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Gunparade March

Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex

2 reviews - 9.0 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (4.5)

Alternate Titles 
Format TV Series - 26 Episodes
Publishing Date 2002-2003
Animation Studio Production IG
Publisher/Broadcaster Production IG / SkyPerfecTV
Genre(s)Sci-fi / Action
Crew/Cast Creator - Masamune Shirow
Director - Kenji Kamiya
Music - Yoko Kanno
Availability R1 - Bandai / Manga
Related Works Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG
LinksAnimeNfo / Animated Divots

2. Tevesh

Having read the manga, I can almost guarantee that anything they left out in the movie, they had here. Spider tank robots, more than three people on a Special Department Team , having them fight other divisions, and super hackers.

Stand Alone Complex is a winner because it is realistic, and it seems that their world is simply ours in a few decades.  All the gear, technology, phrases, wars; all of them seem like they're going to happen in a few years from now and evolve to as we see them in the anime.

The series splits itself into story arc episodes, and stand-alone.  The stand-alone episodes do feel episodic, but every time one occurs, it furthers the plot by explaining a character's past, or explains technology or historic events.  So, every episode isn't truly just standing out there on its own like some Trigun or Cowboy Bebop did.

The pace of the series is set at fairly high, and maintains itself.  At the end, it's pace picks up and even perfectly sets itself up for the second season.

I liked the series more than the movie because it feels more coherent, instead of splicing sections and/or scenes from the manga.  Major is supposed to be the best, and in the series, she clearly is.  She's skilled in combat, has excellent leadership skills, and her hacking ability is nothing to sneeze at.

Togusa, Batou, Aramaki, and Ishikawa all make returns to this series.  However, Stand Alone Complex adds all the characters that were in the manga, but absent in the movie.  Or, in one case, only has his leg show up in one scene.  Including the sentient tanks, Tachikomas, though they had a different name in the manga.  Get ready for an anime that includes action, political maneuvering, philosophy, and a bunch of other interesting ideas; just like the movie.


1. 3rdEyeVision

This series turned out to be pretty good overall, but not quite on the same level as the movie. I suppose it's more similar to the manga, in that it's more than just one story. However, there is an underlying story throughout the series, much like The X-Files used to do.

The animation is quite good, though not the best compared to some recent anime coming out. Characters are also pretty well developed, for what they are. Though none of them are very well developed, they all get a fair amount of development. It's not really enough to make you feel like you know the characters, but you're kind of not supposed to totally know them, since they are secret agents.

Aside from that, most of the characters are the same as from the movie, with the exception of the spider-like tank that terrorized the city in the movie. In the series, these tanks are more common and even used by the authorities. A little comic relief comes in the form on the wacky personality these little "Tachikomas" seem to be programmed with, but the rest of the characters are fairly straightforward and serious.

Overall, it's a pretty good action series and recommended to anyone who likes the movie, or anyone into "Cyberpunk", Bladerunner-style sci-fi.



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