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

'''''Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex''''' is an anime series and an adaptation of [[Shirow Masamune]]'s ''[[Ghost in Thethe Shell (Mangamanga)|Ghost in The Shell]]'' manga; the show follows a covert Japanese government counterterrorist task force named Public Security Section 9. (The translation of the group's name can differ depending on language/region; the translation used here is from the English version.)

The world of ''Stand Alone Complex'' is different from that of the two ''[[Ghost in Thethe Shell (Anime1995 film)|Ghost in The Shell]]'' feature films and [[Ghost in Thethe Shell (Mangamanga)|the original manga]] -- while the feature films and the manga focus on Motoko Kusanagi and her evolution into something beyond human after her encounter with The Puppetmaster, in ''Stand-Alone Complex'', The Puppetmaster has yet to appear and Section 9 (including Kusanagi) is a fully functional team.

''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 Thethe Shell (Franchise)/Headscratchers|Headscratchers page]].''

* [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot]]: Various androids and programs show their fare share of faults, including the sniper assisting program that tried to compensate Saito's own natural skills, but the Uchikomas count in particular. Enough to actually become an in-universe [[The Scrappy|Scrappy]].

* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: In ''PORTRAITZ'', Togusa infiltrates a facility for the care of children with Cyberbrain Closed Shell Syndrome, of which some individuals show signs that strongly resembles autism.

* [[An Arm and Aa Leg]]: Cruzkowa loses her cybernetic arm when fighting Togusa. {{spoiler|It contains a bomb.}}

{{quote| '''Batou''': Man, this old lady has a lot of tricks up her sleeve.}}

* [[Badass Longcoat]]:The Major gets one in the opening credits of ''2nd Gig'' to go along with her more modest dress for the sequel, but oddly, doesn't seem to wear it much in the show itself.

* [[Bavarian Fire Drill]]: Section 9 pretends to be from the sanitation department ''and'' a maintenance crew ... in the same episode.

{{quote| "HEY SAITO! FORK OVER THAT WEAPON '''''NOW!!!'''''"}}

* [[Blade Reflection]]:

** In ''SELECON'', Batou's combat knife provides a perfect mirror reflection of his face while he's commenting on taking an alternative option for bringing Kuze into custody: by bringing back his head.

{{quote| '''Motoko:''' ''"How sadistic..."''}}

** The second season's first and last episodes involve Major Kusanagi shooting a villain in the head, causing it to explode rather violently. This is also a callback to the prologue in the manga and [[The Movie]].

* [[Brown Note]]: Several interesting takes on this, including one which turns people into fanatical terrorists.

** Though it only works on people with a tendency towards fanaticism in the first place. Other people get far less dramatic reactions: a journalist assumes more radical views and later becomes suicidal, while a professor of sociology just becomes convinced that he's studying a text that does not in fact exist.

* [[Chain Link Fence]]: Big, heavy Tachikoma climbs over a flimsy chain link fence at the top of a high-rise building.

* [[Click. "Hello."]]: ''CAPTIVATED'' has Batou doing this {{spoiler|to Cruzkowa immediately after she and Motoko engage in a [[Mexican Standoff]] with each other}}.

* [[Cyberpunk]] / [[Post Cyber Punk]]: ''Ghost in the Shell'' has been classified by some commentators as Neo-Cyberpunk or Post-Cyberpunk rather than classic 1980s Cyberpunk, in that the protagonists of GITS work ''for'' the government and hunt down terrorists instead of being urban guerrillas and streetpunks fighting against governments and mega-corps. Most noticeably, while GITS shows a global community still suffering from the aftereffects of a third and fourth World War, the society in those nations that we get to see has ''not'' utterly collapsed and segregated into corporate wage-slaves living in gated communities ("arcologies") on the one hand and the rest of the population living in dismal slums outside the system. The Japan of GITS, while being something of a police state with government and intelligence service controlling the propaganda permeating the media, still has an urban middle class, nature resorts and traditional society. Even the poor and the refugees in their ghetto are not "invisible" and "falling through the cracks" (except in a social sense). Instead, cyberbrain interconnectedness is widespread and surveillance by public cameras, spy satellites and the Net is all-pervasive.

* [[Cyberpunk Withwith a Chance of Rain]]: At times.

* [[A Day in Thethe Limelight]]: Several episodes focus heavily on Tachikomas. Pazu and Saito each get one in ''2nd Gig''. Batou and Togusa both get a few over the series.

{{quote| Sano: "My, what rebellious eyes. That won't do." ''(cuts out her vision as well)''}}

{{quote| ''You're pretty good. I want you to join my team.''}}

{{quote| ''From now on, you're mine!''<br />

* [[Die Hard Onon an X]]: Die Hard in a... wine bank. Interestingly played in that it was a ''double'' hostage situation, with the ex-mob bank robbers holding Aramaki and his friend, and the mob-bribed police ready to swoop in and kill them all. Aramaki plays the John McClane role hilariously as he starts ordering the would-be hostage-takers around so that they can all get out alive.

* [[Dressing Asas the Enemy]]: The Major steals a British SWAT trooper's uniform to rescue Aramaki in ''ANGELS' SHARE'' using nothing but [[Show Some Leg|her sex appeal]].

* [[Due to Thethe Dead]]: Aramaki tells Togusa to put some flowers on Yamaguchi's grave in gratitude for discovering the Laughing Man's return.

* [[Eagle Land]]: Type 2, Americans aren't depicted very well in the series. [[Appleseed|Established in other]] [[Shirow Masamune]] works, The United States has been split up into 3 individual countries:

* [[Exposition Beam]]

* [[Faking the Dead]]: Part of Section 9's plan while {{spoiler|evacuating their headquarters}} is to leave several prosthetic bodies laying around in the hopes that they'll be confused with those of the actual members.

* [[Fan Disservice]]: In one episode where we're introduced to a [[Hospital Hottie]] doctor via a [[Male Gaze]] close-up of her [[Foot Focus|high-heels]] and [[Gainaxing|bouncing breasts]], who then proceeds to carry out an [[Creepy Physical|intimate examination]] of the Major's body whilst making overt [[Les Yay]] comments. Things quickly turn here when we realise she's {{spoiler|a corrupt narcotics officer out to kill the Major once she's been immobilized.}}

* [[Firing in Thethe Air Aa Lot]]: Batou empties the clip of his assault rifle into the air at the end of ''ERASER'', a rare instance of [[Reckless Gun Usage]] from him.

** The SST team who plugged into Eka Turkuro's brain were apparently [[Go Mad Fromfrom the Revelation|horrified]] by what they saw.

* [[Freeze -Frame Bonus]]: Each episode's title card includes a multi-paragraph description of the opening scene which doesn't appear onscreen long enough to read in full.

* [[Go Mad Fromfrom the Revelation]]: The team that plugged into Eka Turkuro's brain are so traumatized by their findings that Batou has literally [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!|grab ahold of one]] to get him to talk about it.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Several, sometimes literally.

* [["Hey You!" Haymaker]]: Batou delivers one to the [[Giant Mook]] android in episode 14.

* [[IdI'd Tell You, butBut Then IdI'd Have To Kill You]]: Paz in ''Solid State Society''.

* [[Infrared X -Ray Camera]]: Section 9 uses something like this to spy on suspects through walls, eg. when Batou is staking out Nanao's apartment.

* [[Let Off Byby the Detective]]: The medical students in ''MISSING HEARTS'' (see [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]).

* [[Lighter and Softer]]: The ''Stand Alone Complex'' series, while still fairly dark, is noticeably less grim than the [[Ghost in Thethe Shell (Mangamanga)|manga]] and the [[Ghost in Thethe Shell (Anime1995 film)|movies]]. ''Usually.''

* [[Man in Thethe Machine]]: The scientist from the second episode who [[Brain Uploading|transfers his ghost]] into a [[Spider Tank]].

* [[Memetic Mutation]]: The Laughing Man's very existence is a central and clear demonstration of this - both in-universe and [[Defictionalization|out]].

* [[Mugged for Disguise]]: A member of the British SWAT team in ''ANGELS' SHARE''. See [[Dressing Asas the Enemy]].

** The fight between the Major and a [[Powered Armour]]-wearing Gayle in ''ERASER'' is an almost blow-by-blow recreation of her fight with the [[Spider Tank]] in [[Ghost in Thethe Shell (Anime1995 film)||the first movie.]] At the end, [[Big Damn Heroes|Saito even shows up]] with an [[BFG|anti-tank rifle]] the way Batou did in the original scene.

** 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 (Manga)|Appleseed]]'', which takes place in the [[The Verse|same continuity]] as GITS.

** It should also be noted that many of the [[PSPlayStation 2]] game's conventions of gameplay and interface were lifted almost directly from the game ''[[Oni]]'' by [[Bungie]] Studios, which was published several years before it. However, ''Oni'' itself was inspired almost entirely by ''Ghost in the Shell'', bringing the inspiration full-circle.

* [[No New Fashions in Thethe Future]]: Unless there is a sudden trend for going pantless underneath a leather jacket.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: At various points in the series, the novels, and the Playstation 2 video game, the Nemuro Landing Operation is mentioned. The game mentions it the most, but it's never explained what this operation was, beyond an [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|amphibious landing at Nemuro]], Hokkaido. It is mentioned that Motoko, Batou, and the Umibozu were all involved in it though. The PSP game goes into the most detail, but still doesn't explain exactly what it is.

* [[Obfuscating Disability]]: {{spoiler|the Laughing Man went into hiding by hacking the computers of a mental hospital for children and youths and creating a fake identity of being a patient suffering from severe mental disabilities and being almost unresponsive to other people. Which is particularly ironic as his [[Calling Card]] was an image that included the quote from ''[[The Catcher in The Rye (Literature)|The Catcher in The Rye]]'': "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes." The context of the quote is more telling still; it's taken from a passage where the narrator decides in a flight of fancy that he'd run away and live a life of seclusion, far from the falseness and ugliness of society.}}

* [[Pin -Pulling Teeth]]: Batou does this a couple of times during the shootout in Kusanagi's mansion, though as a full-body cyborg his teeth might be a lot tougher than those of an ordinary person.

* [[Plot Tailored to Thethe Party]]: Nobody's ever totally useless, but some episodes manage to make use of everyone of note in Section 9. In ''TESTATION'', for example: The Major and Batou follow an out of control automated tank on the freeway, supported by Tachikomas; Togusa uses his police skills to politely interview, then interrogate, the person most likely to have sabotaged the tank; Aramaki puts the pressure upon the tank's production company's corporate heads to get them to cough up its secret weaknesses; Saito tries snipes the tank with a mounted anti-tank rifle, but is foiled by its defenses, and Ishikawa gets to deliver the coup de grâce with a corporate-supplied glue-bazooka. (Pazu and Boma are still third-stringers, unfortunately, but they get their fair share of action as well.)

* [[Remote Body]]: Major Kusanagi (and presumably other characters) can remotely control robot bodies. At the end of the first season she uses this ability to avoid being killed.

* [[The Reveal]]: At the end of ''EQUINOX'', the Laughing Man is shown to be {{spoiler|Major Kusanagi in disguise}}.

* [[Ridiculously Human Robot]]: Well, cyborgs, anyway; a full-body cyborg can look just like any human and even has skin and all the senses a human would have.

** During the climax of the [[PSPlayStation 2]] game, the Major is fighting hand-to-hand with another cyborg who has [[Mirror Match|a body identical to hers]]. Batou comes across the battle, [[Spot the Imposter|and has to figure out which one of them is the real Major]]. He calls her name to get their attention, {{spoiler|then shoots the one who turns to look at him.}}

* [[Show Some Leg]]: Not used often, which is surprising given the Major's [[Stripperiffic]] outfit (she prefers to hack her way past the guards). An exception occurs in London when the Major (dressed in a trenchcoat, but with [[Vapor Wear|nothing underneath]]) lures a police Special Weapons officer into an alley so she can knock him out and [[Dressing Asas the Enemy|steal his uniform]]. In ''2nd Gig'', Aramaki brings the Major along to infiltrate a meeting of [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]-types showing off their [[Sex Bot|sexbots]]. The team are eager to see what the Major will be wearing, and she doesn't disappoint with her [[Sexy Backless Outfit]] [[Absolute Cleavage]] dress.

* [[Spell My Name Withwith an "S"]]: Depending on the translations, many names are transcribed very differently.

* [[State Sec]]: Public Security Section Nine. Well armed with military equipment and staffed with ex-military operatives, they conducted intelligence ops and law enforcement. Operating with great autonomy and great leeway, they only answer to the Prime Minister or the Minster of Home Affairs. They are also one of the few heroic examples of this trope.

* [[Strike Me Down Withwith All of Your Hatred]]: Marco Amoretti dares Batou to kill him when he's finally cornered. He almost does, but refuses because he's a cop and has a sense of honour.

* [[Taking You Withwith Me]]: {{spoiler|The Tachikomas who blows themselves up to stop an armed suit from killing Batou.}}

{{quote| '''Motoko:''' "A ''smarter'' hitman would have shot first."}}

* [[Tap Onon the Head]]: Whenever people are knocked out, they seem to recover with no ill effects. Justified in that a titanium brain case provides much more trauma protection than a skull would.

* [[They're Called "Personal Issues" for Aa Reason]]: The reason why Paz doesn't want the teams help to [[Clear My Name|clear his name]] in "MAKE UP".

* [[Tokyo Is the Center of Thethe Universe]]: Averted in that Niihama isn't actually Tokyo, but the trope is played straight otherwise.

* [[The Verse]]: The critical technologies and themes of another work [[Shirow Masamune]] worked on, ''[[Real Drive]]'', are near-identical to the critical technologies and themes of ''[[Ghost in Thethe Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' from prosthetic bodies, cyberbrains and the social benefits/disadvantages thereof, to Operator androids and radiation-scrubber technology. Likewise, the geographical map of the world shown in episode 25 of 2nd Gig and Proto's [[The Reveal|reveal]] prove that the series shares the came continuity as ''Appleseed'', which takes place around 100 years further down the timeline.

{{quote| '''Aramaki''': "I've been listening in for a while, but without an external memory device, I can't follow your conversation at all."}}

* [[Villain Withwith Good Publicity]]: The Laughing Man, who has become a [[Memetic Mutation]] in-universe. His popularity, or at least his widespread social influence, is reflected when him merely making a threat against the Police Chief's life leads dozens of others, with no other prompting, to try murdering him. The South American revolutionary hero detailed in an earlier first-season episode might also qualify, though we only have Section 9's word to go on.

* [[We Will Not Use Photoshop in Thethe Future]]: Averted. The Tachikomas point out that because it's so easy to falsify data and memories, that not even '''live broadcasting''' over television or the net can be taken as the truth.

* [[Would Not Shoot a Good Guy]]: [[Averted Trope|Yes, they would]]. Whether or not the guys gunning for them are actually "good" is debatable, since they're Black Ops types who specialize in erasing people, but they are definitely working for their government and Section 9 doesn't hesitate to defend themselves lethally against them.

** Aramaki isn't fazed at all when he's captured and held hostage, even though he's threatened with a gun to his forehead multiple times.

[[Category:TurnAnime of the Millennium/Anime And Manga2000s]]

[[Category:Ghost Inin Thethe Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]