AoD Advance Review: Ghost in the Shell - Solid State Society

[Chris Beveridge]

http://www.animeondvd.com/images/boxart/gitssolidstate.jpg Review (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/6125.php)

Released By: Bandai Entertainment
MSRP: $19.98/39.98
Running time: 109 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Resolution: 480i/p (mixed/unknown)
Encoded With: MPEG-2
Release Date: 07/03/2007
Review Date: 06/08/2007
Date Announced: 01/23/2007
Region: 1 - North America
Reviewed By: Chris Beveridge

In Summary:
In the end, after watching this in the dark with the sound cranked up nicely, Solid State Society does deliver in spades. The action is quick and brutal, the plot is convoluted but engaging and the characters dominate across every spectrum. This is a cast of characters in a setting that I've loved for quite some time and seeing them in a new storyline that has brought some growth and change to all of them makes it all worthwhile. Though there are certainly flaws to be found in the film, the end result is one that has left me very pleased and eager to see more. Bandai Entertainment's release of the film is solid throughout though there are areas where I hope to see improvements upon someday in another form. Solid State Society isn't the TV series nor is it the first two movies. It's an interesting hybrid of both that succeeds on some levels but falls short on others. It is however another gem in my collection that will get some solid replay value.

[Damo]

Sounds in some ways that it suffers from what most sereis do, when they make the jump from TV sereis to movie, they gain something but loose somethign at the same time.

Haven't read the full review, I'm tempted not to until I see it, I was concerned about how they would handle the plot as in one synopsis I read said the major had left and I thought writing out one of the main draws could only end badly.

[treatment]

you got the R1 already? dammit! :sd:

[Teiresias]

Patiently awaiting my pre-order... :sd:

[Hayate Kurogane]

Nightjar did the menus, but did they also do the authoring? Or was that handled by speeDVD?

[Chris Beveridge]

I believe it's all nightjar.

[Hayate Kurogane]

I believe it's all nightjar.

Huzzah! Thanks for the info, Chris.

*does the happy A/V dance with Pyocola and others*

[Pyocola]

*does the happy A/V dance with Pyocola and others*
Yay!

*Runs back and forth throwing confetti around, "Jones in the Fast Lane"-style*

I'm even willing to forgive them for not including proper packaging for the OST because of this. :)

[Njr Scrawl]

Reading your contents section, I'm liking Batou increasingly, though another movie without having Motoko as the central character is disappointing.

Is SSS a better movie than Innocence IYO?

[Chris Beveridge]

Motoko plays plenty of a role in the film. And yes, it's a better storyline than Innocence.

[canaryfarmer]

Chris,

Thanks for the excellent review as always. Quick question: did the soundtrack CD come with any liner notes or a booklet (or at least an offer to have one mailed)?

[Lego]

Motoko plays plenty of a role in the film. And yes, it's a better storyline than Innocence.

You get the feeling that Innocence should of either been a lecture or a book instead of a movie. Still though I'm really looking forward to this coming out in early July.

[MeggieMay]

Chris,

Thanks for the excellent review as always. Quick question: did the soundtrack CD come with any liner notes or a booklet (or at least an offer to have one mailed)?

I'll second this question since I'm still on the fence on whether I'm getting the LE or not for this (even though I did get the LE for the TV series).

Also, The SciFi Channel (US) is going to air the movie this upcoming Monday (June 11th) at 11PM ET. Seeing the movie is listed as 109 minutes and it's airing in over 2 1/2 hours I take it that the movie isn't going to be edited down all that much, if at all, time wise. Of course it is hard to tell in advance what content might get edited or if they'll show the movie in the correct screen format. So while it will be nice to see it in advance I'm fairly sure I'll be picking it up on DVD in the future :) .

[Damo]

Motoko plays plenty of a role in the film. And yes, it's a better storyline than Innocence.
Well that's not hard. :D

The Innocence story felt tacked on after all the philosophical musings and visuals

[Leeway]

Motoko plays plenty of a role in the film. And yes, it's a better storyline than Innocence.
Although her role is major, I felt she didn't get much screen time. It felt like Togusa (and Batou) got the bulk of it.

I enjoyed the movie too, very solid. Leaps and bounds over Innocence.

[Lego]

Togusa and Batou are kind of "stealth main characters". In the original movie Batou and Togusa get a lot of screen time. In both series(more in the first) Batou gets loads of time. Togusa even had an episode about him. Then in Innocence it's pretty much Batou running around with Togusa and philosophizing for two hours.

[Mr.Scruff]

Slightly off topic, but anyone heard of a 2nd Gig boxset coming out anytime soon?

Have ordered the LE of this, but haven't seen 2ng Gig so will it still make sense?

[Lego]

Slightly off topic, but anyone heard of a 2nd Gig boxset coming out anytime soon?

Have ordered the LE of this, but haven't seen 2ng Gig so will it still make sense?

Soon? No.

Sometime? You bet.

We'll see a box set for 2nd Gig sometime down the line. I think there might of even been a discussion about it in this thread or another GITS thread recently.

[nilcam]

Such hate for Innocence. I really loved that movie. In fact, it is what made me decide to give Ghost in the Shell another chance. I thought the manga was pointless and the first move, while pretty, was very blah. Innocence made more sense second time around after reading the prequel novel.

[Lego]

Such hate for Innocence. I really loved that movie. In fact, it is what made me decide to give Ghost in the Shell another chance. I thought the manga was pointless and the first move, while pretty, was very blah. Innocence made more sense second time around after reading the prequel novel.

I think the main thing was(I'm including myself in this) is that people went into Innocence expecting some sort of movie version of the series. The original GITS was more like Innocence in while it had its action, it was talky at a lot of points. I think the thing that turned a lot of people off with Innocence is that it seems to be all talk all the time.

I own the film and love the visuals and the haunting "Follow Me" theme, but it isn't something you put in unless you're in the specific mood for it.

[nilcam]

Such hate for Innocence. I really loved that movie. In fact, it is what made me decide to give Ghost in the Shell another chance. I thought the manga was pointless and the first move, while pretty, was very blah. Innocence made more sense second time around after reading the prequel novel.

I think the main thing was(I'm including myself in this) is that people went into Innocence expecting some sort of movie version of the series. The original GITS was more like Innocence in while it had its action, it was talky at a lot of points. I think the thing that turned a lot of people off with Innocence is that it seems to be all talk all the time.

I own the film and love the visuals and the haunting "Follow Me" theme, but it isn't something you put in unless you're in the specific mood for it.

I definitely agree with the mood point. I admit that Innocence doesn't feel very Ghost in the Shell; it feels more 1930s crime noir, which is what I loved about it. The anachronism of a cyborg in that sort of story is great.

I am really looking forward to Solid State Society. I'm in for the standard edition, $15 at Best Buy.

[Lego]

I've had the LE pre ordered at Rightstuf for ages(got it during the Manga sale) so I'm fine as soon as it ships. I'm glad you brought it up though as Innocence was basically Batou running around for an hour or two for me. I know you have the deep psychological aspect of it going on, but SAC has spoiled me.

[treatment]

Such hate for Innocence. I really loved that movie. In fact, it is what made me decide to give Ghost in the Shell another chance. I thought the manga was pointless and the first move, while pretty, was very blah. Innocence made more sense second time around after reading the prequel novel.

I think the main thing was(I'm including myself in this) is that people went into Innocence expecting some sort of movie version of the series. The original GITS was more like Innocence in while it had its action, it was talky at a lot of points. I think the thing that turned a lot of people off with Innocence is that it seems to be all talk all the time.

I own the film and love the visuals and the haunting "Follow Me" theme, but it isn't something you put in unless you're in the specific mood for it.

I definitely agree with the mood point. I admit that Innocence doesn't feel very Ghost in the Shell; it feels more 1930s crime noir, which is what I loved about it. The anachronism of a cyborg in that sort of story is great.


meh.

Innocence was a colossal waste of time and visuals, imho.

[zaldar]

I have to disagree that it is better than innocence. If you like the action more than the philosophy then maybe but it was the odd philosophy that attracted me to ghost in the shell always.

[DKL]

My favorite aspect of Innocence was the intricate and logical cohesion behind the ideas that came about through all the book quoting (which didn't really bother me anyway as I don't read books... I think the only thing I've ever actually read was Maddox's book "The Alphabet of Manliness").

Kamiyama sort of tries to do this with the 1st season of Stand Alone Complex, but it comes across kinda flat in comparison to what Oshii came up with in Innocence.

Though, for the record, I actually wasn't very overly fond of the first GITS movie as it came off kinda... simple... especially when you look at it in the context of being a follow-up to Patlabor 2, which had beautifully intricate ideas.

I mean, it's a pretty okay movie, don't get me wrong...

That said, I really liked Solid State Society; the writing was really tight and the plot was interesting...

It's funny how I put the ideas together though... given that the plot "stuff" in the Stand Alone Complex universe is usually conveyed in something of a cryptic manner, it's surprising how it only makes sense to me AFTER all the stuff is finally revealed (given that... I seem to just tuck away the "stuff" at the back of my head until actual answers show up)...

It's, uh... interesting.

Anyway, I like this.

Can't wait for the DVD.

[ZenAmako]

Maybe the problem with Innocence is that Oshii wrote the screenplay himself. For his last few movies (Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, Avalon), the scripts were written by Kazunori Ito. That's most likely why Innocence has such a different feel. Oshii also wrote the scripts for Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer - which also has a heck of a lot of talking and philosophizing - and Angel's Egg, a film with practically no dialogue except for a long quote in the middle. Perhaps being both writer and director allowed him to indulge himself a little too much with Innocence. It's an Oshii film through and through, moreso than it is a Ghost in the Shell film.

It reminds me a bit of Spider-Man 3, which Sam Raimi directed and wrote, when he had hired writers for the previous installments.

[KaidoYuji8Adam]

My favorite aspect of Innocence was the intricate and logical cohesion behind the ideas that came about through all the book quoting (which didn't really bother me anyway as I don't read books... I think the only thing I've ever actually read was Maddox's book "The Alphabet of Manliness").

Kamiyama sort of tries to do this with the 1st season of Stand Alone Complex, but it comes across kinda flat in comparison to what Oshii came up with in Innocence.

Though, for the record, I actually wasn't very overly fond of the first GITS movie as it came off kinda... simple... especially when you look at it in the context of being a follow-up to Patlabor 2, which had beautifully intricate ideas.

I mean, it's a pretty okay movie, don't get me wrong...

That said, I really liked Solid State Society; the writing was really tight and the plot was interesting...

It's funny how I put the ideas together though... given that the plot "stuff" in the Stand Alone Complex universe is usually conveyed in something of a cryptic manner, it's surprising how it only makes sense to me AFTER all the stuff is finally revealed (given that... I seem to just tuck away the "stuff" at the back of my head until actual answers show up)...

It's, uh... interesting.

Anyway, I like this.

Can't wait for the DVD.


I saw Solid State Society of SciFi..O man was it awesome! I personally loved it and will be getting the limited edition when it comes out.
Also, the Animaze dub for the movie was amazing. I really miss their dubs, and this and the series is all we really get now :(

[MrPhil]

Chris, a question:-
Is the transfer interlaced or progressive?

Thanks in advance.

[Lego]

I should get mine Thursday or Friday via UPS :D :D

I'll post my general impressions once I hastily open the package.

[treatment]

WOW! AWESOME PACKAGING!

This release is prolly THE BEST R1-dvd packaging ever. Excellent metal-outer and plastic-inner.

Thanks to Bandai-Ent for going the extra-mile for this LE.

outer side spread (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseouterev4.jpg)

inner side spread with media (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseinnergz9.jpg)

inner side spread w/out media (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseinner2kj1.jpg)

I really really wish, nay, IMPLORE Geneon-USA to switch over to this specific steelbook-packaging for their Ergo Proxy title.

[canaryfarmer]

I'm pretty sure the answer is "Not at all." but did it come with any booklets/chapter listings/etc.?

[treatment]

I'm pretty sure the answer is "Not at all." but did it come with any booklets/chapter listings/etc.?

What you see in the pics I posted is what you get.

[canaryfarmer]

Thank you very much.

[sonicjam628]

Just got the limited edition version. It really is a great steelcase. It also feels different than the Hellsing OVA steelcase.Great buy. :)

[Chacranajxy]

I didn't even know that this was actually a new storyline rather than a retelling of the TV series... so it's a nice surprise. Gotta pick this up, but first, I've gotta finish watching 2nd Gig...

[christater]

I agree that the hate for Innocence is unfounded givin the fact that its a GTIS movie and an Oshii movie at that. I don't know what people went into this thing hoping to see. Oh, they probably went hoping to see more Mokoto :virgin: . Sorry, Ohshi never was about the fanboys :sd: .

[The Great Bear]

Oshii GiTS: It's all about the basset hounds (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=basset+hound&btnG=Google+Search) .

[DKL]

Actually, Oshii must worship them or something.

In fact, have any of you ever seen his stance on animal violence?

That said, I always kinda had that feeling [about his stance] because of that one scene in Patlabor 2 where:

The police sniper dude is ordered to shoot through the birds to get to the blimp...

Oh yeah, this...

I'm picking it up ASAP... just wish that it was at Best Buy when I was there the other day.

[Iridium]

WOW! AWESOME PACKAGING!

This release is prolly THE BEST R1-dvd packaging ever. Excellent metal-outer and plastic-inner.

Thanks to Bandai-Ent for going the extra-mile for this LE.

outer side spread (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseouterev4.jpg)

inner side spread with media (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseinnergz9.jpg)

inner side spread w/out media (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseinner2kj1.jpg)

I really really wish, nay, IMPLORE Geneon-USA to switch over to this specific steelbook-packaging for their Ergo Proxy title.
Isn't that the same packaging that got Geneon flameroasted on this forum after they used it for the Appleseed LE?

Regardless, I have no problem with it and am really looking forward to receiving my copy of SSS. It should be shipping tomorrow...

[treatment]

WOW! AWESOME PACKAGING!

This release is prolly THE BEST R1-dvd packaging ever. Excellent metal-outer and plastic-inner.

Thanks to Bandai-Ent for going the extra-mile for this LE.

outer side spread (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseouterev4.jpg)

inner side spread with media (http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseinnergz9.jpg)

inner side spread w/out media (http://img103.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gitssssseinner2kj1.jpg)

I really really wish, nay, IMPLORE Geneon-USA to switch over to this specific steelbook-packaging for their Ergo Proxy title.
Isn't that the same packaging that got Geneon flameroasted on this forum after they used it for the Appleseed LE?

Regardless, I have no problem with it and am really looking forward to receiving my copy of SSS. It should be shipping tomorrow...

I don't know about Appleseed packaging since I never bought any of it.

Regardless, I FRICKIN LUV the Main Menu's music and simple animated loop of this R1 of SSS. :P

[eau]

CAG forum says that a security tag is placed right underneath disc 2, probably scratching the disc. Does your copy have the same problem?

[Njr Scrawl]

I agree that the hate for Innocence is unfounded givin the fact that its a GTIS movie and an Oshii movie at that. I don't know what people went into this thing hoping to see. Oh, they probably went hoping to see more Mokoto :virgin: . Sorry, Ohshi never was about the fanboys :sd: .

I only bought the standard edition.

I am a Motoko fan, not a Section 9 fan. Motoko in action is poetry, watching the others is background to her excellence.

Perhaps the best co-star to Motoko is the whole enviroment/state Japan is in the future. That is fascinating in itself.

The original GiTS movie is still the best single feature, & IMO will always be so. Its freshness & uniqueness shine through every watching. Innocence is a "B" supporting feature by comparison & SSS is just a 2nd Gig sequel with a lot of the TV series appeal missing.

[The Great Bear]

CAG forum says that a security tag is placed right underneath disc 2, probably scratching the disc. Does your copy have the same problem?

Yeah, it's there (I just removed it). Fortunately, it didn't cause any major scratches, just some scuff marks that were easily wiped away with a cloth.

The steelbook package is not too bad. The hubs are a little similar to Scanavo death grips, which is a minus, but they're a little easier to get the disks in and out of than Scanavos. If they kept this case design, but used m-locks or another hub that's easier to get disks in and out of, this kind of packaging would be excellent for features that have bonus disks, and I would not even be that upset if it were used for short 3 disk series, since the case if the width of only 1 keepcase.

[Teiresias]

The LE was waiting for me at home last night. Great presentation, love the steel case. Tuco is very happy! :D

[masterpez]

Just picked up my copy at Best Buy. The limited edition for $12.99 as people mentioned earlier. Went around to the anime aisle and the regular edition was priced at just under $40. :sd: I felt like I had stolen something when I walked out the store with the LE. Oh well...

[broodwars]

You mean it was actually priced that way in the store? Damn I feel irritated...my package is doing this crazy little dance across the state of Florida: it shipped out on Friday from Atlanta, Georgia by UPS; then made its way to Jacksonville and then Orlando (which my house in Lake Mary is nearby); then tranfered to USPS; then made its way back UP to Jacksonville; and now seems to be headed back down to Orlando. I see the US Postal Service is as inept as usual. After this little dance, I'll probably have to wait until Thursday because the 4th will delay it.

[canaryfarmer]

Just picked up my copy at Best Buy. The limited edition for $12.99 as people mentioned earlier. Went around to the anime aisle and the regular edition was priced at just under $40. :sd: I felt like I had stolen something when I walked out the store with the LE. Oh well...

That's awesome. I had no idea they were mispriced in-store at all.

My LE arrived in the mail today, and like many above, the security sticker left a few marks on the 2nd disc.

Remove that sticker as soon as you can, and don't rotate the 2nd disc on its hub before you do!

I've got an email in to Bandai to see if they know anything about getting the soundtrack liner notes (not expecting anything positive, though). Never did hear back from Manga (shock).

[masterpez]

You mean it was actually priced that way in the store? Damn I feel irritated...

Yup, priced that way in the store. I went looking for it yesterday, and thought it was odd that I didn't see it there, since my local BB usually puts anime titles out before the release date. The reason why it wasn't out was because it was in this week's sales ad, saying it'd be released today, and sure enough the price in the ad says $12.99 for the LE.

I don't know if it's advertised that way in every BB sales ad across the country, since they're regional. You can view your local weekly ad on their website, it might be a good idea for some of you who haven't bought it yet to check out.

[treatment]

You mean it was actually priced that way in the store? Damn I feel irritated...

Yup, priced that way in the store. I went looking for it yesterday, and thought it was odd that I didn't see it there, since my local BB usually puts anime titles out before the release date. The reason why it wasn't out was because it was in this week's sales ad, saying it'd be released today, and sure enough the price in the ad says $12.99 for the LE.

I don't know if it's advertised that way in every BB sales ad across the country, since they're regional. You can view your local weekly ad on their website, it might be a good idea for some of you who haven't bought it yet to check out.


you lucky bastards!

I should've gone b&m for that misprice, but oh well.

[The Creation]

yes mine is scratched, a ring mark, to my dismay. some people really are dumb putting sticker right underneath the disc. sigh

[something]

Mmm, I really should be watching this right now, but I'm holding off because I've been wanting to rewatch Sac and 2nd GiG, and I figure this is as good an excuse as any.

On the other hand, christ, I don't have the time to rewatch 52 episodes :sd: So instead that urge will probably keep SSS in the backlog for a year and a half =P We'll see...

Anyway, I got the LE because of the misprice, and I plan check the CD out soon at least. And I also got scratches from the retarded security sticker under the extras CD.

[treatment]

yes mine is scratched, a ring mark, to my dismay. some people really are dumb putting sticker right underneath the disc. sigh

My Extras-disc was affected by the retarded sticker-magnet. Fortunately, it ain't as scratched as it could've been. Just a dot or so.

Still.

The stupid placement of the sticker-magnet is just another example of extreme asshattery. There were enough spacing in the cd-side to place it there. But I guess that was just too logical to whoever packaged this LE.

I'm just not really sure who to blame for it, BEI or Mangle. I'll just blame both of them. Asshats. :angry:

As such, I hope BEI has some extra discs to replace those that have more severe scratching caused by that stupid sticker-placement.

Awesome steelbook marred by a stupid stupid sticker-placement.

Friggin' curse. :grr:

[masterpez]

Mmm, I really should be watching this right now, but I'm holding off because I've been wanting to rewatch Sac and 2nd GiG, and I figure this is as good an excuse as any.

On the other hand, christ, I don't have the time to rewatch 52 episodes :sd:

Heh, with as many different series that I watch at once, neither did I. So leading up to SSS release day, I started a 2nd Gig marathon and finished on Monday, so that on Tuesday I could watch SSS. It's amazing how many details I missed during my first viewing of 2nd Gig as the singles were coming out. And since I'm probably going to be in GitS withdrawal, I'll probably end up watching the first season again. Might add the movies to that...but I don't think I could stay awake.

[nilcam]

I bought the LE at my local Best Buy for $12.99. It was on display in the new releases section, complete with a sign that stated "Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society LE DVD $12.99." The cashier tried to tell me that the sign was for the standard release, but the sign had the SKU for the LE release. I walked out a happy man.

[Relwarc]

Hmm, I bought mine online from BestBuy.com due to the misprice. I had it originally preordered from DVDPlanet for the RE, but changed my mind when the folks down at the Retail thread started sharing the good misprice news. Mine arrived a couple days ago and it's in great condition. I just finished watching it and I have to say that it was good, as I've come to expect from this series, but...it doesn't quite match the caliber of some of the TV series' better episodes. In particular, the climax of the Laughing Man case eclipses this movie.

I guess there just wasn't enough screen time to flesh out some of the changes that many characters have had to go through. Everyone but Batou and Togusa felt like a cardboard cut-out. And the Major manages to emote even less than usual. :sd: Personally, I'm hoping for 52 more episodes. :D

[Njr Scrawl]

Having a different seiyuu voicing the Major might not help.

[Relwarc]

Having a different seiyuu voicing the Major might not help.

Oh, really? Well, I watched it in English so that wasn't the problem. I'm a dub watcher as a rule of thumb. Still, even in English, the Major sounded so...understated.

[something]

Edit: ok, the sound works in Media Player Classic, so I have no idea what KMP is having a problem with dialog, since that usually plays everything, including things MPC will not. it's annoying to have to watch in MPC, but if it's just for this one disc, I'll live.

Edit2: The video on this disc is really, really nice. So nice that even I notice it, so if this is what DVD can still do, I can indeed put off upgrading longer more.

----------------------

~nevermind~

[Magic_Knight]

This movie was very good. It managed to keep the feel of the TV series perfectly, a problem I sometimes have with TV to movie "conversions" in anime. All the characters got their time to shine, and I really enjoyed the focus on Togusa. Very well done film, I am now going back to watch the show again starting with season 1. :)

Also, this is one of my all-time favorite dubs. I hardly watch anime dubbed anymore, but the English version of this show fits so freakin' well.

[something]

Note: read this whole thread hoping someone commented on some of the things I was wondering about, given all the posts here, but it looks like there's basically been no talk at all about the movie itself... Maybe it's still just too new.

--------------

Well, I decided to watch it now instead.

Two years since the Major resigned, but she's still around and in he old body, as opposed to the 'missing Major' of Man-Machine Interface or Innocence. This seems to be in the spirit of those two (post-Section 9 Major, story focused on others whose life she impacts rather than her herself), but it doesn't put the Major quite so far out of reach of the world as they do. And it's a far cry from the insanity that was the end of MMI. It might turn out to be a better compromise, and hopefully allow the story to remain a little more grounded. MMI and Innocence both... tried too hard, I guess, and lost a bit of what made the first manga, TV series, and even first movie more charming.

---------------

So far, so better, yeah. Motoko is still very much a corporeal being (well, he's not shell-less anyway). And her meeting with Batou was just classic Major. Accept his help but then brush him off and steal his car! I was kind of worried when I heard about Solid State Society, wondering if it would suffer the pitfalls MMI and Innocence did, but I really think it's found a much better solution. And depending on how it ends, the part to more TV episodes could be open... maybe.

--------------

Hmm ah yes, the Major and all her many, many bodies. I must say, though, that unless I missed something in all the other GitS incarnations, this is the first time she's controlled a male body.

As a side note, I want to see Isako from Dennou Coil undergo an apprenticeship with Motoko.

--------------

The setup so far (about halfway through I think) has been interesting. A little hard to follow in classic GitS fashion, but thats when you need to stop dwelling on the details and get the big picture. I'm ignoring my "go for the details" urge because that kind of post doesn't work with GitS, because it'll change too often and too much. But is it just me, or does the body she used when she returned payment to whathisname look exactly the same as the body the [first movie spoiler] Puppetmaster took over at the end, the one that got hit by a truck and that Motoko dove into?

--------------

Holy shit. I'm sort of short on breath right now, having watched the scene in the hospital with Togusa, his daughter, Batou and now the Major. From the moment he got that call on his daughter's cell to the moment she ran back into his arms when it was over, I barely blinked or took a breath. The music, the emotion, everything just came together into one of the most impressive single scenes I've seen in a long, long time. "You'll hear a loud bang, just run and don't look back..." Also: his daughter is crazy cute.

------------

Finished! Really, really good action sequence as they infiltrate the Sacred something or other. Then we get a lot of cyber-interface graphics (again done really well in the manner seen in the manga, particularly MMI, but without 2390812 pages of technobabble). But also, again in GitS fashion, I don't *quite* get what happened at the end. I understand the plotline behind the senior citizens, the refugee policy, the Major's own investigations, the bureaucrat's plan to 'save' the children, and all that stuff.

But who was the puppeteer? There's hints he's connected to Motoko. If the original story wasn't a divergent universe from the TV series, I'd almost want to say it's the original Project 2501 Puppetmaster after he [first movie spoiler but who the hell hasn't seen it?] [spoiler]merges with Motoko at the end[/spoilerBut that can't be, as the two GitS universes clearly do not overlap. Nonetheless, the puppeteer made a big deal out of always seeking Motoko, always wanting to get into her, knowing she was special. And at the end, we see that one of her bodies is... that body. The body of the bureaucrat. In fact, I sort of want to go back and see who the man she walks past ism when she returns with the samples from her raid on the office where she met Batou. I don't remember if he was some random guy or someone important to answering this question. Maybe I'll check it later, it's getting late.

[comment, delete, comment, delete...] I keep typing up ways to explain it but none are really working. Whatever it is, Batou sorta knows knows, and the Tachikomas have the data, but none of them are telling anyone, which means it has to be something connected to the Major. And the last face the puppeteer morphed into was Motoko's... He's a suppressed aspect of the Major? Or just an outside force who was closely tracking her all alone, even to the point where he could possess one of her extra bodies? The reluctance of Batou and the tachis to discuss what happened is the key point, because it's something they don't want spread around, for Motoko's sake. I feel like I do grasp what they were going for, but can't explain it well.

Anyway, thoughts?

-------------

Last thing is that I loved the homages to the first movie. Motoko's "vertical movement" is a trademark of the entire franchise of course, but the entire Motoko/Puppeteer scene at the end was full of references. Batou losing control of his arm when trying to pull motoko out, all the way to "The net is vast and infinite".

This was a much better movie than Innocence (which I didn't hate but didn't like a lot either) and a much better 'post-Motoko GitS' story than either Innocence or Man-Machine Interface. That could be because SAC is the best incarnation of the series, from manga to tv to movie. And with the SAC team behind this, they really nailed it. I'd put this at least on par with the first movie, but it's hard to compare them. I saw them at such different points in my anime fandom, and I like them for different reasons.

I need a SAC 3 now.

[DBoy2501]

As a longtime fan of GITS, I just love how there are so many subtle (and not so subtle) details throughout SSS that instantly invoke vivid memories from both of the theatrical films as well as the original manga -- all while managing to take these elements and meld them together to create a different storyline that seems to fit entirely within the SAC universe.

Before I saw SSS, I had expected it to be something of a bridge between the SAC universe and that of the theatrical films, with Kuze's ghost escaping into the net at the end of 2nd Gig only to become the puppeteer and merge with the Major at the end. Instead, I was happy to see that SSS faithfully continues an alternate timeline where fundamental elements from the theatrical films and the manga are used to tell a different story and maintain a separate, alternate universe that can be explored by future productions in new and exciting ways.

I just love this series' combination and balance of extremely likable characters, action, drama and thought-provoking commentary/philosophy! It just seems to have it all, and I can't wait to see what Section 9 will face next! :D

As for my take on who the Puppeteer is, after my initial viewing here are my thoughts:
Through her experiences in the net, Motoko has come into contact with countless personalities (such as Kuze) and "incalculable data" that have affected and altered her ghost to the point that her subconscious mind has taken on a persona of its own that can wander the net essentially at will. This persona is the Puppeteer. It is a personality who's goals seem to serve the basic values held by Motoko's conscious mind (the puppeteer is essentially the entity that provides the leads to expose the film's brainwashing factory to section 9.) However, by existing in the net, the Puppeteer is not bound by the limitations of Motoko's conscious self. So in a sense, the puppeteer is kind of a version of project 2501 that coexists with the Major rather than changing her completely as in the movies or manga. If this is an accurate analysis, then it should provide numerous story possibilities for future SAC installments that would allow us to have GITS with the Major that we know and love, as well as the more ethereal version found in Innocence. Just my $0.02, and of course subject to change on repeated viewings of the film...

[zaldar]

There seems to be a segment that liked the feel and the action of ghost in the shell as well as the overall world but ignored the philosophy and plot, which the other segment enjoys the most.

[zaldar]

I still really like the first movie best. The whole machine counciessness thing was so wonderful and new to me at the time. I also loved the second movie but then as I have said before the strange philosophy has always been what attracted me to anime. I agree though the scene with his daughter was wonderfully done and she is crazy cute. I thought that he was a suppresed aspect of the major that some part of her consciousness had merged with the net unbeknowest to her.

I'm curious and I have never gotten a straight answer to this. I know the worlds don't mesh but which of the tv/movie plot lines is closest to the plot line in the manga? (for example in the manga does the puppetter merge with the major?)

[DBoy2501]

I'm curious and I have never gotten a straight answer to this. I know the worlds don't mesh but which of the tv/movie plot lines is closest to the plot line in the manga? (for example in the manga does the puppetter merge with the major?)

The original film is a reenvisioning of what is pretty much just the last part of the original manga. The rest of the manga is probably closer to SAC, as it is about the various cases and issues surrounding the Major and Section 9. The best way to satisfy your curiosity is to pick up the original manga, which is still available in an uncensored 2nd edition.(I haven't read the MMI manga, so I can't comment on that.)

[Njr Scrawl]

I'm watching 2nd Gig now - my current show.

Having seen through the first 10 2G episodes, I feel 2G is closer to the manga than SAC (1G), although the 1G Stand Alone episodes fit in to the manga's feel OK.

Motoko in GiTS original manga is closer to other anime show heroines, than she is to her anime portrayal. Motoko in MMI seems like another person again.

What is it with Togusa & women?! Those he starts off protecting, end up getting killed! 2 so far in 2G ><

[something]

Motoko in MMI seems like another person again.
That's because she is. Kusanagi Motoko != Aramaki Motoko. Unless you mean at the very very end, where Aramaki Motoko meets with the original Major, but there the Major is more of a force, an essence, than the actual person she once was, or even a person at all.

[something]

The original film is a reenvisioning of what is pretty much just the last part of the original manga. The rest of the manga is probably closer to SAC, as it is about the various cases and issues surrounding the Major and Section 9.
Right, for the majority of the first manga, Motoko is a much more talkative and emotional and even comedic individual than she is in any of the anime adaptations. She's still the tough-as-nails woman she is in all the adaptations, but she can be downright... silly... at times. That's something no other adaptation has tried to do with her, which might be a good thing in some ways. I like the SAC Major best, definitely. She's got the best balance.

All in all, the three continuities (manga, films, SAC) have distinctly different flavors.

[something]

As for my take on who the Puppeteer is, after my initial viewing here are my thoughts:
Through her experiences in the net, Motoko has come into contact with countless personalities (such as Kuze) and "incalculable data" that have affected and altered her ghost to the point that her subconscious mind has taken on a persona of its own that can wander the net essentially at will. This persona is the Puppeteer. It is a personality who's goals seem to serve the basic values held by Motoko's conscious mind (the puppeteer is essentially the entity that provides the leads to expose the film's brainwashing factory to section 9.) However, by existing in the net, the Puppeteer is not bound by the limitations of Motoko's conscious self. So in a sense, the puppeteer is kind of a version of project 2501 that coexists with the Major rather than changing her completely as in the movies or manga. If this is an accurate analysis, then it should provide numerous story possibilities for future SAC installments that would allow us to have GITS with the Major that we know and love, as well as the more ethereal version found in Innocence. Just my $0.02, and of course subject to change on repeated viewings of the film...
Thanks, this is exactly my take on it, but explained better. I agree with everything you said.

It alludes to other things I've always wondered as well. In short, who exactly is the Major? What about her makes her able to stand head and shoulders above every other individual connected to the net? Why do all these immense cyber entities and movements wind up revolving around her? Why does every 'advanced net existence' want to get into her mind, her ghost so badly?

It's so tantalizing because we know so little about her past. The movies don't even try to discuss her past. The manga doesn't really either. Only with SAC did we get some backstory on her, her time in the military with Batou and Ishikawa, her meeting with Saito, and above all the short arc about her as a child, and the young boy she got to know.

But it's all still snippets. The SAC team could do so, so much with it. They've already completely outclassed Shirow and Oshii in their grasp of the GitS world and their ability to weave it into a story, if you ask me. Just imagining what Kamiyama could do with this franchise in the future blows me away.

Still, part of me wonders if a long, detailed explanation of the Major's past could damage the charming mystery of the show. Perhaps this is a case of being careful what you wish for. Perhaps the snippets we've seen are all we should be asking for.

"The net is vast and infinite." GitS has always been about looking ahead, about the progress of technology, about development and evolution and limitless possibilities. Man-Machine Interface, for all its huge fatal flaws, makes that point damn clear, at least. So in the end, I suppose GitS just isn't not meant to dwell so much on the past, not when the future spreads out before Motoko and the rest of Section 9, infinitely expansive and complex. ::shrugs::

Either way they go, it's going to be good. I figure that's the only constant with SAC that we need to worry about.

[Njr Scrawl]

My personal belief is that Motoko's mind has matured & evolved-developed over time, surpassing normal human abilities. From before the stories we see/read, & during them. The fact that she might be older than twentysomething is given away by the less sophisticated childs body we see, complete with puppet- type joints, in the "flashback" episode"

While retaining her core personality/ghost, Motoko's experiences; physical & mental & electronic, have influenced her & added to her capabilities.

Motoko's mind may also be sharper than those with part-human bodies. How does a child grow up physically, on a natural parallel with her mental abilities, if she has a totally artificial body from childhood? All the physical growth side has gone.

Perhaps as a result, Motoko's mental growth was enhanced & accelerated, increasing her ability, as her mind only had itself to concentrate on developing without all the usual biological restrictions of an organic body.

In her youth, she might also have been a bit geeky & become a talented hacker, if her mobility was restricted due to body types. I'd like to know too how she went from child to youth to adult, at what stage she joined the military etc. & why.

[tangent]

Great job on Solid State Society Bandai! Awesome all around. I have watched it twice already.

I also just want to add a couple of things to the discussion.

something, you are right. The bureaucrat walked past the Major when she is carrying the samples back to her home(I'm not sure what else to call it). What that means I am not really sure.

I doubt the Bureaucrat's body was one of the Major's. That body was not really her style. Definitely too nerdy.

I'm also a little unclear about part of the end. The bureaucrat makes a reference to destroying section 9 by getting inside the Major, but nothing really happens. What was that about? Or did it just fly over my head? Thoughts?

Lastly, I would prefer to not know about the Major's past. I like the mystery that surrounds the Major and what it brings to GitS.

[DBoy2501]

Still, part of me wonders if a long, detailed explanation of the Major's past could damage the charming mystery of the show. Perhaps this is a case of being careful what you wish for. Perhaps the snippets we've seen are all we should be asking for.

Yeah, it's the interaction of these wonderful characters as they tackle such novel and interesting situations in their fascinating world that I think is at the heart of my love for the series.

I'd rather character background be limited to serving a greater storyline that keeps the balance of all the characters and an overall continuity. If GITS becomes little more than "The Motoko Chronicles" or "Batou's stories of a former Ranger" then the series will lose its charm (IMHO :sd: )

I think 2nd Gig got it just right. That episode on disc 3 with Motoko's backstory is probably my favorite episode of either SAC season. Yet the background on Motoko given there served directly to the overarching plot in addition to giving us a more in-depth character study.

[Relwarc]

Still, part of me wonders if a long, detailed explanation of the Major's past could damage the charming mystery of the show. Perhaps this is a case of being careful what you wish for. Perhaps the snippets we've seen are all we should be asking for.

I think 2nd Gig got it just right. That episode on disc 3 with Motoko's backstory is probably my favorite episode of either SAC season. Yet the background on Motoko given there served directly to the overarching plot in addition to giving us a more in-depth character study.

I agree. What I loved about 2nd GIG was the study of human nature and behavior that wasn't nearly as present in the first series. If/when the third series premieres, I'm hoping that they'll continue that trend. After all, whatever technology may spawn, it came from human beings...although, I wouldn't say "no" to a subplot involving the Puppeteer again and other complex net entities and cyberized humans' reactions to the idea that what's essentially an AI has evolved from the net...and from themselves.

I'll be the first to say that I'm not exactly sure what happened in this movie. I mean, I have a grasp of the peripheral facts, but I wish that the Puppeteer storyline had more of a conclusive ending. I don't mean, "and then they captured him/her and Section 9 lived to fight another day," but just more information about the Major, these net "AI"s and more in-depth politics beyond name-dropping and slogans. Maybe they left all these loose ends to feed into the next TV series? :D

[canaryfarmer]

Having a different seiyuu voicing the Major might not help.

IMDB lists Atsuko Tanaka as the voice for the Major for all incarnations of GitS, including SSS. What do you mean exactly?

[Njr Scrawl]

My bad. Must have had another name on the brain O.O :sd:

I wouldn't mind a solo Motoko series, sort of Master Keaton, but with her in her reality.

Is there more somewhere on the background, causes & results to the wars that have happened before SAC, & the situation after which gave rise to the refugees etc? What is the geography of the GiTS world like?

[zaldar]

Good questions I wish I had answers! I think it might have been WWIII at least in the first movie the relationship between america and japan is strained. Oh when you all refer to MMI is this the first movie you are reffering to or another manga? Seems at times to be one and then at another time another.

Would love to pick up the manga this would be one of the few I might pick up...just not sure I can justify spending 200 dollors or so on comic books..(I don't even buy normal books since most I only read once).

[Njr Scrawl]

If you can get to see the Animax Bios which came after certain episodes of 2G, they give some historical background as well as a potted commentary on the political & social state of GiTS Japan.

Most interesting is what I call the "Solid State philosophy" which seems to combine what is possible with aspects of traditional oriental philosophy.

WRT the history, there is the 2020 flashback episode set in South America (interesting that S.America has been chosen for a big war, as Planetes also chose that continent for a similar scenario).

I'm not sure when the big Asian war (Batou was in as recalled in 1G) was meant to be. The refugee issue however is very contemporary worldwide, & I'd be interested to know how closely the Japan-of-the-future's attitudes mirror those of today's real-life Japan if floods of people arrived on their shores needing help. O.O

[DBoy2501]

Would love to pick up the manga this would be one of the few I might pick up...just not sure I can justify spending 200 dollors or so on comic books..(I don't even buy normal books since most I only read once).

Rightstuf has the 2nd edition (unedited version) of the original Ghost in the Shell manga as well as MMI (Man Machine Interface) for $18.71 each. Amazon.com also carries them for roughly the same price.

[something]

Rightstuf has the 2nd edition (unedited version) of the original Ghost in the Shell manga as well as MMI (Man Machine Interface) for $18.71 each. Amazon.com also carries them for roughly the same price.
Heh, yeah, GitS is buyable in two TPBs, albeit at higher price due to their many, many color images. I got MMI used for about $10 or so, though a number of the pages detached from the spine, which sucks >_> Then again, I doubt I'm going to reread it :sd: I got the original as a gift years ago.

[DBoy2501]

For fun I just searched my county's library website, and it looks like there are copies of both manga available in the system (though GITS is being held for someone and MMI is checked out.) So, if purchasing isn't an option, it might be worth a check of your local library system.

[jojo_home]

Does this movie explain what Motoko did during her absence? I honestly wouldn't mind a solo GITS mini-series starring ONLY the Major. I'd always felt it would be great to see a series with her as a private eye-type, running into the cops and government agents but now herself having the authority of neither.

Maybe I should just watch the damn movie.

[canaryfarmer]

Does this movie explain what Motoko did during her absence?

Sort of. Maaaaaybe. :>

[something]

Maybe I should just watch the damn movie.
That's usually the best way to answer your questions, yes.

If you're asking as a prerequisite to buying, and don't have it already, then the answer is... kinda, sorta, somewhat?

[broodwars]

Well, I finally got the movie in the other day and managed to sit down and watch it. Well, it's really a fairly by-the-books GiTS movie, perhaps only slightly more comprehensible than usual. I kept getting this feeling while watching the movie, though, that this entire case really was kind of below Section 9's usual standards, with the entire case solved so easily. I was also kind of disappointed to see Togusa cyberized, as in my opinion he was actually stronger both physically and character-wise as a normal human (in a world where anyone can HACK into anyone else, non-cyberized humans should hold the advantage).

A decent enough movie...it came with my copy of the $12.99 soundtrack (which is also awesome), so there's not much I can complain about. I just hope this is the END of GiTS for a while, as I just don't see anywhere interesting this series can go from here.

[something]

I just hope this is the END of GiTS for a while, as I just don't see anywhere interesting this series can go from here.
Quite the opposite for me, I think the strength of the world the SAC team has built up is that it's almost infinite in its possibilities. They avoid truly world-shaking storylines because if they get too epic, there could be no going back. Everything is still very motivated by human emotion, desires, greed, and so on. That's something you can run with for a long, long time. It'll grow old for some people, no doubt, but everything SAC so far has felt intelligent, mature, and most importantly fresh for me. Part of that is the very strong cast, and the rest is Kamiyama and company knowing not to bite off more than they can chew. An infinitely preferable situation over what happened to the manga and to some extent the non-SAC movies.

[broodwars]

I just hope this is the END of GiTS for a while, as I just don't see anywhere interesting this series can go from here.
Quite the opposite for me, I think the strength of the world the SAC team has built up is that it's almost infinite in its possibilities. They avoid truly world-shaking storylines because if they get too epic, there could be no going back. Everything is still very motivated by human emotion, desires, greed, and so on.

Huh? Have we been watching the same series? What human emotion? Togusa and the Tachicomas were the only characters in both Stand Alone seasons that didn't have the personality of a rock garden, and the Tachicomas were machines. That's my big problem with this series: humanity has "advanced" to the point where the machines are more human than the characters. I can appreciate the writing, even if I don't understand it 9/10 (and I have a feeling the writers themselves don't understand it much better). It's just that the characters aren't terribly interesting to watch, so with the lack of that epic threat there's not much interest for me in watching the series.

I really thought 2nd Gig would fix that with the seeming shift towards the immigration problem and ratcheting up the action level...turns out in the end it was just the same amount of philosophical technobabble as everything else the series has ever produced.

Oh well...at least we'll always have Yoko Kanno. I wonder what her next project will be...

[DBoy2501]

Huh? Have we been watching the same series? What human emotion? Togusa and the Tachicomas were the only characters in both Stand Alone seasons that didn't have the personality of a rock garden, and the Tachicomas were machines. That's my big problem with this series: humanity has "advanced" to the point where the machines are more human than the characters. I can appreciate the writing, even if I don't understand it 9/10 (and I have a feeling the writers themselves don't understand it much better). It's just that the characters aren't terribly interesting to watch, so with the lack of that epic threat there's not much interest for me in watching the series.

I really thought 2nd Gig would fix that with the seeming shift towards the immigration problem and ratcheting up the action level...turns out in the end it was just the same amount of philosophical technobabble as everything else the series has ever produced.

If the only living tissue in a human's body are the brain cells inside its metallic brain case, then what exactly is the meaning of being human? Furthermore, if every one is interconnected to eachother by computer network, what consequences would this have for how individuals and society as a whole would function? If you don't like pondering these questions, then this series just isn't going to be your cup of tea.

Personally, I love that stuff, and I find each member of section 9 to be a believable and compelling estimate of what people in such a world would be like. It's a fascinating kind of science fiction that only anime can provide in such a unique way. I think SSS is a very enjoyable continuation of the GITS SAC world.

[Teiresias]

I was also kind of disappointed to see Togusa cyberized, as in my opinion he was actually stronger both physically and character-wise as a normal human (in a world where anyone can HACK into anyone else, non-cyberized humans should hold the advantage).

Actually, Togusa has had a cyber-brain all along--notice that he is able to jack-in like all the rest for communications purposes.

According to the first novel, by the time of the first series, cyber-brains are de rigeur. In fact, this is true to such an extent that anyone who doesn't have one is considered to be somewhere between disabled and illiterate. It would be condsidered mandatory for someone in Section 9 to have one.

When Motoko and others make mention of the fact that Togusa has not been cyberized, they're speaking specifically about his body.

[something]

Huh? Have we been watching the same series? What human emotion? Togusa and the Tachicomas were the only characters in both Stand Alone seasons that didn't have the personality of a rock garden, and the Tachicomas were machines.
Well you misread my comment but yes we clearly watched very different shows because I rather disagree with you anyway =P

[Leon_Belmont]

Huh? Have we been watching the same series? What human emotion? Togusa and the Tachicomas were the only characters in both Stand Alone seasons that didn't have the personality of a rock garden, and the Tachicomas were machines.
Well you misread my comment but yes we clearly watched very different shows because I rather disagree with you anyway =P

If I had my way we wouldn't even be halfway through the franchise yet. We need more smart anime like this. I love Naruto and Bleach to death but have you seen the filler? They can keep making GitS until it sucks for all I care. If it starts sucking, I can stop watching, but based on what I've seen thus far, keep that shit coming.

BTW, liked the movie. Not quite as much as either TV arc, but considering that it was a more condensed version, it seemed to have a good deal of what makes the show phenomenal. Plus it's a lot shorter to rewatch. More movies too please! Less Tachicomas wouldn't make me shed any tears either. More steelbooks though. I love steelbooks. As long as the extras disc is the only one getting scratched.

[christianlf]

f I had my way we wouldn't even be halfway through the franchise yet. We need more smart anime like this. I love Naruto and Bleach to death but have you seen the filler? They can keep making GitS until it sucks for all I care. If it starts sucking, I can stop watching, but based on what I've seen thus far, keep that shit coming.

To be honest, while I loved the first two series, the movie was just recovering ground that's been well-trodden by the franchise already. I don't think it's bad, but I'd much rather the franchise just go out while it's still good. So, if this is it, I'm fine with it. In fact, I prefer it that way.

Besides, Kamiyama really needs to keep his focus on adapting more of the Moribito books. :P

edit: typo

[christater]

I have to chime in on this one.

So 30 min in I'm like wtf?
This movie is just alright I guess. Togusa got cyber work done, doesn't cary his Mateba on missions anymore, and the Major is gone. Frikin sadness.

Then all kinda off the hook shit happens! The Major is fighting that crazy ass robot, Togusa has his run in with the pupeteer(best scene in the movieIMHO, I shed a few tears), and Saito shows his skills.

Then the ending knocked my socks off too. I couldn't be more pleased with this movie. If you like GiTS you basicaly need to see this.

[Njr Scrawl]

I was also kind of disappointed to see Togusa cyberized, as in my opinion he was actually stronger both physically and character-wise as a normal human (in a world where anyone can HACK into anyone else, non-cyberized humans should hold the advantage).


That to me sounds the most disappointing aspect, after the lack of Motoko as lead character. I remember in the manga, Motoko teased Togusa about being hindered by staying so "original".

Perhaps Togusa got shot up badly enough on a job that cyberisation was the only way to make him near or better than he was (as happens to Deunan progressively in Appleseed manga). I hope he didn't choose to lose body bits voluntarily.

According to the first novel, by the time of the first series, cyber-brains are de rigeur. In fact, this is true to such an extent that anyone who doesn't have one is considered to be somewhere between disabled and illiterate. It would be condsidered mandatory for someone in Section 9 to have one.

Watching the Animax Bios extras for 2G, cyber body models & brains are described as status symbol as much as mod cons, cars & dwellings etc are today. What drives people to work is to improve their bodies hardware.

I don't feel Sec.9 traded in organic for cyber brains, but rather had them, from their pasts, before they joined. Augmentation is definite though, & possibly having parts "decommissioned" if they choose to leave is a scary thought!
:sd:

[tangent]

Perhaps Togusa got shot up badly enough on a job that cyberisation was the only way to make him near or better than he was (as happens to Deunan progressively in Appleseed manga). I hope he didn't choose to lose body bits voluntarily.


Didn't Togusa get partially cyberized during the Laughing Man investigation? If I recall correctly it was after he got shot up by the narc squad that he received some implants.

[something]

Didn't Togusa get partially cyberized during the Laughing Man investigation? If I recall correctly it was after he got shot up by the narc squad that he received some implants.
I rewatched season one over this weekend and Togusa didn't get any cybernetic implants/reinforcements.

[tangent]

I rewatched season one over this weekend and Togusa didn't get any cybernetic implants/reinforcements.


He didn't?

Looks like I'm the one who needs to rewatch some GitS. :sd:

[zaldar]

I just hope this is the END of GiTS for a while, as I just don't see anywhere interesting this series can go from here.
Quite the opposite for me, I think the strength of the world the SAC team has built up is that it's almost infinite in its possibilities. They avoid truly world-shaking storylines because if they get too epic, there could be no going back. Everything is still very motivated by human emotion, desires, greed, and so on. That's something you can run with for a long, long time. It'll grow old for some people, no doubt, but everything SAC so far has felt intelligent, mature, and most importantly fresh for me. Part of that is the very strong cast, and the rest is Kamiyama and company knowing not to bite off more than they can chew. An infinitely preferable situation over what happened to the manga and to some extent the non-SAC movies.

probably retreading here but I have to disagree the earth shattering stuff in the Man and machine interface world wise and philosophy wise was what made it so interesting. Now there was not to much they could do with it as shown in innocence. (humans becoming computers is just not as interesting as computers becoming alive) but I still liked that movie waaay more than most did (but I'm an amutur philosopher) (who can't spell)

[zaldar]

I just hope this is the END of GiTS for a while, as I just don't see anywhere interesting this series can go from here.
Quite the opposite for me, I think the strength of the world the SAC team has built up is that it's almost infinite in its possibilities. They avoid truly world-shaking storylines because if they get too epic, there could be no going back. Everything is still very motivated by human emotion, desires, greed, and so on.

Huh? Have we been watching the same series? What human emotion? Togusa and the Tachicomas were the only characters in both Stand Alone seasons that didn't have the personality of a rock garden, and the Tachicomas were machines. That's my big problem with this series: humanity has "advanced" to the point where the machines are more human than the characters. I can appreciate the writing, even if I don't understand it 9/10 (and I have a feeling the writers themselves don't understand it much better). It's just that the characters aren't terribly interesting to watch, so with the lack of that epic threat there's not much interest for me in watching the series.

I really thought 2nd Gig would fix that with the seeming shift towards the immigration problem and ratcheting up the action level...turns out in the end it was just the same amount of philosophical technobabble as everything else the series has ever produced.

Oh well...at least we'll always have Yoko Kanno. I wonder what her next project will be...


They do understand it and you can do will take research and thought though outside of the anime and this is why I like it (but then I own eva and lain and want to get paranoia agent)

As MANY people forgot when they reviewed innocence (even here to some extent really) GTS has NEVER been just about action the philosophy has ALWAYS taken center stage.

[something]

probably retreading here but I have to disagree the earth shattering stuff in the Man and machine interface world wise and philosophy wise was what made it so interesting.
My problem is that Shirow just wrote it so, so poorly. Technobabble isn't bad, but technobabble for its own sake is. Other incarnations of the GitS franchise managed to address similar themes both more coherently, and without throwing the larger story itself into the gutter.

[Njr Scrawl]

probably retreading here but I have to disagree the earth shattering stuff in the Man and machine interface world wise and philosophy wise was what made it so interesting.
My problem is that Shirow just wrote it so, so poorly. Technobabble isn't bad, but technobabble for its own sake is. Other incarnations of the GitS franchise managed to address similar themes both more coherently, and without throwing the larger story itself into the gutter.


MMI seemed to me, to be Shirow doing his digital art thing, & then writing such story & dialogue as he thought would be good enough to make it manga, rather than an artbook. In other words disappointing after the original. I kept the bi-monthlies & won't get the TPB as its not good enough to double dip on.

Yet to read GiTS 1.5.....

[DeadlyMessiah]

It was a decent movie, but very slow moving. To be honest, this story would have been a lot better had it been fleshed out through a whole season, especially since the ending kind of felt like a cop out. However, the soundtrack was just god damn gorgeous!!! Regardless, I hope they plan to do another season rather than another movie, for I have never found any of the GitS movies to be THAT great.

[JasonSolaris]

Hi. I think it's been mentioned that the way the placed the security label underneath the bonus disc caused scratches.. This is what happened to my copy and I was wondering for those to found playback problems, which segments would most likely be affected? The area of the disc that is scratch appears to about the middle of the reading surface..
Thanks

[Lego]

Hi. I think it's been mentioned that the way the placed the security label underneath the bonus disc caused scratches.. This is what happened to my copy and I was wondering for those to found playback problems, which segments would most likely be affected? The area of the disc that is scratch appears to about the middle of the reading surface..
Thanks

Mine got scratched to(see other thread) but it played fine and seems to be ok. I think for me it thankfully didn't get a deeper scratch on it rendering it unplayable.

[canaryfarmer]

FWIW, and I think I was the only one who cared, but thought I'd pass this along - my response from Bandai in regard to the OST liner notes:

Unfortunately, we haven't printed any Ghost in the Shell: Solid State
Society soundtrack booklets.

Regards,

support@bandai-ent.com

[Sofdec]

Hey everyone,

Sorry to bump this topic - I was just wondering if anyone is experiencing trouble playing the DVD? I skimmed through the topic and didn't see any mention of it, but my copy (standard edition) locks up completely about 5 seconds into Chapter 15 (just as the car coming from the right side of the screen touches the left of the screen). It does this on a PS3, HD-A1 HDDVD Player and an LG which seems to play everything.

I exchanged it only to come home and have the exact problem in the exact spot. I'd hate to try a 3rd time only to have the same problem so I'm wondering if this is just a case of bad luck or if its a common problem and I should try to get a refund?

[Lego]

Hmm, interesting. Mine played flawlessly so maybe it's part of a bad batch?

[Teiresias]

Had absolutely no problem playing this on my PC dvd player.

[Sofdec]

Thanks everyone - I'll try again from another location.

A google search shows a number of people at Amazon.com having the same problem in the same spot so it does sound like it might be bad batches.

[Gribbix]

I have the same exact problem. I also exchanged it and wound up with a disk that had the same problem again. It was pretty surprising seeing as the disks came from two different Best Buys that are over 70 miles apart. It looks like it's too late for me to return it to the store so I'm going to try contacting Manga for a replacement disk.

[Lego]

I have the same exact problem. I also exchanged it and wound up with a disk that had the same problem again. It was pretty surprising seeing as the disks came from two different Best Buys that are over 70 miles apart. It looks like it's too late for me to return it to the store so I'm going to try contacting Manga for a replacement disk.

Maybe BB got a bad batch? If you all got it from the same store chain, then I'd try to see if Manga will do anything.

[Sofdec]

Thanks for the reply - Mine is also from a Best Buy (both from the same location, one from about 2 weeks ago and one just a few days ago). I'll give it another shot and then try to purchase it elsewhere if the same problem happens.

Best Buy was selling it so cheap - I couldn't pass it up!

[Sofdec]

I hate to bump this again but just wanted to see if anybody has had experience with exchanging discs with Manga/Bandai in the past.

I went to a best buy about 30 miles away (while I was in the area) to exchange it for a 3rd time and I'm having the same problem as before at the same spot.

A few things I noticed from it - The bottom has a very strange marking that looks almost like water damage - I've seen it on DVD's in the past but this one just looks to be much more noticeable.

The disc also takes quite a bit of time to load in ANY player I try it on - over a minute.

For people with functional copies, do you notice either of these?

[Lego]

A few things I noticed from it - The bottom has a very strange marking that looks almost like water damage - I've seen it on DVD's in the past but this one just looks to be much more noticeable.


Bad disc, bad disc, bad disc.