Customer Reviews

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd GIG, Volume 02 (Episodes 5-8)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great continuation of Section 9's resurrection following their seeming demise at the end of the first season.

The story arc this time introduces more governmental (insider/political) themes that make you question who is ultimately pulling the strings.

For this second season the Animation director (or one of them) shifted position to character designer and shared that function with the character designer for the second movie. There are interviews of both of these on the second DVD. My impression of the results of this is that the new character models are both more "realistic" or detailed, while some have a little more of an anime design to them. It amounts to more variety which can sometimes be a little awkward in my opinion.

Contrary to what was stated in the "lousy" review here, the SAC: 2nd Gig team did not have much cross-over with the Ghost in the Shell: Innocence movie team so you can't say that they lacked resources. A serial TV series is not going to come out favorable to a 2hour movie production.

The nitty gritty:
If you liked the first season, you will love 2nd Gig, the plotlines are getting more intricate and each episode ends with either a small revelation to the whole arc or a cliff-hanger. This makes it difficult to watch these discs in spurts.

I did not find the background artwork noticably worse than the first season, it is darker, however, but this enhances the new storyline. This storyline with the refugees and political manipulation of covert government agencies mirrors our own time more and the background art seems appropriate for this. This continuation is a little less Sci-Fi and a little more mystery-oriented. I find the background art to actually be more detailed and varied than in the first season. I must have blinked and missed the blurry part?

The sophistication in this series lies more with the stories and episodic increments that further the over-all story arc than in the artwork. Keep in mind that this was made for television and had different obstacles to overcome. I do wish, however that the makers had the time/money to match the artistic beauty of the Ghost in the Shell movies.

If you are new to the Stand Alone Complex series, jumping in here will mean missing the character development that ran through the first season and the significance of the cyber bodies and brain technology. The team now, after rising from their dismantling at the end of the first season, is not taking their strength and existence for granted.

Four stars due to the artwork lacking a bit, other than that I'd give it five stars for it's engaging and intelligent story.

Now that Section 9 is up and running again, their skill can be put to good use. Crisis is growing in Japan as whispers of war and need for independence rise out of the refugees, after the Refugees Special Treatment Act is repealed. While at the same time it seems members of the special self-defense force have their own plans. And what roll does the Individual 11 play in the whole scheme...

Disc: 4 episodes in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (English and Japanese)

Episodes:
1. Inductance
2. Excavation
3. Pu239
4. Fake Food

Upcoming Releases:
Ghost in the Shell: SAC Official Log 1 - scheduled release date 10/25/05
Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd GIG Vol. 3 - scheduled release date 1/26/06

NOTE - If you see any anime items for sale that seem to cheap, they are BOOTLEGS. DO NOT BUY!

I like this installment better than either 2nd GIG Vol.1 or the last installment of the first season.
The potential of this series can be best illustrated by the use of Hideo Kuze in the "Inductance" episode.
Strangely, the scope of the entire season seems to be apparent by the 8th episode ( Fake Food ). This is reminiscent of the appearance of Aoi in the 11th episode of the first season. It makes me wonder: is the series going to meander in "stand-alone" type episodes for three installments or so, before finishing with the inevitable conclusion?

There are the usual bumps in the road... I don't know if it's the subtitle translation or what, but I sometimes feel like the script is contradicting itself. For example: a bunch of groups calling themselves the Individual Eleven, who never identified themselves as the Individual Eleven. Huh?!

One more thing: the huge amount of audio "hiss" during the character design features. I don't recall this from earlier chapters. Oh well.

This is what you would expect from the team that makes this awsome film and series! Visuals are as always, Top notch in the anime world, with thought provoking story lines, that make it so you can't wait to watch the next episode in the series. If you like you anime like i do with realistic looking charaters, and just alaround good damn movie. you have to have this in your collection, along with the whole series!

Section 9 is used to being a covert offensive agency, but it seems more and more like they are the lackies of another intelligence service run by the hideously malformed Kazundo Gohda. He's turned them into errand boys and one luciously figured errand girl. When the new Prime Minister receives a death threat connected to the "Individual Eleven" terrorists who want more rights for the refugees in the city slums, Section 9 are called on as a protection squad. Togusa strikes out on his own to follow a hunch about a murdered worker that will lead him into the bombed out ruins of old Tokyo to a government secret involving long forgotten nuclear weapons, which will eventually bring in the rest of his comrades. All the while, the team is looking for any way to track down any of the Eleven, but it seems like forces in the government and military are trying to put a short leash on their investigation.

2nd Gig continues a much darker and less episodic storyline than the first season. Instead of being stand-alone episodes, these four installments help to build up a pretty epic plot which documents a conspiracy which seems to have Section 9 as one of its targets, while using urban unrest to further its secret aims. The awesome animation combined with even more realistic character designs than last season give GITS a filmic or live television feel that is at times humbling. There is a lot of character development, especially in an exchange between Togusa and Batou in which it is revealed that cyborgs can't even eat the same foods as humans anymore, which leads to a subtle discussion of what you lose when you modify your body. The only complaint I have about the show so far is that too much is happening at one time. This show will demand a second viewing when its run ends.

the fast pace of the first Second gig dvd has sorta hit a wall with these 4 episodes, while there a must to see to know whats going on in the story...theres alot of talking going on...however there are some action moments and the tachikoma mini series is still funney as ever...

this is a great series, its very intense and the story line is great. People complain about the long complicated parts and if you don't like that kinda stuff this isn't the show for you. Although the DVD could have a bit more extra's, but it doesnt matter to most since the show is so cool. The tachicomo robot things are kinda annoying

This is pitiful. How do you maximize profit? Easy, minimize quality on every level and capitalize on the brand name. In other words, raise expectations through the roof with a superior detective series and use this momentum to sell an inferior follow-up series under the same name.

Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig says "Cheap" from the opening credit montage to the bare bone ending credits. The colors, unlike the first season's which were deep and juicy, are dry and monochromatic at times. The inventive little things that embellished the high-tech philosophy and look of the first series are completely lost on this one which seems less specific and more abstract. Even the presentation shouts "economy". The first season's packaging included a booklet, this one, nothing. Oh, I forgot to add that the art for both boxes look thrown together. And let's not forget the animation. There are a lot of clever things being verbalized but by it being called "animation" I don't expect to sit through ten minutes of dialogue to see something, anything move. Another clever little trick to save money.

The look of the characters, from Batou to Kusanagi have been altered considerably. Kusanagi's eyes are bigger and her body seems shorter and less voluptuous. Batou's arms are shorter. The lean, chiseled features of Aramaki which made him appear old and wise are now younger and fuller. The mecha and weapons in this series are also vague. The individual eleven are not as interesting as the laughing man plot of the first season's series.

I had high hopes for this series. There was a lot of thought and creativity behind the first season of GITS. It was better, in my opinion, than Samurai Champloo (though not as popular). I still believe that as this current storyline spins out that it will be better than most of the series out there. Unfortunately, this one will not even come close to the first season and this will probably be the last season for this franchise. Too bad.