Customer Reviews

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Volume 01 (Episodes 1-4)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ghost in the Shell was one of my first exposures to Japanese feature length anime. It was at its time a superb technical and artistic achievement, and still is today, despite the number o anime series that have borrowed from it. Now a new venture brings the same contest to the more intimate television experience. And once again the durability of the plot and ideas are demonstrated to a new audience.

The context is a time not far in our future when heavy cybernetic modifications of the human body are possible. For some this has gone to the point of using a totally artificial both with an implanted human brain (the ghost) and it's associated quirks and personality. The star of this series is one such, Major Moto Kusanagi, both beautiful and deadly. She is a lead investigator in Section 9, a special police branch headed by Chief Aramaki. Her and her team are often brought in when a case involves national security and the intermixing of cybernetic and human consciousness. For the fans of the original film and the manga, the whole crew is present - Batou, Togusa, and the ever-present Tachikoma robots.

The continuity between this series and its origins is excellent - although Kusanagi has a habit of being even less dressed than she appears in the film. The world of the series has been updated a bit to cover for the change in public awareness of digital possibilities. The premise for this is that the events leading up to Kusanagi's transformation into a creature of the net simply didn't happen. Director and writer Kenji Kimiyama has set out to create a slightly more down to earth story with more components of a police procedural than deep philosophical moments. Although the issues of what is human and what is not still continue to haunt the stories it not longer dominates.

The four episodes on this disk cover a police cover up about a hacker incident, a military cyber-tank that suddenly develops an alarming amount of intelligence, a unique form of bait-and-switch in a geisha house, and a series of suicides by beautiful but obsolete androids. Each story manages to explore the tension at the human machine interface, revealing a sometimes chilling vision of the human and AI experience of a world traveling at Internet speed.

Of note is that the music for the series is by Yoko Kanno, one of Japan's most significant composers for the film. She has been responsible for Cowboy Bebop, RahXephon, Escaflowne, Wolf's Rain, and a host of other successes. Ghost in the Shell is another proof of her skill at matching music to concept. Put this whole effort down as a must of Ghost in the Shell fans.

The base DVD includes two excellent interviews. One is with director Kenji Kimiyama that reveals a lot of his intentions in the series. The second is with Atsuko Tanaka who is the Japanese voice actress for Major Kusanagi. It is a shame that the US audience is often totally unaware of the real dramatic forces brought into play by the original cast, but goes along with dubbing that is often too flat and poorly translated. Tanaka is a force of her own, and the listener should at least take the time to listen to the Japanese with subtitles to get a sense of Kusanagi's intended voice.

The Ghost in the Shell name is best known for the animated movie released in Japan and the United States in the mid 1990s, based on the popular manga by Masamune Shirow. In 2002 Production I.G. started ambitious work on an evolutionary animated series heavily based on the manga, with more input from Shirow. In June 2004, the series will make its American debut on the Cartoon Network, followed by this DVD release in July.

Stand Alone Complex then is the title for the TV series, which takes place independently from the manga and theatrical movies. Crafted wonderfully, the series features a balance of intelligence, technology, rebellious counter-culture, sadness, action, and cerebral plots that, while typical of Japanese manga, go far and above what American viewers typically receive. Movie watchers will see some familiar characters and settings - the main character, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is the tactical commander of Public Peace Section 9, a described governmental "offensive force against crime" led by the older Daisuke Aramaki.

Section 9's members are nearly all cyborgs - military-grade constructed bodies and cyberbrains that host the human brain imprint (essentially the soul or "ghost" of a person, the "shell" being the body). Batou, the muscular gung-ho cyborg, and Togusa, the semi-normal relative newcomer (he's essentially a human with some cybernetic implants) should also be familiar to movie viewers, as is Ishikawa. Other more one-dimensional team members, like Saito, Pazu, and Boma, will probably be more familiar for manga readers. The Tachikomas (Fuchikomas in the manga) round out the active Section 9 staff, sentient AI tanks that provide a bit of humor with their child-like, yet compelling, mannerisms, personalities and voices.

The overall series plot and title stem from the Laughing Man case, though there are plenty of individual one-episode stories. The episodes are frequently introspective, while highlighting and sometimes amplifying various human flaws through technology. Another theme involves a kind of revolutionary counter-culture fixating around the cult figure of "The Laughing Man," a seemingly ingenious hacker whose apparent crimes in the past may or may not have spawned independent imitators for common causes - the "Stand Alone Complex." The show's writers seem to be well versed in alternative or counter-cultural ideas - the Laughing Man frequently appears in the guise of a rotating smiley-face icon quoting from J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," while the name "The Laughing Man" itself is from one of Salinger's short stories.

The quality of the artwork varies by the episode - there isn't one unifying art style as in other anime series. That said, the animation is generally quite good, with a generous mix of 3D graphics blended with the 2D characters. Likewise the music direction and composition is amply offered in the varied and frequently eclectic style of Yoko Kanno, and resembles her mix in Macross Plus and Cowboy Bebop. Frequently the combination of art, music, and plot mesh quite well. Viewers may question Kusanagi's dress code, the quick bouts of graphical violence, or the complete lack of action - this show is definitely not for children.

The Special Edition DVD set features 3 DVDs: the first features the first four episodes with extras, the second features the first four episodes with DTS sound (and extras), and the third features the original soundtrack for the first season. Only the first disc is featured with the regular set.

Here is an episode summary:

SECTION 9: The series is introduced after a short encounter with a rooftop criminal as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and party is suddenly held hostage in a robot geisha house. Aramaki quickly takes control with Section 9, but nothing about the hostage situation, the aftermath, or the army's involvement is as it seems. The entire team is introduced, some albeit briefly, as is Aramaki's long-time friend Kubota. The plot generally isn't too complex and is easy to figure, but it's a good start.

TESTATION: At the Kenbishi Heavy Industry's Maneuvers Dome the company's new heavy multi-legged sentient AI tank seemingly goes berserk, blasts itself out of the Dome, and gets on the highway - but where is it going? And why? It's Section 9's job to follow and if possible stop the tank, while discovering why it went berserk. This episode really introduces the Tachikomas and involves one of the most sentimental and nearly tearful stories in the entire season. It's interesting how the direction focuses on the cyborgs of Section 9 as Togusa details how Kago wanted something similar for himself and could never get in life.

ANDROID AND I: Old-style "Jerry"-type androids begin self-destructing in spectacular ways en masse, bringing Section 9 into the case, fearing a connection to an earlier case in the capital. While the case doesn't seem as vicious, the investigation quickly brings Batou and Togusa to the apartment of the perpetrator - a film-buff apparently in love with his android. Reportedly one of the show creator's favorite episodes.

INTERCEPTOR: The fourth episode begins the main story arc with the Laughing Man case as a police investigator on the case and acquaintance of Togusa is killed before he can tell Togusa something about the investigation - not with the case itself but something going on at higher levels of the investigation and the special investigation branch formed to solve the case. Before long Togusa discovers the illegal use of interceptors - microscopic cameras implanted on the surface of the eye - on the team itself. A scandal unfolds, and before long the Laughing Man himself makes an "appearance."

Honestly the first set should have the next two episodes as well as they are all linked but nevertheless these four show a fairly impressive range of what Stand Alone Complex is all about. Highly recommended.

The issues concerning the internet these days may well be considered as precursors to GITS:SAC. Privacy, access, surveillance, information, internet morality, and humanity are all problems dealt with in "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", except that the implications and legal ramifications are well established and things of the past. You will be compelled to outgrow the technological adolescence of the present very quickly to deal with the maturity and depth of the world of GITS.

I've seen the entire series, and it is by far one of the best anime series I've seen. The original movie was quite revolutionary by itself, but I have to say that the creators, producers, and studio have outdone themselves by a long shot with this series. The original characters are all there, Major Kusanagi, Batou, Togusa, etc., with the addition of several others who provide support and round out Section 9, a futuristic FBI/CIA organization, as a unit. The series is very much like NYPD Blue, in that you get to know the characters and their cases quite well.

What's astonishing about the series is that the creators have provided an amazingly detailed premise: the world has gone COMPLETELY digital, and the world's population is now linked to the future version of the internet with implants to the point where the line between personality/self and this alternate space has blurred considerably. They then ask the mind-boggling question: what could possibly happen in this kind of world? They answer, of course, with half-hour case studies of cyber-crime, political intrigue, digital culture, and philosophical soul-searching.

Each episode is self-consistent and follows very stringently the physics upon which the series is based. By this I mean that this world has been constructed with a basic set of rules, and each episode tells a story based on these rules, but without bogging him/her down with details about the rules. Instead, the episodes tell their stories and the viewer is thus thrown in the proverbial deep end, inadvertently learning to read the fine print in between the storylines. The extrapolations, implications, and possibilities of such a world are explored to an incredible depth and detail that only anime can provide.

Of course, given the opportunity to explore, there are some episodes where the script becomes a bit too self-analytical, and that might detract the viewer from the storylines, but I think when you create such a world, you are somewhat obliged to delve into those issues.

Can a machine ever have a personality? If your ghost (read personality) can be hacked, how can you tell what is real and what isn't? When your personality can be digitized and you can live immortal in cyberspace, what meaning is there to having a body? What kind of crimes will criminals commit and how will they commit them given such unlimited access? What will be the shape of politics in a wired world? Can computer viruses infect human beings? How do you define love/emotions in cyberspace? If you could choose to be a cyborg, would you?

If you've ever asked yourself these questions, find the answers in this technically brilliant series.

For those of you who like the manga and the movie you will love this series. It is based off the manga and supposedly it is before the movie happened. For me I don't think so, there is a reason I believe why it is called Stand Alone Complex. Now the character design and the story is more from the manga. So for those of you guys who liked the movie and that's all you know or like, you might not enjoy it right away. This series is what the creator(Masamune Shirow)intended it to look like. The movie is the change. This is a 26 episode series so there are a lot of stories and situations to come. I'm glad that finally they are also using DTS for the sound. Many of the Korean animes are in DTS and it's so nice to hear it like that. The only bad thing is that they are charging alot more and giving you the 5.1 disc as well(like you'd play it if you have DTS). The soundtrack that comes with this is excellent, done by Yokko Kano, which is done by the same person who did Cowboy Bebop. Her versatility amazes me. My only complaint is the price as I do not think the next volumes will come anything extra like the soundtrack so you are paying the extra $10 dollars for the 5.1 disc which you don't care about when you buy the DTS vesion.

I'll admit to you that I love to watch Adult Swim, and I'll also admit that I like certain types of anime. No, I'm not one of those nerdy card-trading Poke'mon lovers, I'm a young adult who likes to use my imagination in my down time. I like anime that's made for adults like: Big O!, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Outlaw Star, Tenchi and Ghost in the shell.

I was watching either watching Family Guy or Aqua Teen Hunger Force when I saw previews for this show start to air on Adult Swim, I thought thought it looked cool, it featured what looked to me like a cool futuristic take on robots and the humans that are seamlessly integrated with cybornetics to make them almost immortal, But I didn't know the half of it.

What I got was a cyber-punk version of the old black-and-white film noir mysteries. The series receives its subtitle from a theoretical mental complex attributed to the adaptation of cybernetics into the mass public. In the story, 'stand alone complex' is said to describe copies with no original and is portrayed by copycat crimes with no original criminal, or in other words, an imaginary criminal. It also refers to the structure of each episode: Each episode can be viewed independently of each other, and there is little catch-up (if at all) given in each episode to keep the viewer up to date.

Taking place in a fictional city of Japan called "Niihama-shi" (New Port City) in the year 2030, Stand Alone Complex tells the story of a special operations task-force called Public Security Section 9, or simply "Section 9". The series follows the exploits of Section 9's agents who range from ex-military to ex-police as they address each case and how it affects them on a personal level, eventually leading to the mysterious figure dubbed by the media as "The Laughing Man".

Public Security Section 9 is an elite domestic anti-crime unit tasked with the charge of preemptive prevention of technology-related acts of terrorism and crime. Their duties include response to serious cyber crimes (i.e. Cyberbrain hacking, cyber-terrorism), investigation of unlawful acts of those in public office and of high profile murder cases. From time-to-time they also serve as protection to foreign VIPs.

If you have seen the movie then you know that the TV series differs from the cinema adaptation in its focus upon issues created by the advance of technology. Instead of the intensely focused and personal examination of technology, presented is a look at society and technology as a larger whole. The series of 26 half-hour TV episodes has a larger budget of time to explore the concepts and ideas found in the original manga. In comparison to the film version, the series is considered by many to be easier to understand. Also, in comparison, the series can be found to be closer to the manga; due to the presence of some humor, the usage of the Tachikomas (Fuchikomas in the manga, and referred to simply as "tanks" in the one scene a derivant version makes an appearance in), the design of the characters, and also, the usage of the characters Paz, Bouma and Saito. Stand Alone Complex exhibits the accumulated experience and expertise of Production I.G. in their application of computer generated imagery. This is evident in their digital color grading, environmental effects, and cell-shaded computer models. Their work has been highly praised for its subtle contribution to a scene, which adds greatly to the atmosphere.

I think a lot of people will try to compare this to Cowboy Bebop as with so many other anime and mangas, but that's foolish. Stand Alone Complex is no better or worse than Cowboy Bebop, it's just a different story, different style, different sets of charactors and there places.

if you like anime or manga you'll definitely like this show. It's complex, has views on modern terrorism and how to deal with it, and not to mention the technology! Even if you don't watch anime just give a chance and take it for what it is.

"Stand Alone Complex" (SAC) is a set of loosely connected episodes of the recently televised saga of "Ghost in the Shell" and focuses on Major Motoko Kusanagi, her boss Section Chief Aramaki, and her team of cybercops - Batoh, Tegusa, Ichikawa, and a burbly, bright blue set of Tachikoma robots, all of Section 9. Most episodes stand by themselves and tell a probably mysterious, certainly moody story about things that aren't real, but happened anyway somewhere in cyberspace, or maybe the whole thing is a parallel universe to our own. The sometimes quite sexy stories move fast, the plotting is intricate, and the animation first-rate. --- Yes, there's lots of action. Motoko bounds around looking gorgeous (especially in the opening credits); an older, tougher but deeply emotional Batoh befriends the Tachikoma robots; an idealistic hacker named The Laughing Man comes and goes whenever he wants; Tegusa, as hard-working and sincere as ever, infiltrates a facility for rehabilitating cyberchildren (who have plans of their own); Aramaki pulls off Byzantine intelligence coups against Section 9's old military, governmental, and big business enemies. It's all mixed together with moody music about being on lithium, songs in Russian, and - oh, yes, I almost forgot - a young Canadian who is love with his out-of-date android. But, in common with many Production IG films, like the Patlabor films or "Blood, the Last Vampire," the plots always exist in a world of corrupt politicians, very nasty army officers, and assorted other crazies who inhabit not only the world of SAC but also our own. This mix of sophisticated realism, poignancy, and high-tech animated cyberthingies can be surprisingly moving. --- SAC doesn't center on deep philosophical questions, as the first and especially second "Ghost in the Shell" film did. Instead, those questions simply bubble around the edges of the daily business of being a cybercop with Section 9. If "Innocence," the second film, made a point of philosophy, in SAC the Section 9 folks have too many strange crises to deal with to worry very much about philosophy. For example, when Batoh provides his favorite Tachikoma robot with high-grade natural oil, it promptly takes an unauthorized vacation and befriends a little girl who is looking for her lost dog. Somebody suggests that it reconstructed its AI operating system from information in the oil... as good a guess as anyone's. --- So we see the already very strange world of Section 9 in the forefront, with enough action to entertain anyone. But in the background is a far far stranger universe. Things are never what they seem. It's an endless and fascinating game of What Does That Mean? As a result, if you let yourself merge with the stories, "Stand Alone Complex" is riveting. And Motoko really is gorgeous.

The "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex" (Vol. 1) Limited Edition comes as a DVD clamshell case and a CD held together by a vertically-oriented glossy paper slipcase. The DVD clamshell has an extra tray inside to hold the second DVD with the DTS versions of the episodes. The extra video content is only published on the regular DVD; the DTS DVD contains just the episodes and credits, and it is marked with the DTS logo and a completely different picture on the disc. Some DVD releases of the Japanese version "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex" included horizontally-oriented plastic slipcases that were meant to hold several DVD clamshells. Do no mistake that for what is provided with the United States version of "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex" (Vol. 1) Limited Edition. When I received my copy, the slipcase (with discs inside) was double wrapped in plastic. The shrinkwrap plastic was so tight that it crushed part of the slipcase in the back, in the area not occupied by the included CD. I mention this on behalf of those who might care about that sort of thing.

By my perception the English audio tracks are a bit louder than the Japanese audio tracks. The English subtitles do not always match the English dialog spoken. Many lines of dialog appear to be different. I think the spoken dialog is better in content, but the delivery of the dialog by the English voice actors tends to vary in quality. Sometimes the English dialog is believable, and sometimes it is terrible, suggesting that it was recorded out of order before mastering. Some jokes in the dialog did not translate all that well either. But the sound effects are crisp and loud.

The "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex (Vol. 1)" Limited Edition comes with an audio CD, the Original Sound Track. If you are a hardcore fan of the series, then you probably already purchased the "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex" OST when it came out in Japan on 2003/01/22. The United States version of the OST actually has two additional tracks, one of which is the opening theme from the second season of "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex" (known officially as "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig"). These extra tracks are the shorter versions used in broadcast, and thus not equivalent to the longer versions available in the "Ghost in The Shell:Stand Alone Complex - GET9" CD Maxi-single (VICL-35603) that was released in Japan on 2004/01/21.

Track list of the "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex" OST (United States Version - ISBN 1-54909-336-9):

1 Run Rabbit Junk - Words: Tim Jensen / Music: Yoko Kanno
2 Yakitori - Music: Yoko Kanno
3 Stamina Rose - Words: GABRIELA ROBIN / Music: Yoko Kanno
4 Surf - Music: Yoko Kanno
5 Where Does the Ocean Go - Words: Troy / Music: Yoko Kanno
6 Train Search - Music: Yoko Kanno
7 Siberian Doll House - Music: Yoko Kanno
8 Velveteen - Words: Troy / Music: Yoko Kanno
9 Lithium Flower - Words: Troy / Music: Yoko Kanno
10 Home Stay - Music: Yoko Kanno
11 Inner Universe - Words: Origa, Shanti Snyder / Music: Yoko Kanno
12 Fish ~ Silent Cruise - Music: Yoko Kanno
13 Some Other Time - Words: Garbiella Robin / Music: Yoko Kanno
14 Beauty is Within Us - Words: Chris Mosdell / Music: Yoko Kanno
15 We're the Great - Music: Yoko Kanno
16 Monochrome - Words: Troy / Music: Yoko Kanno
17 Get 9 (TV Size) - Words: Tim Jensen / Music: Yoko Kanno
18 Rise (TV Size) - Words: Tim Jensen, Origa / Music: Yoko Kanno

As posted by another reviewer to Amazon for the "Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex" (Vol. 1) Limited Edition, the CD was manufactured with an incorrect track index. Tracks 8 - 12 are mis-indexed for the included audio content. I also think that the entirety of the song 'Fish ~ Silent Cruise' is not on the CD, but rather, a shorter version.

The audio CD packaging shows that distribution was handled by Bandai Entertainment. If you wish to voice your dissatisfaction with the defective indexing of the CD tracks, I suggest contacting Bandai Entertainment first before trying to contact Manga Entertainment. I would have provided the mailing address, email address, and web site for Bandai Entertainment customer service in this review, but Amazon.com forbids this in the Amazon Review Writing Guidelines. Try using a good world wide web search engine to search using these terms: bandai entertainment customer service

I haven't seen the DVD yet but I've watched the entire series online (fan sub). The newest entry in the Ghost in the Shell universe Stand Alone Complex is simply amazing! Produced by Production I.G. (Blood: The Last Vampire, Jin-Rah, and original Ghost in the Shell) the 26-episode series is unlike any previous anime I have seen. Usually the TV series versions of feature length animes are good but are a pale comparison of the features. For example the Patlabor OVA (TV series) were good but not in the same league as the feature length films. This is really no surprise as the TV series usually have an understandably smaller budget. GITS: SAC, however, does not conform to this example. GITS: SAC combines CGI and traditional animation and does so seamlessly. The animation quality is on par if not better that the original feature length animation. But enough about the amazing visuals. GITS: SAC is a mini-series that takes place as if the original feature didn't take place. All the main characters from Section 9 are here, Major Kusanagi, Aramaki, Togusa, and Batou are all fleshed out quite a bit more. There are also two new characters introduced, Borma and Saito as well as the mini-tanks (tachikomas) shown in the manga which are featured throughout the episodes. Each episode has its own complete story and also weaves together to form a larger much more complex whole. GITS: SAC does a nice job a mixing action and drama. We get to see a lot more of the inner workings of Section 9 as well as the investigative work they do and still get plenty of action to keep things exciting. While the series does slow down a couple of times it continues to pull one in and engage the viewer while building to a climax that really blew me away. I can't wait for the DVD, believe me if you liked the original Ghost in the Shell then Stand Alone Complex will be well worth your money. (...)

I would rate the show as 5 stars, this is a review of the extras and features of the Special Edition issue.
I recently bought all the Special Edition releases of "Stand Alone Complex" after trying to research what I was going to get as extras not included in the regular edition. I found the listings on Amazon's product details to be a little confusing and incomplete on some of the volumes so I decided to write this guide for others trying to decide. I'm not going to review the "Ghost in the Shell" episodes or the series in general because there are so many excellent reviews already on this site, and most of you probably know about this great anime TV series already. There are various other reviews that say that some of the DVD's and CD's have errors on them and Bandai will replace them with corrected discs if you send them in for exchange. I have not ran into problems yet, although I haven't gone through the whole series either. And I will also state that I love the TV series as well as both movies, but I would recommend the Imported Region 2 version of GITS2:Innocence if you have a region free DVD player. Dreamworks really messed up that release omiting the English dub and putting Hard of Hearing subtitles instead of regular ones on the early issues of that movie. Most people find them very distracting and annoying.

First off the discs themselves, you get two DVD discs in each volume with the same episodes on both discs. Volumes 1-5 have 4 episodes each, 6 and 7 have 3 episodes each making 26 episodes total in the series. Both discs are Anamorphic wide screen encoded directly from the High-Definition Masters. Both Discs also have English subtitles. Each set also has two interviews with voice cast or someone associated with the production of the anime, and a printed DVD insert pamphlet or booklet with different interviews and such for each volume. All discs are Region 1.

Disc one has Dolby Digital 5.1 in Japanese and English, and Dolby Digital 2.0 in English and Japanese.

Disc two has DTS 5.1 in English and Japanese and a Dolby Digital 2.0 English track.

Volumes 1 and 2 include soundtrack CD's of the music of Yoko Kanno, the most excellent and versatile composer of the music in the TV series. Anime lovers know her work from the many fine soundtracks that she's done for countless other anime movies and TV series.

Volume 3 has a Black XL Fruit of the Loom Tee-Shirt with the section 9 logo on the front and a Major Kusanagi graphic on the back. Nice shirt!

Volumes 4 and 5 have a collectable I.D. cards for a section 9 member.

Volume 6 has a Black XL Fruit of the Loom Tee-Shirt with the section 9 logo on the front and a Batou graphic on the back, and another I.D. card. Nice shirt again!

Volume 7 has another Tee-Shirt! This time it's a White XL with the section 9 logo on the front, and the Laughing Man logo on the back! Once again nice shirt! It also comes with a tin box that's supposed to hold all 7 volumes of the DVD set. I was excited about getting the box but when it arrived I was disappointed with the design. It's kind of like the rectangular lunch box that you used to take to school as a kid, without the handle and latch. Its also of a thinner metal that dents easily. It has marketing type of printing on the backside that pertains to vol. 7 only, and the DVD cases stack inside one on top of the other. The spines of the cases are not visible when you open the box, only the front of the last case you put in. So you have to take all the cases out of the tin to get to a specific volume. There's also not room for the cardboard sleves that the DVD's were in when you got the individual volumes, and no room for the soundtrack CD's either. All said, I was disappointed with the box. Because of it's odd dimensions it doesn't stack in well with my DVD library. I would have much preferred the normal five sided box that usually comes with DVD sets.

Overall I'd say it's worth it to buy volumes 3, 6 and 7 new to get the shirts if they interest you and pick up the others used if you can to save some money on the series. That is if you're interested in the DTS soundtrack options. I much prefer the DTS mixes to Dolby Digital and wanted the soundtrack CD's as well. Also the cardboard boxes that come with volumes 3 and 6 are better than the tin box to store your set in when you complete the series, if you stack them on shelves one row of DVD's on top of another row, and you can fit the movies into those boxes as well to fill them the rest of the way.

Stand Alone Complex is a sort of alternate universe to the Ghost in the Shell movies. If I recall, its is as if the events of the movie and the sequel never happened, but with the same characters. With my newfound love of Yokko Kanno, who also did the music for Cowboy Bebop, I decided to spring for the special edition of volume 1, which comes with a DTS version of the show in both English and Japanese, and a CD soundtrack by the genius Kanno. I watched the first two episodes, and really like the series. The characters seem very three-dimensional, and hopefully will be fleshed out over the course of the series. The action is fast and furious, and the animation quality is spectacular. It feels like feature-quality. And that theme song- written by Kanno, sung by Russian/Japanese artist Origa, the song is... astounding, like Enya, but really good! I'm happy to say the same song is on the CD. As for the supposed DTS issues, the sound was perfect, and I checked both English and Japanese soundtracks. The only glitch is the CD- the track order is messed up, check out the animeondvd.com review for information on the correct track listings.