Review of Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex: Vol. 6

Introduction

The conspiracy deepens and the stakes are raised in this penultimate volume of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Following the trend established in the earlier volumes in the series, Manga`s release of Volume 6 is not without its minor flaws, although the hideous subtitles that afflicted Volume 5 are thankfully absent.

Ghost In The Shell inhabits one of those strange new worlds we often hear tell of. Set in the not too distant future, the divisions between man and machine are blurring. AI is a reality, and life like androids do the menial jobs that humans used to. It isn`t unusual for the average citizen to be enhanced in some way with implants or prosthetics. For some the enhancements are to such a degree that little of the original human remains. Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 is one such person, who since the age of 6 has been equipped with a totally cybernetic body. The only biological component left is her brain. The differences between man and machine becomes ever more meaningless when machines can develop personality. It also opens up a whole new area of criminal activity, when cybernetically enhanced senses can be fooled by an enterprising hacker, or worse their brains themselves can be hacked into, subverting the innocent by reprogramming their `ghosts`. In the light of such terrifying possibilities, a special unit is created to head off the threat of such cyber-crime. Section 9 led by Aramaki is at the forefront of combating the new cyber criminals.

With the series climax rapidly approaching, the stand-alone episodes have vanished in favour of the complex episodes that follow the Laughing Man storyline to its conclusion. This release from Manga Entertainment comes on 2 discs. With only six episodes left, they are divided equally between the final two volumes, so this time around, Disc 1 contains three episodes and the bulk of the extras, as well as DD 2.0 and DD 5.1 soundtracks. Disc 2 contains the same episodes, but with DTS soundtracks.

Episode 21. Eraser
When last we saw Togusa at the end of the last episode, his life was hanging by a thread after his investigation into the Laughing Man went horribly wrong. At the start of this disc, he lies unconscious on the operating table, so the Section 9 team have to dive into his memories to reconstruct the events of the previous few hours. The evidence leads to the doorstep of a sister agency, the DEA. While the Major checks out Hisashi Imakarusu, former head of the Drug Evaluation Council, Aramaki pays a visit to Bureau Chief Niimi of the DEA. Imakarusu has vanished however, and is currently chatting to the Laughing Man. Meanwhile Niimi needs to cover his tracks, bad news for Section 9 when the DEA have access to military hardware.

Episode 22. Scandal
Aramaki pays another visit to the DEA, this time to arrest Niimi. Meanwhile after being battered by a military exoskeleton, the Major is busy getting a new body. Aramaki gets some news about his family that distracts him when he can least afford it. Ishikawa`s investigations reveal that there are still some DEA members on the loose, and the Major and Aramaki are in imminent danger. While Batou races to rescue Aramaki, the Major looks doomed until an unlikely benefactor appears, and she is forced to make a deal with the devil.

23. Equinox
With Niishi no longer able to testify, and all other leads drying up, the beleaguered Section 9 have only one option left open to them in the investigation, but a lead that takes them to the highest echelons of the government is likely to get them all killed. They need hard evidence from the one remaining source that can`t be discredited, Serano Genomics. Only the Laughing Man gets there first.

At the end of each episode, the Tachikomas continue their mini-adventures, now in Tachikoma paradise.

Video

Ghost In The Shell is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic ratio. This is another good transfer, with the image clear and sharp throughout, and digital banding is kept to a minimum. Unfortunately there was one glitch in the first episode on the disc, occurring at around 7:26 into the show. Also, the final episode on the disc showed its NTSC roots to a higher degree than the earlier episodes, looking a mite softer and with some jerky motion, especially when the camera panned. It must be said that the character design is greatly simplified in comparison to the detailed and beautiful characterisations of the movie. That`s to be expected when creating these characters for a serialised television show, but the animation is still dynamic and effortlessly realised. However the sheer detail and intricacy of the world design is marvellous. It`s the mix of the animation and design that makes this show look so good. In general the episodes on this disc continue the high standard of design and animation established in earlier volumes.

The Ghost In The Shell movie was lauded for its use of CGI. Computer imagery was used to create displays and overlays in the film and certainly contributed to its look. Seven years of advances in animation have made Stand Alone Complex a different animal when it comes to CGI. All 3D objects are realised through the computer, and are flawlessly integrated with the traditional style animation. The displays and overlays are if anything better than in the film. To cap it all off, the title sequence is completely rendered in CGI, with a 3D version of Major Kusanagi in action in a computer-generated world.

Audio

This release comes with a full selection of soundtracks. Disc 1 has soundtracks in DD 2.0 English and Japanese Stereo, as well as DD 5.1 English and Japanese, whereas Disc 2 allows you to watch the show with DTS 5.1 English and Japanese (encoded at 754kbps), as well as a repeat of the DD 2.0 English Stereo track. There are English translated subtitles for both discs.

As usual I chose to listen to the original Japanese track. The surround is stunningly effective, with full use made of the soundstage to effectively convey the action, the future world and Yoko Kanno`s stunning music. Listening to the action and gunfights in the episodes, I felt totally immersed in the world. This volume`s problem occurs at 15:16 into the third episode, a dropout in the DD 5.1 Japanese track. It`s a sole occurrence though, and while I only briefly spot-checked the other tracks, I noticed no immediate problems there either. In a move that comes as a relief, the subtitles are back to a discrete white font that doesn`t obscure too much of the image.

Features

I received the test discs for review minus any packaging or artwork. The discs` presentation is impressive. Glorious animated menus reflecting the cyberpunk style of the show are set to the show`s music, although for this volume, the various images and logos that appear as the menus boot are subsumed by the Laughing Man logo, which I thought was a nice touch. The transitions between menus are short and never get tedious.

Disc 1 contains the episode synopses and character profiles related to the episodes on these discs. Beware of reading them first, as they obviously contain spoilers for the episodes.

There are two interviews on this disc, both running to 11 minutes each. The first is with the screenwriters Junichi Fujisaki, Yoshiki Sakurai and Nobuyasu Terato, the second is with screenwriters Dai Sato and Shotaro Suga. They talk about the process of writing the episodes, defining `Stand Alone`, the Laughing Man, and brainstorming as they develop the stories.

There is also a brief trailer for the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex videogame.

Disc 2 as usual has the Quiz that offers a preview for Episode 24. On my test disc, the preview skipped around 3 minutes in, hopefully that won`t be repeated on the retail discs.

The lack of a fourth episode obviously means some space to spare, so also on the second disc this time around is a featurette called In Conversation With Richard Epcar. This lasts 17 minutes, and is an interview with the man who is the English voice of Batou. He talks about the character and how he got into voice acting. He also talks more generally about ADR work, writing an ADR script and directing a dubbed version of an anime. It also offers a tantalising sneak peak of Ghost In The Shell`s 2nd Gig, the second series. This is an excellent addition to the usual quality extras, and it appears to be a Manga exclusive for the UK.

Conclusion

Wow! This pretty much sums up this volume of Ghost In The Shell as it dives straight into the Laughing Man storyline and starts delivering on revelations, conspiracies and action. The series reaches its peak with these three episodes and leaves me eager to see just how they can even keep up the standard, let alone surpass it. I suppose the only downside is the lower episode count, but I`m willing to forgive that when these three episodes are so explosive and gripping.

After a relative paucity of Complex episodes, we got back to the story with the final episode in Volume 5, Volume 6 picks up with the cliff-hanger and continues from there, with the enigmatic Laughing Man making his presence felt throughout. Tracking down Togusa`s assailants and finding evidence to the conspiracy becomes a priority in Eraser, but we begin to understand just what the Laughing Man`s role in all this is. There is a stunning action packed climax to the episode, but it leaves us on tenterhooks as we see Section 9`s hope apparently snatched away. With Scandal, Section 9 learn that they have woken the dragon, and it is they who become the targets as they try to come to terms with the events of the previous episode. It`s great to see that even with the rapidly unfolding storyline, and the juicy action, there is still time for some character development. Aramaki learns that he cannot separate his personal life from his job, as he has been doing thus far. With Equinox, it seems that Section 9 are about to lose their last remaining hope of uncovering the conspiracy, but the final revelation of this disc is a stunning payoff for the events of the previous episode. The sneak peek hints at even more exciting developments in the next and final volume.

Despite Manga`s problems with the quality control of the discs, this has been a gripping series, one of the best anime that I have seen. Volume 6 pushes the envelope even further with some of the best episodes thus far, and thankfully the enigma and mystery surrounding the Laughing Man looks as if it is being resolved satisfactorily. Certainly the revelations that are unveiled in this volume make the emotional investment in the series worthwhile. Once again, I feel like grouching about the technical quality of the discs, but one graphical glitch and one sound dropout almost seem insignificant by previous standards. If only the slightly lower visual quality of Equinox didn`t detract. Story wise, Volume 6 can`t be faulted though.