The complete first season(there were two) of
the Japanese TV anime! This was released in
7 DVD installments, with 4 episodes on each
of the first five discs, and three apiece on the
last two! It appears that each episode is a
stand alone story, just as its name suggests!!
Each episode has a mini anime about Tachikoma
and her(?) friends! Very cute!!!
The review for the series will be at the end of
the final episode as will also the cast listing!!
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX VOL 1(2002):
EPISODE 1: SECTION 9:
The first episode is about an attack on a
geisha house, and the plot behind it! B+
EPISODE 2: TESTATION:
A LARGE tank seems to have gone berserk
and the Section 9 group are sent out to
find out what's going on! A very interesting
story!! B+
EPISODE 3: ANDROID AND I:
This one is about androids going "crazy"
and committing suicide!! B+
EPISODE 4: INTERCEPTION:
This appears to be the first of at least two
episodes about police corruption, perhaps
going even higher up! B+
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX VOL 2(2002/2003):
EPISODE 5: DECOY:
A continuation from the previous episode, this
throws in a threat to the superintendent by the
Laughing Man! B+
EPISODE 6: MEME:
Still continuing the story line about the Laughing
Man, this brings to an end(?) of this! But really,
to me, it was left pretty unsettled!! B
EPISODE 7: IDOLATER:
Wow, I paid pretty close attention to this, but
I still can't say what it's all about! The ending
really messes with your mind!!!! B
EPISODE 8: MISSING HEARTS:
This one is about illegal selling of body parts! B+
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX VOL 3(2003):
EPISODE 9: CHAT! CHAT! CHAT1:
We return you now to the thrilling days of, um,
the Laughing Man! Seems I was right, the story
about the Laughing Man wasn't finished!!
This is based as a chat room where people in
the room are discussing the Laughing Man, and
whether he is one person, or several, or if there
ever was one to begin with! B
EPISODE 10: JUNGLE CRUISE:
This appears to switch gears, and is basically a
murder investigation, which appears to be done
by a serial killer!! B
EPISODE 11: PORTRAITZ:
This one, again is one of those that I'm not really
sure what the main thrust was!!!! Although, there
is another reference to the Laughing Man, and perhaps
who he really is!! What makes this one a little better
than some of the others is the kids, who are supposed
to be autistic, but in reality may be something entirely
different! B+
EPISODE 12: ESCAPE FROM:
This one really digresses! Tachikoma decides
to go out and explore, where in she(?) meets
up with a little girl who is looking for her "pet"!
Tachikoma says that she will help her, but only
as far as the town. Many adventures abound!
And then, bam, it takes a serious turn, with
a box that Tachikoma finds, and the Section
9 group try to find out what it is!! B+
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX VOL 4(2003):
EPISODE 13: NOT EQUAL:
In this, a girl who had been kidnapped 16 years
previous, is spotted! The Section 9 group is
dispatched to find out what is going on!! B+
EPISODE 14: YE$:
This one is about a VERY successful e-trader
whom the Section 9 group find out has had
a contract put out on him!! B+
EPISODE 15: MACHINES DESIRANTES:
The robots, Tachikoma, have a philosophical
discussion about life and just what they are!!!
The Major is not happy about this!! B+
EPISODE 16: AG2O:
So, the Tachikoma's are sent back to the
lab, while Batou is sent on a mission to
find a spy and his contact! B+
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX VOL 5(2003):
EPISODE 17: ANGEL'S SHARE:
The head of Section 9 and Kusanagi
are in London for a convention, when an
old friend of the chief's asks for help on
a scam that is all about wine! B+
EPISODE 18: LOST HERITAGE:
A dignitary from China is visiting Japan to
visit a war museum, when someone threatens
to kill him!! All signs point to the son of an
old friend of the chiefs! B+
EPISODE 19: CAPTIVATED
The former PM's daughter vanishes in plain
sight, and the Section 9 team is on the hunt!! B+
EPISODE 20: RE-VIEW:
Back to the Laughing Man plot, along with
a sub-plot about a vaccine for the deadly
cyber brain sclerosis, all being investigated by Togusa!
This brings him to the Sunflower Society!! B+
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX VOL 6(2003):
EPISODE 21: ERASER:
With Togusa in critical condition and being
operated on, the rest of the section 9 group
go on the hunt to find out who/why he was
shot to begin with!!! B+
EPISODE 22: SCANDAL:
The chief's brother gets arrested, and he
goes out to try to find out what's really
going on!!
Also going on, the major is getting a new
body when she gets a visit from non other
than the Laughing Man!! B+
EPISODE 23: EQUINOX:
The man known as the Laughing Man meets with
Serano, and they apparently make a deal to try
to take down the real culprit behind all the illegal
activities that have been going on!! B+
GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX VOL 7(2003):
EPISODE 24: ANNIHILATION:
The senate(?) has put pressure on the Prime
Minister to bring an end to Section 9, and he
orders the chief to disband!!!!
Things go from bad to worse, as the whole
section 9 group are now being hunted down
by the military, with orders to capture or kill
with no questions asked!! B+
EPISODE 25: BARRAGE:
Things go from bleak to bleaker, as one by one
the section 9 crew get either picked up or killed!!!
Meanwhile, the Tachicomas are planning to try
to help out their friends, especially Batou!! B
EPISODE 26: STAND ALONE COMPLEX:
With the Major dead, and Batou arrested, the
ending becomes all too clear!! Even the
Tachicomas are all gone!! So, what could this
episode even be about????!!!!
All in all, a very satisfying end to a very good
anime!! A
A review from IMDb.com
I'd been looking at the DVDs for a while, but
the different titles on amazon confused me,
so a complete boxed set of season 1 was
excellent.
I'm a major fan of the movie, and i saw
innocence recently, which was stunningly
animated, even if it occasionally went up
it's own backside with the philosophy side
of things.
The series and the movies need to be treated
as separate entities, both tell similar stories,
but they were produced for different contexts.
the animation in the series isn't as polished
as the movie, but why would it be? there's
an overarching storyline, but it doesn't get
in the way of the standalone episodes which
have their own separate stories. a few are
a bit "huh, what?", but most are nice, compact
and exciting, and work their way into the
whole nicely. as to one of the other comments
here, anyone who looks at it as Anime for
teen boys is missing the point, there's a real
plot here, and real characters who work in
a team dynamic, you need to watch
again..... - AJCrowley