Review of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig Vol. 1

Introduction

SPOILER WARNING!

I`d better get that out of the way first, as if you haven`t yet seen the climax of the first series of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex then what follows will inevitably spoil that. If you just want to know the scores, feel free to skip down to the final paragraph. The rest of you are mine for the next couple of thousand words.

It`s only been a few weeks since I was raving about the final instalment of the first series, and looking forward eagerly to the arrival of the 2nd Gig to our shores. Reviewing being what it is, I didn`t have long to wait for my next fix, as the first volume of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig made its way into my DVD player a full eight weeks ahead of the release date. Of course there would be a price to pay for a sneak peak, in this case it`s the subtitles (see later).

1995 saw our first foray into Masamune Shirow`s cyberpunk vision, with the theatrical release of the groundbreaking anime, Ghost In The Shell, directed by Mamoru Oshii. Set in Hong Kong of the future, it introduced us to a world where the line between man and machine was blurred into invisibility, and posed questions about the nature of intelligence and the soul, when Major Motoko Kusanagi went up against the Puppet Master. It took seven years, but eventually Ghost In The Shell made it to television. Director Kenji Kamiyama took the characters from the movie, but told a story in a timeline where they never met the Puppet Master, and relocated the action to Japan. Over 26 episodes, a cyberpunk cop thriller unfolded in the world of futuristic cybercrime, where a mysterious figure known as the Laughing Man manipulated events for his own veiled purposes. In their pursuit of the truth the Major and Section 9 got drawn into conspiracies at the highest levels of government.

2005 bumped up the Ghost In The Shell quotient considerably, as Mamoru Oshii returned to his theatrical vision, with the sequel to the original movie. It naturally bears no narrative relation to the TV series but picks up after the events of the Puppet Master. Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence received a limited theatrical release in the UK, and is pencilled in for a DVD release early in 2006. But in one of those wonderful serendipities of cross fertilisation, Mamoru Oshii also originates the main story for the second television series. Still directed by Kenji Kamiyama, Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig expands the focus of the story, and tells a tale in many ways relevant to our own world.

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.

Since the Laughing Man incident exposed Section 9`s existence to the glare of publicity, the idea of a security force that operates above the law is something that can hardly be countenanced. Although Aramaki engineered the removal of Section 9 from the public eye, that doesn`t mean business as usual for the group. While heads rolled and the government changed, Section 9 has been placed on indefinite standby, and Aramaki lobbies for the reinstatement of the group. Just as before, Manga Entertainment releases Ghost In The Shell on 2 discs, here containing the first 4 episodes of the 2nd Gig. Disc 1 contains four 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.

1. Reembody
Terrorists calling themselves the Individual Eleven have taken over the Chinese embassy, and are demanding the immediate halt to the acceptance of refugees, as well as the closure of all refugee camps in mainland Japan. It`s unfortunate timing as the new government was just about to alter its policies. It can`t be seen to capitulate, and needs the situation resolved quickly and without loss of hostages. If Section 9 can do this, then they stand to be reinstated to full duty, with a restoration of their budget. They will also get some new recruits. But there is something odd about the way these new terrorists operate.

2. Night Cruise
Gino is a war veteran who now works as a helicopter pilot in the private sector. One of his prime clients is the chairman of a powerful media corporation. But far from living up the glamorous life, Gino follows an insular existence, dominated by the war in which he fought, and that cost him half his body. His cynicism and paranoia lead to fantasies in which he assassinates the chairman. His fantasies take a strange turn when he starts seeing an enigmatic woman in them, who looks a lot like the Major.

3 Cash Eye
A high tech thief defeats the security measures and breaks into the Tadokoro building, only to leave a calling card. Tadokoro sees the break-in as a gauntlet laid down by the notorious thief, and realises that the next high-level party he aims to host will tempt the thief to make his heist during the festivities. Section 9 is called in to provide security by going undercover. It`s time for the Major to buy a party frock.

4. Natural Enemy
During a training exercise, the death of a helicopter pilot leaves its AI in control. But this AI refuses to follow orders, and worse it infects other machines with its independent streak. Soon, scores of armed and unmanned helicopters are hovering over the refugee district, threatening carnage when their fuel runs out and they start dropping. A mysterious government agent named Gohda comes to Section 9 and enlists their aid in resolving the situation. But there is more to all this than meets the eye.

Every episode is followed by a short Tachikomatic Days animation.

Video

This is the part that I was most dreading. The first season of Ghost In The Shell released by Manga Entertainment was a nightmare in terms of technical quality. Most discs were plagued with tiny little niggles in the picture, sound or disc authoring that became an annoying blight on an otherwise must own anime release. It makes it all the more important to get it right for the Second Gig.

We`re off to a good start with the image for this release, an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer that is sharp, clear and vivid. The image quality is of greater clarity than the best of Season 1 if anything, with even the colour banding usually associated with animation reduced to a minor degree here. Digital artefacts were absent, and if there was any grain, it seemed more of an artistic decision. There was an early scare with the animation, one scene of a Prime Ministerial meeting that was excessively static, even for anime, and where even the perspective seemed off. It was just one scene though, as the rest of Ghost In The Shell is a dynamic and brilliantly animated show. The character design remains of high quality, again improving on Season 1, and the action scenes in these first four episodes are almost up to theatrical standard.

The world of Ghost In The Shell grows as well at the start of this series. Season 1 was about the technology, it was all about the machines, and the new world. Everything was bright and shiny and wondrous. 2nd Gig goes about painting the background to this world, and introduces a much more tangible sense of age, of grime and of decrepitude. It also feels much larger in scope. We are taken into the darker niches of society, and the colour palette consequently becomes grimmer and more subdued. This series makes much greater use of light and shade in comparison to the first outing. It also still marries 2D animation to 3D CGI in a way that works brilliantly. In almost every way, the new series is step up from the first.

I do miss the CGI title sequence, though the new title sequence is better in that it showcases all of Section 9. The only minor niggle that I had was the layer change in the middle of episode 3 on both discs, though it was discrete.

Audio

The sound was another area that wavered on the season one discs, and I had my ears open for this set of discs, once again with my heart in my mouth. Just like the first series discs, 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.

For once I had the liberty to watch the shows in both Japanese and English. The surround is excellent on both tracks; there is plenty of action that makes full use of the soundstage, with plenty of swooping helicopters in three of these episodes. Bullets fly and there`s plenty of machinery to keep the ears interested. 2nd Gig also provides some all new Yoko Kanno tunes, including new themes. The music of Ghost In The Shell has always been an exemplary accompaniment to the show, and these all-new tunes are just as immersing. My preference will probably always be for the original language, but the English dub is better than most. That`s high praise when you consider that most recent anime dubs have been of good quality. Here the character voices are perfectly suited, and the actor performances capture the emotion of the scenes well.

The 1st Season release came with English subtitles translated from the Japanese dialogue, as opposed to reflecting the dub. They would also provide translation for signs and text that appeared on screen. The check discs that I received have dubtitles that follow the English version, hard of hearing dubtitles, dubtitles with more than a few errors to boot. I would normally rant here, but having emailed Manga Entertainment`s PR company, I received a reply stating that the problem is merely one on the check discs, and that there is ample time to add the correct translated subtitle track for the January release date.

Features

There are a few changes in the format of the extras for the second series, not least in the menus, which now follow a simple green holographic theme that centres on the Section 9 logo. It`s pretty nifty to look at, more user-friendly and lacks the occasional colour-clash of season 1.

The trailers get shunted to Disc 2, but a notable omission is the quiz, which also means that there is no preview of the next release.

On Disc 1 the episodes get their synopses again, although there are no character profiles. There are also two interviews. 16 minutes is devoted to director Kenji Kamiyama, who recaps season 1, and sets up the second season, talks about the politics and ideologies within, as well as Mamoru Oshii`s input to the story. The second interview on this disc lasts 11 minutes and art director, Yusuke Takeda and conceptual artist Hiroshi Kato talk about the visual differences between the two seasons, as well as go over some design sketches and artwork for the new season. You should be aware that there are plenty of spoilers for the rest of the season within.

Just as before, there is no Play All option, but this time each episode is preceded by an IDT Entertainment logo, which adds 10 seconds of unskippable CGI before we get to the good stuff.

Conclusion

While fans of the first series will find 2nd Gig essential viewing, I`m pleased to say that the reverse isn`t true. Although there are hints and allusions to events in the first series, not knowing about them won`t harm your viewing of the new story, although you`ll probably be tempted to watch the first series anyway. Putting the style and scale of the new season aside, as well as the explosive season opener, 2nd Gig doesn`t feel like a new season though. There is none of the reintroduction or reiteration of mission statement, and the show carries on as if it had never stopped. The second episode, Night Cruise is extremely early to play with viewer perceptions and subvert the characters, but Ghost in the Shell feels like its just picking up where it left off. While it does mean that newcomers are thrown into the deep end to a degree, it also means that these episodes set up a wealth of back-story and paint in the background of the new world of 2nd Gig very effectively.

The differences between the two seasons are immediately apparent. The first season`s story had a much smaller focus, the Laughing Man was an issue that affected Section 9 directly, and the stories revolved around this. While we got to see the wondrous technology of the future, plenty of action, and some great sci-fi stories, the story behind this world was rarely mentioned, although it was hinted at or alluded to, especially with the Section 9 members` military past. The 2nd Gig goes about redressing this imbalance, and showing much more of the world that Ghost In The Shell inhabits. The main focus of this series is something that is all too relevant today, that of refugees and immigrants. Gone is the bright and shiny technological future of the first series, to be replaced with the dingy squalor of an exploited underclass, as well as those who feel that their benefits are usurped, their jobs stolen, their taxes wasted. It all seems so familiar. Of course this migration has its roots in a different cause, and we learn much more about the war that precipitated it, as well as the upsurge in cyberization that results in people like the Major and the rest of Section 9. 2nd Gig has a far broader canvas to paint on, and in these first 4 episodes it makes full use of it.

The first episode kicks off in great style, with plenty of action as Section 9 works to get reinstated to duty. The hostage crisis is a familiar mechanism, but it also establishes early on the issues that will drive this series. There`s plenty of politicking going on, with it difficult to determine just who is manipulating whom. The end of this first episode had me grinning as well, with the return of some familiar characters. As I mentioned earlier, the second episode is a complete change of pace, the absence of Section 9 threw me for a bit of a loop. Night Cruise focuses wholly on the character of Gino, very much a Travis Bickle type, living in a world of conspiracy theories and oppression from above, escaping into his own fantasies. While the absence of Section 9 may seem odd, this episode is grand in colouring in the world, as well as once again exploring the concerns that lie at the heart of the series. It`s a story filled with paranoia and shows the seedy side of the future society. Cash Eye is a light-hearted romp, centred firmly in Ocean`s Eleven territory. It`s a chance to see Section 9 in a new light, especially the Major who has to show off her elegant side. It`s a fun episode, with the emphasis on the heist, and with plenty of twists and turns to keep it interesting. The final episode is the season`s first Complex episode, although this time they are separated in to `dividual` and `dual`. This dual episode also layers on the conspiracy and the machinations, as external influences manoeuvre Section 9 into resolving the crisis. As well as deepening the new conspiracy, this is one action packed episode, full of stunning set pieces and glorious to watch. It truly takes Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex to theatrical levels of audiovisual quality.

An absolutely stunning opener to a new season of Ghost In The Shell, this disc is simple to recommend. Four varied episodes set up the new tantalising story, and this disc leaves me desperate to see what happens next. With the subtitle issue set to be resolved for the retail release, this makes this a rare event, a perfect Ghost In The Shell release. I never thought that I would see the day. If you had thought that the brilliance that is Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex couldn`t be matched, on the strength of this first volume, 2nd Gig may even surpass its forebear. Ghost In The Shell, I just love it.