The current anime series that I most look forward to viewing is Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig.  This program has everything that makes anime so enjoyable:   entertaining episodes, creative backgrounds, detailed animation, and a mysterious overriding plot.  The fifth volume is just as good as the preceding instalments, presenting four more excellent episodes including (believe it or not) a nice homage to Wim Wenders filim Wings of Desire.

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.

One person in the mix who's motivations aren't very clear is Kuze.  He's an ex-military commander who one day gave up fighting and went to live with the refugees.  Where every he goes, Kuze makes draws people to him like flies to honey.  A legend among the refugees, what he wants with the refugees is still a mystery.

This volume:    

This volume, like the previous ones, has a good mix of stand alone stories and those that advance the overall plot.  Figuring out what Kuze is doing and why he's doing it is the main focus this volume, and the Major travels to some refugee areas to see if she can dig up any clues.  While wandering around killing time before her plane leaves, she runs across a young boy who's being attacked by a group of Yukaza and saves him.  This act of kindness gets her involved with more than she was counting on, including a playing mother to a street-tough kid.

One of the last places I would have expected to see an homage to Wim Wenders' wonderful film Wings of Desire is in an anime series.  Color me surprised.  In the next episode Batou and the Major are called to Berlin to help track down a terrorist known only as "Angel's Feathers."  While cloaked, Batto meets a young girl who seems to be able to see him, even when he's cloaked.  A good story on it's own, viewers who've seen the Wenders film will enjoy it even more.

Things really start to heat up in the last half of the disc.  Getting a line on Kuze, the Major hooks into the net and tries to hack into the ex-officer's eyes in order to tell where he is hiding.  Using some high tech programs to hide from Kuze, she's totally invisible.  That's why she's astounded that Kuze notices her before she even starts hacking into his hardware.  He warns her that she won't like what will happen if she enters his conciseness, but she does anyway.

She imediately pulls out, and is knocked out for a second.  Waking up, it's obvious that she's been deeply effected, but there were no virus' or attack barriers at all.  She did get a glance at where Kuze was hiding however, so Section 9 goes on the offensive.

Arriving at the hideout, instead of finding the terrorist, the walk into an ambush.  The Major was totally wrong in her interpretation of where Kuze was, something that's never happened before.  What's happened to her, and is it permanent?

This was another outstanding disc.  Four excellent shows that were entertaining and engrossing.  It's easy to get sucked into this world and it's inhabitants, as viewers of the first season already know.  In this disc we're also introduced to the Russian version of a Tachikoma, an interesting machine.

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 two small plastic models that are easy to assemble.  The figures are of Togusa and a Tachikoma (!).  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 an interview with director Kenji Kamiyama and actors Atsuko Tanaka (Motoko) and Akio Ohsuka (Datou).  There's also another interview, running about the same length, with director Kenji Kamiyama and voice actors Koichi Yamadera (Togusa) and Taro Yamaguchi (Borma).

Final Thoughts:

This is another great volume.  The plot is progressing nicely, with advances being made but there's still so many pieces missing that anything could happen.  The Wings of Desire episode was an unexpected treat too.  One of the best anime shows out there, this deluxe version is worth the extra money to get the great DTS soundtrack.  Highly Recommended.