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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Buy | Forbin | # | |||||||||||||||||||||||
I didn't like the movie all that much. Too confusing and I didn't like the story. This on the other hand I enjoyed immensely right to the end.... Bandai usually has an indifferent dubbing team...but this one is the tops! What did I like about it?
Last updated Friday, August 18 2006. Created Friday, August 18 2006. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Buy | Z | # | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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WOW! What an amazing series. After watching the first quarter of this series (my introduction to the GITS family) I knew I couldn't rest until I got them all. And this is the best one. Usually it takes me a while after watching a series to be willing to put a new anime in my top 5, with this one there was never any doubt. This is the type of show that if I was trying to get a friend to give anime a chance I'd show him. From the first minute, which literally had me saying "Holy crap!" out loud, to the end of the show I flew through this series as fast as I could. You won't regret adding this one to your collection. I know I didn't.
Last updated Friday, August 18 2006. Created Friday, August 18 2006. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Buy | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | DillonSOB | # | |||||||||||||||||
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This series was a welcome addition to the great GITS film of the 1990's that left fans wanting more. That film was such a landmark trendsetter, I thought it would be hard to follow it up with anything substantial (especially after so much Hollywood copying like the Matrix, AI, etc.). But this series is clever, complex, and spectacular. Although I prefer the lone hero vs. overwhelming odds paradigm, it's also interesting to follow the adventures of a crack team of anti-hacking, anti-terror agents uncovering plots of conspiracy and crime. Like X-Men or Mission Impossible, each member has unique talents that they lend to the group, and they work very well together. However, some episodes got too bogged down with political scheming and conjecture about existence and other abstract notions that we didn't really care to know about. Other episodes were almost completely dialogue (the chat room episode was unique though), which made them a bit boring. The Laughing Man plotline was very cool, but wasn't very original compared to the old Puppet Master enemy. The Tachikoma story was not that worthy, and their high-pitched kiddie voices got annoying after a while. Though it was touching when they bravely defended Bato in the end. Motoko's character is meant to be stoic, but at least it was refreshing to see life from Togusa and Bato, plus we were given glimpses into their pasts. Chief Aramaki played the role of the sage father figure well, and bridged the gap between Motoko's troops and the stuffy politicians/business The visuals are pretty cool, especially the cityscapes, vehicles/mechs, and light-effects. I think they blended the right mix of CG in there to keep things futuristic but not overwhelming. However, some of the animation seemed cheap for a series of this quality; mouth movements and facial expressions were pretty simplistic. The GITS world was vividly drawn and colored. Like Cowboy Bebop, there is a stark contrast, yet blending, of the future and the 20th Century (but of course GITS is a lot more techno-heavy and modern). For a generally serious anime, it's funny to see Motoko parading around in basically a swimsuit, and the animators give us plenty of T&A shots (we especially got a good look at Motoko's sexy doctor). The music score was run of the mill, with some scenes being a bit too MIDI-video-gamey for my ears. Following the series theme, songs were more on the techno/hard rock side. But in summery, GITS SAC was an intriguing, well-made series that is entertaining and worth the buy. Last updated Saturday, April 24 2004. Created Friday, April 23 2004. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Buy | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | Kaali | # | ||||||||||||||||||
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[I have only watched this series once.] I was positively surprised by this series. I did like the original movie, but i still had my doubts about this series. The reason why i had my doubts propably was because i thought that this series consists of fillers after fillers, which it mostly did. But the difference in this series is, that none, absolutely none of the "filler" episodes was boring. This series has a lot of stuff about blending the line between robots and living beings and some very nice storylines about this. Themes ranged from AI's getting consious, falling in love with AI, to hacking cybernetically enchanted brains etc. with a lot of philoshophical ideas. This is an action/sci-fi series that makes you think about these stuff. The series isn't just about the fillers, it also has 7-10 episode long story spread here and there called "complex episodes", the fillers are titled "stand alone episodes". I really enjoyed watching these story episodes too, but i won't reveal anything about them so i won't accidentally spoil anything. I recommend this series if you want to see some sci-fi action with brains. - Art / Animation: Top notch. Well, the series beginning 3d-crap was.. quite crappy. But the CGI used in the series was very well executed. And the animation/art overally was very consistant good quality stuff. Well, maybe they should have cutten those mullets. And Motokos clothing were quite crap most of the time. - Character design: This series has a lot of interesting characters. Maybe few of the Section 9 crew was left a bit 1-dimensional but overrally the character design was excellent. - Music: There are some very nice songs. But comparing to the original movie these songs did not have the same feel to them, actually i was disappointed about that. Well, these songs still fit in the series feel. - Series Story: It was good. And so were the fillers. Last updated Wednesday, April 07 2004. Created Tuesday, April 06 2004. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Buy | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | Devil Doll | # | |||||||||||||||||
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[Score: 85% = Buy. Other recommended SciFi/Mecha animes: Shin Seiki Evangelion, Uchuu no Stellvia]
Oh wow! The last quarter of this series kept me watching breathlessly to the very end, absolutely demanding a "Buy" rating for this series. Except for the characters this series came quite close to my favorite police series Silent Mobius - and that's as high a comparison as an action series can probably ever get from me. The 30 min teaser special "A Prior Notice", kind of an "introduction into the world of GitS" (explaining a couple of technical terms such as "ghost" or "standalone complex", presenting all members of section 9, showing synopses of the first two episodes and providing some "making of" elements, including excerpts from the press release) tells us that GitS SAC takes place in a parallel world to the one where Koukaku Kidoutai took place (as Kusanagi Motoko can't have lived through the events of that movie in this time line). The technical standard is what you would expect from a good 2002 anime: Art is fine, Animation is excellent (with breathtaking CG elements embedded in many scenes), Kanno Youko's Music is not my taste but appropriately "gloomy tech" for this cyberpunk scenario ("Lithium Flower" as ED song), with the exception of "Inner Universe" as great OP song, with lyrics consisting of English, Latin and Russian lines... Being the predecessor to the Koukaku Kidoutai movie, the first four episodes introduce the special police unit "Section 9" and their staff - here you will learn the origin for the main characters and their position in a world of complex dependencies and political ploys, with 'cyber-brains' for most every people. Public Peace Section 9 will be put in charge with most every kind of important case, be that investigating the kidnapping of politicians or starting heavily armed rescue operations. With most members being more or less cyborgs equipped with the latest technology and weaponry these eight people can do surprising things - but their opponents aren't sissies either. Starting with the action-packed double feature episode 5 and 6, the main Story arc of "the Laughing Man", supposedly a cyber terrorist hacking the "ghost" (i. e. the psychic identity of a human or equivalent being) of cyber-brain equipped people who increasingly connect themselves to the Internet, is put into the focus of the narration. We soon learn that this hacker has his own ethical agenda, trying to bring "the truth" to the people - whatever that actually means. Once he has crossed the path of Section 9 they'll pass each other by every now and then, and this security unit will inevitably be dragged deeper into his case. Most of the series is episodic, and the Characters don't get too much depth or even development - it's more of an action series than its predecessor movie (including occasional trips into philosophic area, such as episode 15), with terror acts, criminal organizations, trading of human organs, cybercrimes... you name it. The team of Section 9, consisting of eight members, is basically just that, a team: The white-haired, thoughtful leader Aramaki Daisuke, the energetic major Kusanagi Motoko, her powerful right hand Batou, the "mostly human" ex-detective Togusa, the information specialist Ishikawa, the sharp-shooter Saito, and the also-rans Bomer and Pazu - they all work together seamlessly. We get only some background information about the first four of them, mostly in side stories featuring the past life of one of them. Individualism, while being a fundamental philosophic concept of this series, isn't actually a primary attribute of these characters; albeit being the good guys their role isn't to be really loved by the audience - there are other characters that are more developing in this story, and attaching more to the audience's hearts. And the Section 9 people make too few mistakes to appear human enough. The Episode Stories are thrilling with high narration speed and plausible conclusions. There's lots of action scenes with gunplay as well as close combat; the violence level is rather high at times (Episode 10 was putting my stomach to a severe test, that's no lite stuff at all, and episode 13 comes with a full-fledged carnage). Then again, there's some dry humour (mostly from Batou's disrespectful remarks about his superiors) - and don't forget the cute Tachikomas, police fighting machines looking like blue giant metal spiders with the brains of curious children! After a couple of side stories (to give more life to the main characters) the main storyline is revived in episode 20, and from here on the suspense and action elements dominate, using excessive violence at times but never completely leaving the philosophical layer: identity, information, individuality, life&death, and the price for justice - they're all significant parts of the story. The ending is marvellously executed, closing all open ends while not providing a simplistic solution for the underlying problem. So unless you can't handle the bloodshed you should absolutely give this series a serious try, regardless whether you're into dramas, action thrillers or brain-bending philosophical disputes - there's enough of all these for everyone. The one thing you won't get is romance of any kind - it's a cold world (but an exciting one nonetheless), which is where Silent Mobius is most different from this one. Last updated Friday, June 06 2008. 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| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Azusa | # | |||||||||||||||||
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It's a cool series and is a complex storyline it's cool and the animation is great i like the opening song too it's wicked :D i love it and i don't think i'll ever get tired of it
Last updated Saturday, June 14 2003. Created Saturday, June 14 2003. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Ðå kïÐ | # | |||||||||||||||||
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Hey i doubt you will get to see this on dvd for now or maybe you will but this is a must have for your collection my god i liked vampire hunter d: bloodlust alot!!! and i just watched the first episode of this man if your on dsl i suggest you download it, if its not out on DVD man they animation is awesome, Icouldnt have waited a minute more to tell you all about this and I think I saw it somewhere that there gonna be 26 episodes in all. If you love the movie you'll love this TRUST ME THIS IS AMAZING EMAIL ME AT MY NEW EMAIL KID_HUSTLES@HOTMAIL. Last updated Tuesday, March 04 2003. Created Tuesday, March 04 2003. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Buy | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Nurika | # | |||||||||||||||||
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I thought this anime was amazing to my eyes. I mean the anime, art and graphic design was WOW. The music was stimulating on my mind. I loved the experience the movie casted on you.
Last updated Thursday, February 20 2003. Created Thursday, February 20 2003. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex | http://www.production-ig.com/Ghost_TV.html |
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