Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig just keeps getting better and better.  The fourth volume is another stand out release presenting four episodes that move the plot forward while keeping things mysterious.  In addition details about some of the characters past are revealed including how the sniper Saito lost his left eye.  Another exciting installment of this excellent series.

Series Synopsis:

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.

In this season the political background is much more important.  The are a lot of racial tension in Japan at this time.  Hoards of refugees and immigrants from Asia flooding into the country due to the 2nd Viet Nam War.  At first Japan welcomed the cheap labor to help rebuild after the conflict, but now the middle class sees their tax dollars going to help the new comers at the same time that they are taking up jobs.  Segregated into refugee camps that are nothing more than slums, many fear that these immigrants with little hope will soon turn violent.  Then there are some who hope to use the immigrant's discontent to their own advantage.

This volume:   

Another good volume in this excellent series.  This time around we get to know something about the members of Section Nine.  The first episode continues with the Individual Eleven case, but it has a twist.  The one lead that Section Nine has as to who might be organizing this group points to a facial sculptor.  By the time they track him down however, he's been killed.  The security cameras in his house record the murder, but it shows a new member of Section Nine being the murderer.

Next is a great episode that reminds viewers just how good this series can be.  Some of the guys from Section Nine are playing poker with a pair of police officers.  Saito, Section Nine's sniper, is really cleaning up and when the other players claim it's just luck, Saito disagrees.  He tells everyone how he learned to read people, something that happened during the Mexican war several years earlier.  In that conflict, Saito came face to face with another solider, one who scared him down to the souls of his boots: a total prosthetic female warrior whom most people call Queen Kong but the men under her command only call her "The Major."

The Tachikomas get a chance to shine in this volume too.  When the man who created the mini-tank's AI program is killed in a terrorist attack, some odd things pop up in the investigation.  Maybe the doctor isn't as dead as everyone thought.  This show is interesting as it gives the Tachikomas a chance to talk about the nature of life, as they see it.  I always enjoy their point of view and this time they have some very interesting things to say.

The volume wraps up with a nice story about a Japanese soldier who gives up being a warrior, trades his gun for a camera and travels from camp to camp, living among refugees.  This tale has an unexpected twist that ties things together very satisfactorily.
 
The four episodes presented here do a good job of advancing the main plot line while also fleshing out the personalities of the new recruits as well as exploring the world where this show is placed.  Not only that, but they are all very engrossing.  This is a series that it's easy to get caught up in.  Another excellent installment of one of the best series currently being released.

This deluxe version of the show comes with two discs; one that is the same as the regular release with a DD 5.1 track and some bonus material, and a second DVD with the same episodes repeated but with a DTS sound track.  The deluxe version also comes with three small plastic figures that are easy to assemble.  The figures are of Batou, the CEO, and a maid android in battle pose.  They look very nice once put together.  A good pack-in that's a lot of fun, especially for people like me who decorating our desks with geeky fan-boy items like these.

Audio:

The viewer has the choice of viewing this program with either an English dub (DTS, 5.1 and 2.0) or in the original Japanese (also in DTS, 5.1 and 2.0.)  I viewed these using the DTS track, and was very impressed.  There is good use of the full sound stage 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:   

Like the previous season, 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 DD 5.1 DVD includes a 12-minute interview with director Kenji Kamiyama and actors Takeshi Onozuka (Paz) and Toru Ohkawa (Saito).  There's also another interview, running about the same length, with voice actors Sakiko Tamagawa (the Tachikomas) and Yutaka Nakano (Ishikawa)

Final Thoughts:

This story keeps getting more and more interesting as it progresses.  This series does a great job of crafting a many-layered plot that has plenty of mystery and intrigue, but not so much that it becomes confusing.  The DTS track on this limited edition release sounds great, and the picture looks just as good as every.  This is a series that all anime fans should be watching.  Highly Recommended.