Now into the second half of the series, Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex continues to deliver strong, well written stories. The fifth volume features four more episodes, the first three of which are 'stand alone' stories, and the fourth a 'complex' episode that continues that mystery of the Laughing Man.

In the not too distant future, most humans are augmented by cybernetic implants. These implants make people faster, stronger, and more powerful. No longer do you have to spend excruciating hours in the gym to get the perfect body, you can just order one. Crime is still prevalent in this future society, and the criminals are now much more powerful. In order to combat these criminals, a special division of the police, Section 9 has been created. Manned with state of the art cybernetically enhanced officers Section 9 handles the cases that no one else is equipped to.

This volume starts off with three stand alone episodes that are all enjoyable. The first one showcases the chiefs talents. While visiting an old friend in England, the chief finds himself in the middle of a hold-up. Rather than being a hostage though he tries to help the crooks evade the police, and in the process shows how powerful an unarmed old man can be.

In the next episode Section Nine has to protect a visiting dignitary from being assassinated. Even though the assassin is only 16 years old, it will take all of their talent to protect the foreigner.

Then Section Nine has to come to the aid of a politician. A powerful Senator's daughter has been kidnaped, along with several other anonymous women, so that their organs can be harvested and sold on the black market. This is a crime that the Senator has strongly denied ever takes place, and it would be political suicide for him to admit that this is a problem. That might be the only way to flush the criminals out of hiding though. Which is stronger, a man's ambition or the love for his daughter?

The final episode on the disc gets back to the mystery of the Laughing Man. Togusa is still thinking about his time undercover at the Cyberbrain treatment facility (volume three.) He's convinced that one of the children he was working with is the Laughing Man. Something that the boy wrote gets the wheels spinning, and he convinces himself that Section Nine has been going down the wrong path. They know that the Laughing Man is after data, and they have been looking for evidence that computer files have been copied or accessed improperly. Togusa believes that the criminal isn't after computer data, but something that is only available as a hard copy. After spending days inventorying a certain warehouse full of government records, he discovers that one volume is missing: a chronicle of a medical experiment that was done years ago and declared a failure. Who would want such information, and how does it connect with the Laughing Man's previous crimes?

It's no secret that I really enjoy this series. Part police procedural, part action show and part psychological drama, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex creates a world that is very detailed and rich. The stand alone episodes are always fun, often gripping and sometimes horrific. The series does a good job of telling an interesting story while also revealing details of the world that Section Nine operates in.

I enjoy watching Section Nine go through their paces. The mystery unfolds as the detectives find new clues, and the police work that they do gives the series a realistic feel. While the plots can sometimes be a little confusing and conveluted, someone always explains just what was going on and everyone's motives at the end of the show.

As much as I enjoy the stand alone shows, the complex episodes are my favorites. They are the real meat of the series. Watching this case go one for many months, possibly years, is not only interesting but engrossing. The Laughing Man is such an enigma, and the clues that he leaves in his wake are so rare, that every new piece of information about him that is revealed gets your brain spinning about what it all means.

The complex episodes remind me of William Gibson's landmark book Neuromancer a bit. They both contain a very complex and convoluted story that seems to be random at times. However you know that in the end the underlying themes and meanings will all be revealed.

I was sorry to see that the Tachikomas, the sentient robot tanks, are no longer featured in the series. As revealed in the previous volume they had to be sent back to the factory because their AI programs were developing in unexpected ways. I was happy to discover that they continued having Tachikomatic Days as a bumper after the credits though. These short cartoons are often funny and distinctly odd. A wonderful match to the show.

This DVD comes in two versions. A regular version, which is the version that is reviewed here, and a deluxe version. The deluxe version has an extra disc with the same episodes repeated but with a DTS sound track and a "collectible ID card."

Audio:

The viewer has the choice of viewing this program with either an English dub (5.1 and 2.0) or in the original Japanese (also 5.1 and 2.0.) There is good use of the full sound stage on the 5.1 tracks, giving the show a very encompassing feeling. Music and incidental effects come from all angles surrounding the viewer, but these never become overpowering. There isn't a trace of hiss or distortion, and everything is very clear and crisp. I viewed the show in both English and Japanese, and I had a preference for the original language, but the English dub sounded great as well, with the voice talent doing a good job. There are optional full English subtitles or just subtitles for the signs and song lyrics.

Video:

The video on this show is absolutely stellar. The anamorphic widescreen video was encoded from a high definition master and is just about flawless. The colors were excellent, blending gracefully from shade to shade without any signs of banding. The picture was sharp and the definition was first-rate. This is a great looking show.

Extras:

In addition to a series of trailers, this DVD, like the previous volumes, includes a pair of interviews. This time around we get to hear from the mechanical designers Kenzi Teraoka and Shinobu Tsuneki in one and DP Koji Tanaka and 3D director Makoto Endo in the other.

Final Thoughts:

Another great volume. Ghost in the Shell is one of those shows that starts going strong from the first notes of the intro song and doesn't let up until the credits start to roll. The animation is absolutely fantastic, with a seamless mix of CGI and traditional animation, and the stories are interesting. Highly Recommended.