Things really start to heat up in the penultimate volume of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig.  While this sixth volume only has three episodes they sure pack a wallop as Japan gets pushed to the brink of war, despite the best efforts of Section 9.  With the Prime Minister painted into a corner it seems that Mr. Gohda is holding all the cards.  These shows set the stage for the show's conclusion, which should be exciting.

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.
 
The other major player in this series is Mr. Gohda, the horribly scarred head of Cabinet Information Security (CIS).  He appears to be pulling the strings of several government agencies, and possibly Section 9 as well.  How much he's involved with the refugees and Kuze, and more importantly what his goals are, still remains to be seen.

This volume: 

A trio of episodes that move the overall plot forward a good bit, this is another excellent, though short, volume.  The disc picks up where the previous one left off, with Section 9 springing a trap to capture Kuze once and for all as he attempts to buy some Plutonium from a Russian group.  Kuze isn't so easy to trap however, and when he and Batto come up against each other, it's anyone's guess who will ultimately win.

Things start heating up politically too.  Mr. Gohda has been telling the Prime Minister that the refugees have the potential to create a nuclear bomb and set it off in a major Japanese city.  The PM is ready to send troops in, a move that will certainly lead to war.  The Chief and Section 9 are positive that there is no danger, and are more interested in Mr. Gohda.  Is he trying to start a war?  To what end?  No matter what he's up to, it'll be hard to stop the PM from erring on the side of caution.

Things go from bad to worse in the final episode in this volume.  The PM is really stuck between a rock and a hard place.  With the hawks in the cabinet pressuring her to deploy troops, she is left with no good options.  If she sends the defense forces out, it will certainly flare up into a war.  If she doesn't her opponents will use the nuclear material that the refugees are rumored to have to remove her from office and then send the troops in anyway.  While things are dicey on the political front, the major has a risky plan to defuse the situation, but it involves smuggling Plutonium into the rebel stronghold.

One of the best series that's currently being released, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig is really starting to pick up as the series draws to a close.  One of the things that this series does masterfully is being able to balance action and plot.  The story is very convoluted and interesting with many unforseen twists and turns.  It can get dragged down in exposition at times while someone relates their theory of just what's going on however.  This is balanced out with some nice fight scenes that ramp up the excitement and exhilaration of the show.  A wonderful mix that works very well.

This deluxe version of the show comes with two discs in a nice tin case; 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 Tachikoma, the CEO, and a maid android in battle pose.  (These are slightly different versions, and not the same figures that were released in earlier sets.)  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, the DD 5.1 disc in this set includes an interview with director Kenji Kamiyama and actors Osuma Saka (Aramaki) and Yoshiko Sakakihara (Prime Minister Kayabuki).

Final Thoughts:

This program has everything that makes anime so enjoyable:   entertaining episodes, a creative back story, detailed animation, and a mysterious overriding plot.  Whether the deluxe version with the cool tin case, extra DTS audio tracks and fun bonus figures is worth the added cost is debateable, but the show itself is definitely worth the money.  One of the few 'must buy' anime series currently being released, this disc is Highly Recommended.