borrows heavily from the "Laughing Man" storyline, and the general lack of inspiration is evident in the failure to resolve the mystery satisfactorily.
The Limited Edition includes a music CD and a second DVD of extras, among them notes on designing the futuristic vehicles in the film, and an interview with Mitsuhisa Ishikawa of Production I.G., all packaged in a metal box. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon
About this product: The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centerfold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."
Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon
About this product: Politics and cyber-espionage collide as the first season of the broadcast series based on Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell comes to a suitably violent conclusion. The filmmakers manage to gather up most of the threads of the complicated narrative: the super-hacker known as The Laughing Man, the scandal surrounding bogus cures for "cyberbrain sclerosis," the corrupt government ministers implicated in those scandals, and the growing cognizance of the crab-like Tachikoma robots. Nothing is simple in the world of Shirow Masamune and Mamoru Oshii, and some questions are left unanswered. Not surprisingly, the season ends with the officers of Public Security Section 9 hot on a new case, leading into the "2nd Gig" series. The two discs contain the same material, but one features Dolby Digital audio, the other DTS 5.1: which sounds better is largely a question of individual taste and the configuration of the viewer's sound system. (Rated 13 and older: violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
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