Re: CX anime reviews
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 1:08 pm
Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
(26 episode series)
A great follow up to the first season (or series, technically), this is actually the first anime I ever actively got interested in and made a point of watching. And while I really didn't fully understand what was going on because I caught it toward the end of its first showing on Adult Swim, it is a testament to its quality that it still had me hooked from the first time I saw it. I found it so interesting that when Adult Swim re-ran it, I made sure to watch everything from the start of the first SAC series.
Once again the series kind of easies us into the plot. Theoretically we should already know everyone, but the first episode makes a kind of point to reintroduce everyone and briefly recap what happened in the first Stand Alone Complex series while it simultaneously introduces us into what will become a major plotline. That does weaken the first episode a little, but not a whole lot.
The major difference in this sequel series is that we are introduced to a major plotline up front, from the first episode. There's some kind of conspiratory group calling itself "The Individual Eleven" which has been carrying out terrorist attacks, and has gone on to threaten Japan's Prime Minister. There also seem to be some similarities with the Laughing Man incident in that some of the people involved seemed to have gotten their ghosts hacked. This gets Section 9 on the case and investigating. This leads comes to a head, with a lot of people ending up killing themselves due to a virus that makes them think that they are a member of the Individual Eleven. This in turn leads to even bigger things, and a conspiracy that at least attempts to make the one from the first season look small by comparison. In the end, though, this does seem to give us something of a false plotline, as that plot was only a lead-in to another plot, which in turn made what was initially a relatively minor character take on a much larger importance.
This series also carries on the first one's tradition of breaking things up with some stand alone episodes which allow us to explore the characters a bit more in depth, including Major Kusanagi herself. For 2nd GIG, these episodes focus a lot more on the character's backgrounds, which is how we learn about the circumstances that resulted in her getting a completely prosthetic body, as well as what turns out to be a connection to the main antagonist of the series. Of course they don’t really make it that hard to figure out, either.
Of course, everything seems to have a way of leading back to the main plotline, though there are still a few things left unresolved, like whatever ended up happening to a woman that Togusa saved at one point. Things like that seem to have been overlooked or forgotten in favor of putting the puzzle pieces in place for the main plot, which involves a revolution to establish an independent nation within Japan that's mad up of refugees from a recent war in Asia (I think that's where they're from anyway). The leader of this movement is one of the Individual Eleven who managed to overcome the virus and stop from killing himself. He apparently has some even loftier goals, which he sees as the next stage in human evolution. This is, of course, a very sci-fi idea, namely that humans could simply choose to evolve into something else. In this case he thinks humans could all exist on the net, without the need for physical bodies. His goal isn't quite as sympathetic as the Laughing Man's, but whatever.
Everything leading up to the conflict at the end of the series is pretty exciting, as is the final conflict itself. Everything was very fast-paced and action-packed, and I have to say that this is a big part of why I got excited about this series even though I didn't know what was going on when I first saw it. The nice thing about it, though, it that even with all the action, there was still an undercurrent of some very sci-fi themes, including the main Ghost in the Shell philosophical theme of existentialism. I actually ended up writing a short paper citing this series as an example just on how it treated artificial life alone, and as annoying as they could be at times, the Tachikomas played a big part in that. After all, they had developed sentience and in the end they chose to sacrifice themselves yet again to save Japan from another nuclear attack.
Speaking of, I can't help but note the undercurrent of anti-Americanism yet again. About the only difference this time is that instead of being complete buffoons, the "Imperial" Americans were just shady types willing to conspire with some Japanese attempting a coup of their own government. I won't get into it too far so as not to spoil anyone who hasn't seen it too much, but while it does take a while for all the details to be clear, it isn't all that hard to figure it out say an episode or two before hand. Apparently taking a shot at the United States was more important than not making their somewhat complex plot completely predictable.
Still, it's a good series, and it was pretty fun to watch. I'd say that this season/series was just as good as the first one, even with its flaws, and the complete series as a whole remains my favorite anime. It's also one of my favorite sci-fis, period. 9/10.
(26 episode series)
A great follow up to the first season (or series, technically), this is actually the first anime I ever actively got interested in and made a point of watching. And while I really didn't fully understand what was going on because I caught it toward the end of its first showing on Adult Swim, it is a testament to its quality that it still had me hooked from the first time I saw it. I found it so interesting that when Adult Swim re-ran it, I made sure to watch everything from the start of the first SAC series.
Once again the series kind of easies us into the plot. Theoretically we should already know everyone, but the first episode makes a kind of point to reintroduce everyone and briefly recap what happened in the first Stand Alone Complex series while it simultaneously introduces us into what will become a major plotline. That does weaken the first episode a little, but not a whole lot.
The major difference in this sequel series is that we are introduced to a major plotline up front, from the first episode. There's some kind of conspiratory group calling itself "The Individual Eleven" which has been carrying out terrorist attacks, and has gone on to threaten Japan's Prime Minister. There also seem to be some similarities with the Laughing Man incident in that some of the people involved seemed to have gotten their ghosts hacked. This gets Section 9 on the case and investigating. This leads comes to a head, with a lot of people ending up killing themselves due to a virus that makes them think that they are a member of the Individual Eleven. This in turn leads to even bigger things, and a conspiracy that at least attempts to make the one from the first season look small by comparison. In the end, though, this does seem to give us something of a false plotline, as that plot was only a lead-in to another plot, which in turn made what was initially a relatively minor character take on a much larger importance.
This series also carries on the first one's tradition of breaking things up with some stand alone episodes which allow us to explore the characters a bit more in depth, including Major Kusanagi herself. For 2nd GIG, these episodes focus a lot more on the character's backgrounds, which is how we learn about the circumstances that resulted in her getting a completely prosthetic body, as well as what turns out to be a connection to the main antagonist of the series. Of course they don’t really make it that hard to figure out, either.
Of course, everything seems to have a way of leading back to the main plotline, though there are still a few things left unresolved, like whatever ended up happening to a woman that Togusa saved at one point. Things like that seem to have been overlooked or forgotten in favor of putting the puzzle pieces in place for the main plot, which involves a revolution to establish an independent nation within Japan that's mad up of refugees from a recent war in Asia (I think that's where they're from anyway). The leader of this movement is one of the Individual Eleven who managed to overcome the virus and stop from killing himself. He apparently has some even loftier goals, which he sees as the next stage in human evolution. This is, of course, a very sci-fi idea, namely that humans could simply choose to evolve into something else. In this case he thinks humans could all exist on the net, without the need for physical bodies. His goal isn't quite as sympathetic as the Laughing Man's, but whatever.
Everything leading up to the conflict at the end of the series is pretty exciting, as is the final conflict itself. Everything was very fast-paced and action-packed, and I have to say that this is a big part of why I got excited about this series even though I didn't know what was going on when I first saw it. The nice thing about it, though, it that even with all the action, there was still an undercurrent of some very sci-fi themes, including the main Ghost in the Shell philosophical theme of existentialism. I actually ended up writing a short paper citing this series as an example just on how it treated artificial life alone, and as annoying as they could be at times, the Tachikomas played a big part in that. After all, they had developed sentience and in the end they chose to sacrifice themselves yet again to save Japan from another nuclear attack.
Speaking of, I can't help but note the undercurrent of anti-Americanism yet again. About the only difference this time is that instead of being complete buffoons, the "Imperial" Americans were just shady types willing to conspire with some Japanese attempting a coup of their own government. I won't get into it too far so as not to spoil anyone who hasn't seen it too much, but while it does take a while for all the details to be clear, it isn't all that hard to figure it out say an episode or two before hand. Apparently taking a shot at the United States was more important than not making their somewhat complex plot completely predictable.
Still, it's a good series, and it was pretty fun to watch. I'd say that this season/series was just as good as the first one, even with its flaws, and the complete series as a whole remains my favorite anime. It's also one of my favorite sci-fis, period. 9/10.