Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Rewatch)

Godot said:
OK then for the sake of notice - we'll start Friday!
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Having completely failed to join in with the 1st GiG rewatch I'll make more effort to join in with this. My contributions may be limited though as the 2nd GiG's not going to be a rewatch for me and I hear it's slightly heavier going in terms of plot. I'll provide the layman's opinion!
 
sic vita est said:
Godot said:
OK then for the sake of notice - we'll start Friday!
Click to expand...

Having completely failed to join in with the 1st GiG rewatch I'll make more effort to join in with this. My contributions may be limited though as the 2nd GiG's not going to be a rewatch for me and I hear it's slightly heavier going in terms of plot. I'll provide the layman's opinion!
Click to expand...

Ah that's great! The more the merrier man! The Second GiG is certainly great. If the First GiG is anything to go by, we're pretty good at not posting spoilers in here :p

So yeah - looking forward to starting this tommorow! Hopefully Riva and Hokum have remembered :p
 
sic vita est said:
Godot said:
OK then for the sake of notice - we'll start Friday!
Click to expand...

Having completely failed to join in with the 1st GiG rewatch I'll make more effort to join in with this. My contributions may be limited though as the 2nd GiG's not going to be a rewatch for me and I hear it's slightly heavier going in terms of plot. I'll provide the layman's opinion!
Click to expand...

I was new to half of the 1st gig, and completely new to the 2nd gig.

Not forgotten, looking forward to watching episode 1 whilst I eat my Ramen later on today :)
 
Some of you are re-watching this, this is my first time through the whole series, anyway,

With the finale of the previous season pretty fresh in my mind, I sat down with a bowl of Chilli Beef Ramen to watch the first episode of Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig this lunchtime.

To start of with, the previous opening titles had to grow on me, I wasn’t too sure about the music and I certainly didn’t like the CGI footage, the latter is still something I’m not keen on, it feels at odds with the rest of the show (even though the rest of the show features a fair bit of CGI, its not as cheap looking or ham-fisted as the intro sequence). The title track, Inner Universe, really grew on me by the end of the series and did its job of making me prepared for each episode exactly as it should.

The new intro though, I feel absolutely nothing for, I can’t put my finger on it as I don’t dislike it, but don’t like it either. I’m glad its animated now (well, mostly, the Tachikoma’s certainly looked CGI) and theres alot more focus on the whole of Section 9, but I dunno, maybe my opinion will be swayed one way or the other as the series progresses, I certainly think the tone and mood of the 1st Gig’s plotlines helped me enjoy that particular intro more.

As for the episode itself. I’m already impressed with the amount of screen time Ishikawa seemed to get, and there’s an extra element to Togusa’s personality which makes me feel he’s not entirely completely comfortable with Section 9 anymore, probably due to the way he was treated in the time period between the unit being closed down and re-opened again at the end of the 1st Gig.

This makes me very happy indeed, I wanted some fleshing out of some of the other characters, particularly Togusa (probably because I’m a family man myself and we don’t see enough of them in anime which seems to be heavily focused on teenagers most of the time) and Ishikawa (although the only reason I have for wanting more of this guy is because I think he looks badass).

We’ve already been introduced to what I think will be a major returning group within the series, The Individual Eleven, whom are made out to be a terrorist cell in this first episode but beyond that we don’t know anymore, which is great, I like it when we’re drip fed information. Far too often a series will spill alot of detail all at once about the “enemy”, sometimes they keep all their cards close to their chest till the end and it can feel like they’ve released this information at such a late point because they didn’t know where they were going with the individuals or group involved. Based on the whole Laughing Man case from last term, I can see the creators giving us the right amount of correct and incorrect information as the series progresses, although I hope they get the mix of core plot and side plot episodes better alligned this time around.
 
Are we still going with no-spoilers before midnight on the day the episode is to be watched? Was holding off posting on that assumption, but I don't think there's too much to worry about with episode 1 anyhow.

Not having made it to the end of season 1 this time round, the first series ending isn't as fresh in my mind and I don't think I got as much out of this episode as Riva. I didn't think it was as strong an opener as we got in the previous series; the action scenes were extremely well executed, but I found the first half rather talky. I was surprised at myself, as this isn't something that generally bothers me about GitS. Perhaps it's just that s1 ep1 placed the shootout nearer the start and then dissected it afterwards, rather than having the buildup then the event as was the case here.

On a more positive note, I thought the Major taking control of that terrorist as her 'puppet' was a very interesting touch. The look of sheer horror on his face as she controlled his movements and even his voice actually made me feel sympathy for him. At first I thought it odd that we don't get to hear his inner monologue during the scene, but giving it some consideration, it seems hardly necessary; his face and his body language really say it all.

I also agree with Riva about their drip-feeding details on the Individual Eleven. Much as I liked the stand-alone episodes in the first season and I wouldn't do anything to change them, I think the obvious effort to make everything tie in more to the central case really pays off in the 2nd gig and it makes the whole series feel like a more unified whole.

Lastly, that was a neat little visual nod to the first film there as well. (Would screencap it, but it's rather late at night :( )
 
Well, guess who ended up watching the first couple of episodes last night when he REALLY should have been working? ;)

Lobbed the first disc in sometime in the wee small hours, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed re-watching episode 1. Batou's charging across table tops to get to his target was a massive high point for me, as was this:

Professor Irony said:
Lastly, that was a neat little visual nod to the first film there as well. (Would screencap it, but it's rather late at night :( )
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That'll be the VERY open nod to the beginning of the '95 movie, where Motoko says 'go ahead and die then!' - right?

I honestly had forgotten about the use of the signature GITS shot of Kusanagi falling away from the camera and fading into her camoflage. It gets used again in a more stylised fashion in the Solid State Society movie, as I recall.

I actually punched thwe air when that scene came around. This is my favourite TV show EVER!

(I think we can safely assume I'm on board for the next 24 episodes as well now!)
 
Professor Irony said:
Are we still going with no-spoilers before midnight on the day the episode is to be watched? Was holding off posting on that assumption, but I don't think there's too much to worry about with episode 1 anyhow.
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Nah man, just post up on the day. So anytime before midnight today feel free to post about Episode #2.

Episode #1

Really great episode showing Section 9's reform. I was disappointed with the lack of Pazu in the raid though.

@Riva: I prefer Inner Universe as an OP Theme too, but Rise will grow you don't worry ;)
 
So ignoring Batou and the Major, who are peoples favourite members of Section 9.

I mentioned this in my above post, but mine are Togusa, probably because he's a family man so he has more to take into consideration when acting out orders, and Ishikawa, purely because his beard makes him look like a right badass.
 
Godot said:
I prefer Inner Universe as an OP Theme too, but Rise will grow you don't worry ;)
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'Rise' is an absolutely stellar piece of music. I prefer it to 'Inner Universe' quite a bit. The extended version of it is a pretty mean cut, too.
 
S2 EP1,
I really like the first episode, the way the Major hosts the briefing in her mind is an interesting take, a reference to the Manga. The "camera" work in the episode is stellar. The panning and changing dof is very well done and adds to the feeling that it could be shot as a live action series.

The subject of immigration is a something with current implications in this country which adds to the atmosphere.

Oh and I quite like Rise, not as much as Inner Universe, but I much prefer the end music on 2nd gig.

I also like the Animated intro too over the cg one.
 
S2 EP2
Hmm, a very complicated episode. The constant swapping between reality and the persons delusions meant that it took a few seconds to realise what was what. It reminded me of a film, but I can't for the life of me remember its name. Interesting the major pretending to be a prostitute though and Batou her pimp? Guard?

The main thing is the scene setting for the refugee issues with the news reports etc.
 
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. Togusa is cool as well though, even if he does have that unfortunate mullet.

About the OP theme, I like both Rise and Inner Universe, but I actually prefer Rise as well - I think it just edges it for me. I'm dying to stick up a link to the other 2nd Gig OP for comparison, but there's a certain episode I think it sort of fits in with and I want to wait until we get to that one first.

Hokum said:
S2 EP2
Hmm, a very complicated episode. The constant swapping between reality and the persons delusions meant that it took a few seconds to realise what was what.
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Definitely. I don't think it's controversial to say that 'Night Cruise' is a clear homage to Taxi Driver. Saying that, while it references the film very heavily, I think the writers do take the basic premise in a very different direction and make the story absolutely their own. It's an interesting way for them to sketch in a few world-building details as well, both on the refugees and also on the war.

It's not one of my favourite episodes this season, but this one always stuck with me and I think it's a brave choice to put it so early on in the series, considering it focuses so heavily on a one-off character and barely features section 9 at all.

I'd be interested to know what anyone who hasn't seen Taxi Driver makes of the ending for this one, as I think knowledge of the film leads you to expect Gino the pilot's situation to play out in a certain way. While I know (Taxi Driver spoilers), some people do suggest that Travis's 'battle' at the end is just a figment of his imagination as well, I think the film leaves you feeling that he is, at the very least, a genuinely dangerous character. Gino, on the other hand, seems to be ultimately impotent - both figuratively and literally.
 
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Thought i'd start watching Ghost In The Shell for the first time. Watched 6 episodes so far today and its proving rather interesting. Atm they are on the Laughing Man case :)
 
Episode #2

A really good episode - but as Prof Irony says, it's a ballsy move to put this as episode 2. I'm still needing some more information on the refugee stuff myself - I can't recall it too well.
 
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