Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Difference between revisions

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''Stand Alone Complex'' is visually stunning (it features beautiful digital cel animation which was produced in full widescreen) and audibly mesmerizing (its soundtrack was handled by none other than [[Yoko Kanno]] herself). Its plot and characterization are both exceptionally deep, with philosophical discussions of dehumanization through technology and synthetic life -- as well as intense political intrigue -- existing alongside plenty of high-octane action scenes.

 

 

''Stand Alone Complex'' is split up between two twenty-six episode seasons: ''Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'' and ''Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Second Gig''. For [[Colon Cancer|obvious reasons,]] both seasons are often abbreviated by fans; the first is referred to as "''GITS:SAC''" -- pronounced "Git-Sack" by the uncouth -- while the second is abbreviated as "''2nd Gig''". Like ''[[The X-Files]]'' and many other [[Speculative Fiction]] TV series, ''Stand Alone Complex'' has one-shot episodes which follow a single case ("Stand Alone") and episodes which follow the series' ongoing [[Story Arc]] ("Complex") involving a hacker known as "The Laughing Man". ''2nd Gig'' offers three types of episodes -- "Individual", "Dividual", and "Dual" -- and its [[Story Arc]] relates to a terrorist group known as "The Individual Eleven" and its "leader", a mysterious individual named Kuze.

''This show has a [[Stand Alone Complex/Shout Out|Shout Out page]] and a [[Ghost in the Shell/Headscratchers|Headscratchers page]].''

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* [[A Boy and His X]]: Batou and his favorite Tachikoma.

* [[Adult Fear]]: The project of the Puppeteer in ''Solid State Society'' involves taking children (of parents classified as abusive) and wiping the parents memories so they never knew they existed.

* [[After-Action Villain Analysis]]: Numerous episodes.

* [[Air Vent Passageway]]: When Batou is snooping around in Zaitsev's office, he hides in the ducts when Zaitsev returns unexpectedly.

* [[Alliterative Name|Alliterative Title]]: Solid State Society.

** [[The City Narrows]]: The abandoned docks by the port.

** [[City Noir]]

** Also, {{spoiler|the man who kills Nanao sneaks up behind him and does this.}}

* [[Colon Cancer]]: ''Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd Gig'' and ''Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society''.

* [[Fish Eye Lens]]: Used in episode 2 at various points, specifically when showing Motoko or Batou from the camera view from inside their Tachikomas.

* [[Forced to Watch]]: Serial killer Marco Amoretti links with his victims' brains so they can [[Murderer POV|view themselves]] being tortured and murdered from his perspective.

* [[Foreign Language Theme]]: The opening and ending themes for both seasons and ''Solid State Society'' are either performed in Russian and English (with a little Latin in the first season's opener) or entirely in English.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: Listen closely to the conversation between Aramaki and Gohda in episode four of 2nd Gig. That seemingly unimportant line: "...And of course, the occasional manipulation of public opinion" during Gohda's description of CIS duties becomes very important later on.

* [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!]]: Used at various points, but the most notable example by Batou to {{spoiler|Motoko when she experiences a [[Heroic BSOD]] from getting too close to Kuze's consciousness.}}

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: ''SCANDAL'' has a lot of fairly blatant [[Les Yay]] in the scene where the Major goes to get her body replaced, such as Kurutan enthusing over how great the Major's body is and wondering what she could do with it. Since the Major's canonical orientation is [[Bi the Way|bisexual]] (there are a few blink-or-you'll-miss it scenes of her in bed with another woman) this lends a very different subtext to the scene.

* [[Gonk]]: The Minister of the Interior.

* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: Not at all. The methods used by the heroes are really not much different than those of the villains. Their aims are.

* [[Informal Eulogy]]: Batou does a visual version where he places a lit cigarette in a bottle and prays over it like a stick of incense for the {{spoiler|Individual Eleven}} as part of his attempt to {{spoiler|[[Hannibal Lecture]] Gohda}}.

* [[Information Wants to Be Free]]: The micro-machine industry muzzled the discovery of the cure for cyberbrain sclerosis. Laughing Man wants to expose them.

* [[Innocuously Important Episode]]: The [[Tear Jerker|heartbreaking]] episode ''Affection'' in 2ng Gig seems to be just a standalone episode made to shed some light on The Major's tragic past. Turns out it {{spoiler|explains a lot of ''Kuze's'' past too, and shows how he and The Major met when they were much younger}}. This does not become explicitly apparent until the end of the season.

* [[In-Series Nickname]]: The other members of S-9 have been known to call Motoko as "Queen Kong" and "Major She-Ape" when she's not around to hear it. The Tachikomas simply refer to her as "God".

* [[Let's Split Up, Gang!]]: Kusanagi's plan for {{spoiler|evacuating Section 9 headquarters and sending the team into hiding.}}

* [[Life Imitates Art]]: ''Ghost in the Shell'' has directly inspired Japanese scientists to develop actual "thermoptic camouflage" cloaking technology (that works by bending light around the wearer) and a functioning Tachikoma prototype (a 4 wheel vehicle with a segmented body that gives a visual feed to the driver through cameras.) Advances in prosthetic limb technology has also advanced significantly over the last few decades.

** The lighthearted "Tachikomatic Days" shorts at the end of each episode are much lighter in tone than the rest of the series and indeed the rest of the franchise. They're meant as humour to lighten the mood of the viewers after watching the episode.

* [[Littlest Cancer Patient]]: The girl from ''MISSING HEARTS'' who recently had a heart transplant. She seems to exist mainly so Motoko can bring up her [[Dark and Troubled Past]] and also [[Pet the Dog]] a little.

** In the second season, Batou exclaims that dogs don't like him much.

** In episode 25 there is a [[Call Back]] to the scene in the film with {{spoiler|Motoko/Puppetmaster's new body, only this time with Motoko's younger-self puppet in her high-rise safehouse.}}

** During a standoff in 2nd Gig, Batou actually shoots a cornered refugee girl in the mouth to keep her from triggering an explosive wired into her jaw. This is lifted from one of Shirow's other works, ''[[Appleseed]]'', which takes place in the [[The Verse|same continuity]] as GITS.

* [[Named After Somebody Famous]]: Section 9 is named after real-life German counter-terrorism unit GSG9 (Border Guard, Unit 9).

* [[Ramming Always Works]]: In ''BARRAGE'', the Tachikomas try to take out the Armed Suit threatening Batou by slamming into it with their bodies. {{spoiler|And it works when the one with an explosive shell does it.}}

* [[Rapid Aging]]: Eka Turkuro. It's implied to be caused by the stress of her long captivity, although it's never really explained how it happened.

* [[Recruiting the Criminal]]: Motoko and Aramaki try, albeit unsuccessfully, to recruit The Laughing Man in the finale of Season 1.

* [[Red Eyes, Take Warning]]: The security cyborg from ''PORTRAITZ'' who nearly throttles Togusa.

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