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

* [[Arm Cannon]]: Many, including Fem's, which shoots ''[[Abnormal Ammo|rolls of coins]]'' in a deadly shotgun-like blast.

** Cruzkowa has a hidden [[Gatling Good|gatling gun]] in her arm, as well as [[Knife Nut|multiple blades]]. This leads to an [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] when Section 9 finally arrests her:

* [[Arrow Cam]]: Used when Saito is sniping a target, such as when he's shooting at the rogue [[Spider Tank]] in the second episode.

* [[Artificial Limbs]]: Everything from a single arm and artificial eye (like Saito) to full-body prostheses (like the Major and Batou). Also, nearly everyone has their brain cyberized.

* [[BFG]]: A number of weapons. Saito usually gets the armor-piercing anti-tank sniper rifles, Batou is fond of heavy machine guns and rocket launchers (when available) and one episode has Ishikawa armed with a Big Frigging ''Glue Gun.''

* [[Berserk Button]]: Never ever try to directly kill Motoko. '''EVER.''' You might just ''live'' to regret it...

*** {{spoiler|She one-arms an ''anti-matériel sniper rifle that's bigger than she is'', charging the weapon after each shot and all.}}

** Related to the above, it's typically a very bad idea to go after Togusa and/or his family. The team is especially protective of him and his.

** In Kuze's introductory scene, he slowly draws out his katana in front of him, reflecting his eyes in the blade as he pulls it away from the hilt to the tip.

** 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.

* [[Bland-Name Product]]: All over the place, eg. Batou orders a package from "ConEx".

** In ''EQUINOX'', the CEO of Serano Genomics and the Laughing Man {{spoiler|or the Major impersonating him}} meet in "Starchild Coffee".

* [[Dead Unicorn Trope]]: The series' subtitle is the in-universe name for it. A "stand alone complex" refers to copycat activities (criminal or otherwise, but in the context of the show mostly criminal or terrorist) which mimic a supposed original that doesn't actually exist.

* [[Death Glare]]: The Major can do little else while [[Strapped to An Operating Table]] with her [[And I Must Scream|speech center immobilized]].

* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: While "Friendship" can be debated given the personalities involved, in {{spoiler|Saito}}'s [[Flash Back]] in ''POKER FACE'', the Major's first words to him after their duel are:

** The exact translation of that line differs, often altering the connotations a little. Variations include:

''You work for me now.'' }}

* [[Defictionalization]]: [http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/japanese_build_a_real_tachikoma.php A real Tachikoma]?

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

* [[Talking Is a Free Action]]: Exploited in ''¥€$''. {{spoiler|Fem thinks that she's all alone in the bedroom of the man she had been hired to kill, and decides to monologue out loud about the problems of capitalism before she kills him. Motoko takes this time to sneak up and arrest her.}}

* [[Talking to Himself]]: In the original Japanese version, both Togusa and the Laughing Man are played by [[Koichi Yamadera]].

* [[Tap on 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.

* [[Viewers Are Geniuses]]: Tons of philosophy and literary references tossed about. And they rarely repeat themselves. They won't spell out many things (like the {{spoiler|Bitten green apple at the end of season 2, which is supposed to show that Kuze was left-handed - implying many things -}} or the {{spoiler|locked car door at the end of the first season, which has been interpreted as a cyber-brain hack, a bomb, and simply indicating that the guy's car was broken into}}) as they assume the audience memorized everything in the Complex episodes beforehand.

** In-universe, this is justified by widespread cybernetics. How deep and cool could ''you'' sound if you had high-speed internet [[Unusual User Interface|in your head]]? They even [[Lampshade]] it:

* [[Villain with 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.

* [[Visible Invisibility]]: Transitions between total invisibility and translucent distortion invisibility. There's at least one instance where the Major seems able to see a cloaked mech suit even when it is using its optical camouflage, and the narc squad in the same episode is explicitly stated as using cloaking technology that isn't perfect, so it seems that both types are viable. The protagonists usually don't employ their invisibility for long periods of time, presumably because it drains the batteries quickly.