Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Rewatch)

S2 Ep3.

Hah. Oh man, I'd forgotten about 'Cash Eye' - a rare, almost entirely comedic episode. What a contrast with the previous one!

I'm hoping I'm not the only one sad enough to get that the whole thing is basically one long reference to "Cat's Eye", a hugely popular series from the early '80s about a team of female cat-burglars (wiki).

Admittedly, I don't think there was any real plot development to speak of. The mildly sinister nature of the 'doll party' is quite interesting though; a nice little bit of world-building detail. There's probably a really fascinating academic paper waiting to be written about the series's speculation on future attitudes to sex and sexuality, but I doubt I'm qualified to write it.

Lastly, anyone else think that's one of the Puma twins on the left?

GhostintheShellSAC2ndGiG-03-CashEyeengdubavi_snapshot_1241_20110314_005913.png
 
Watched ep.#2 last night. Really not sure what to make of it, obviously by the end it made sense, but throughout it felt like a confusing mess.

In many respects, the confusion, the not really making sense until the end and the monologue throughout kind of reminded me of Fight Club. I've not seen Taxi Driver, so can't compare it to that.
 
Professor Irony said:
Pazu is probably my favourite, mostly after the little bit of development he gets in the 2nd gig, but also because I would dearly like to see a straight-up yakuza-themed anime series.
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I'm in agreement with you here - Pazu is a great character, and I too would love to see a Yakuza themed series. Alas, the games will have to do for now!

Episode #3

Lol, I remember this episode well from before. An enjoyable episode but nothing special really. I can't comment on much in it.
 
S2 EP3,
Hmm not a favourite, Its a but fun, but is it me or is the animation in this episode a bit slack? There are a few times when the major's and Togusa's faces look down right goofy. Its almost 90's styled on purpose?
 
S2 EP4,
A plot episode, introducing Gouda for the first time. The plot thickens, a device activates in the in the blood stream of a army pilot flying a prototype helicopter causing a heart attack and the AI in the helicopter stops responding to external commands . Also manipulation of evidence by this shadowy group and rising anger in the refugees.

Overall the ep is a return to form, some nice action thrown in too. Saito gets to do his job too which is good to see. It kind of reminds me of ep2 of SAC.
 
Hokum said:
Btw what did you think of EP10? I thought it was a pretty stand out episode.
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I suppose in a way it was a episode you cant really forget.

Finished episode 16 now so still making good progress. Episode 15 was pretty funny with the robots but unfortunately episode 12 was very much the weakest episode so far in the series
 
Nothing much to add on S2 EP4.

The tachikomas trying to pull a sicky to get out of fighting the jigabatchi helicopters was a nice touch. I liked the backing track that was played during the fight scene as well.

Hokum said:
S2 EP3,
is it me or is the animation in this episode a bit slack?
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I think it's less noticeable in the 2nd Gig than it was in the first season, but there are definitely a few sub par frames dotted about the series. My own guess is that it's due to the large number of different companies charged with doing the in-betweening.
 
Professor Irony said:
The tachikomas trying to pull a sicky to get out of fighting the jigabatchi helicopters was a nice touch. I liked the backing track that was played during the fight scene as well.
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I love how gnarly the Major is in that scene - a real sense of 'okay, this is some dangerous stuff going down right here, right now, but I'm up to it.'

I think I actually have a crush on Motoko. Ehem! :oops:
 
Episode #4

Yeaaaaaah this is what we're talkin' about in GitS 8) Beautifully animated action as well as great plot progression. It's great too how you really can't trust Gouda's character, through his face and (to me, anyway) the clothes he wears. Long black coats with black ties always looks suspicious.

Also just to confirm, the helicopters were circling in the Individual Eleven logo, right?
 
Episode #5

Man, Vol. 2 already! I love the cover art for this volume - when I saw it, I had fond memories rush to me of when I originally watched this vol. What a fantastic episode; yet again beautifully executed action sequences (In my opinion, leagues better than the first GiG), a fantastic score, and some nice development.

I'm now off to see if these essays exist!

Edit: For those interested, Wiki has an article on the May 15th Incident!

Edit 2: Also just noticed that there are 3 different episode types this time around; INdividual, DIvidual and DUal. IN episodes tying with the Individual 11 storyline, DU tying in with Gouda and the Cabinet Intelligence Service, and DI episodes being mostly stand alone with little link to the main plot.

I wish they colour coded like last time :p
 
Guys so ya' know I'm leaving for 3 days tommorow, so I won't be catching up until Sunday night - So hopefully this will carry on anyway even though people seem to have skipped todays ep. So yeah - if I can watch #6 tommorow I will, but it's likely I wont have time.

If I can reach a terminal I'll drop a message around or somethin', but if not see ya Sunday!
 
Episode #6

Just writing this quickly before I leave-! What a fantastic episode. This episode really reminds me of the Fallout 3 universe, actually. It's a shame it took Togusa until the end of the episode to realize about the guys in black tailing the woman though! Really loving the Second GiG so far - Can't wait to get back on Sunday and catch up.

Also, Rise has been growing on me a lot - I never used to be so fond, but I'm loving it now 8)
 
Just completed the 1st season last night. The last arc was certainly worth the wait, you just didnt know what was gonna happen next.

So started on the 2nd season and i am already 13 episodes into it so far and i have to admit its alot stronger than the 1st. I think this may be due to it not being so episodic based like what the 1st season was.
 
S2 EP5

An interesting episode, certainly a slow burner. The background to the individual eleven is quite interesting. The animation for the final fight sequence is pretty nicely done. The introduction to Kuze, is quite low key I feel?
 
S2 EP6

Nicely written episode, which has plot relevant to later episodes. I wonder If Togusa thought the black suits were following him not her? Nuclear accidents in Japan... hmm sounds familiar..

Cloudedminds, your not going to watch it with us? Were only on EP6!
 
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