Posted: 06/14/2011

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on Blu-ray

by Ruben R. Rosario

Premiering on Blu-ray June 21, 2011 from Anchor Bay Entertainment and Manga Entertainment.

If there was an anime that I thought would need to be on the Blu-ray format, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex would definitely be in my top five. Now, thanks to Manga Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment and Anchor Bay Entertainment, we’ll have the condensed film versions of Stand Alone Complex in The Laughing Man, S.A.C. 2nd Gig in The Individual Eleven, as well as the S.A.C. film, Solid State Society, in HD. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is set in the year 2030 in an advanced Tokyo, where cyber-terrorism runs rampant. Homeland security force Section 9, led by Major Motoko Kusanagi and Chief Daisuke Aramaki, must deal with these hackers that threaten the government, the corporate world and the very people of Tokyo.

In The Laughing Man, a former colleague gives Detective Togusa of Section 9 some new clues regarding the cyber crime of the century, the “Laughing Man Incident”. This sparks a full blown conspiracy regarding the top nanotech firms in collusion with the government, leaving Major Kusanagi and Section 9 to fend for themselves. The film is presented in 1080i that looks really good, even if it’s not progressive, due to the high production values of the show. The audio is presented in the full uncompressed 5.1 Japanese and English tracks that are both really good in terms of quality. The dialog, score and sound effects are utilized very well in both mixes and give justice to the action packed film. The only fault that I can give this film is the clumsy nature of the edit, supervised by director Kenji Kamiyama, to make a 26 episode series into a 2 hour film. The original show was very dense with hacking crimes and various incidents that were all interrelated to develop the government conspiracy. There are well constructed flashback episodes in the TV show that help the viewer understand the links between all of the crimes happening. This film just bombards the audience with all of these things, that even a seasoned veteran of the show drained while trying to watch The Laughing Man in one sitting.

As for The Individual Eleven, Section 9 must deal with Gouda, a member of Central Intelligence that is pulling the strings to incite a war. His pawns are the Individual Eleven, a terrorist cell that is working for the democracy for refugees that have asylum in Japan due to World War IV. The audio and video are the same as The Laughing Man, 1080i and uncompressed 5.1 Japanese and English tracks that are just as awesome. This edit is a bit more cohesive and works much better than the first film. I’m assuming that Kamiyama learned from the first edit and decided the needed elements from the second season in order to deliver the story in a film format. The pacing, action and information flows much smoother than the previous Laughing Man compilation. The extras on both films are a 32 minute behind the scenes with Kenji Kamiyama discussing the re-edit of the material as well as a look into the Japanese recording sessions with the voice actors.

Set two years later, Solid State Society decides to take the universe that Kamiyama and company have set up in the series and adapt the original story by Masamune Shirow and the first film by Mamoru Oshii. The master hacker, Puppet Master is causing problems for Section 9 that lead them to an organization called the Solid State Society. While the others were only in 1080i, this is presented in full 1080p and look absolutely gorgeous. The audio is both uncompressed 5.1 English and Japanese to give the audience a very bold mix. The film relies heavily on the prior knowledge of the television shows to get the most out of it. The film isn’t as thoughtful nor philosophical as Oshii’s take on Shirow’s work. It’s seems as if Kamiyama tried to do that with the film, like he did in the actual series with the Tachikoma tanks but doesn’t succeed in this, even while invoking the “Puppet Master”. Nevertheless, it’s still very entertaining as a science fiction thriller and very well done compared to most anime productions.

Overall, this is a great presentation of beautiful series, even if it is 3 film versions of a TV show. This is aimed at people that don’t have the time nor money to spend on anime in bulk. If it takes these three films to spread the love of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, then it’s a worthy addition to HD format for which people just might want to dabble into the medium itself. If you already own all of the two SAC series, you might just want to update Solid State Society— the other two are merely compilations of stuff you already own.

Ruben R. Rosario is a graduate from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Audio for Visual Media. He works as a freelance location sound mixer, boom operator, sound designer, and writer in his native Chicago. He’s an avid collector of films, comics, and anime.

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