After two successful TV seasons and a pair of theatrically released films, Ghost in the Shell returns with a straight-to-video movie:  Ghost in the Shell:  Solid State Society.  In the US, direct video releases are often horrible, movies that weren't good enough for even a limited theatrical release.  That's not the case in Japan.  There original video animation (OVA) are often very good, shows that boast bigger budgets and higher production values that their televised counterparts.  This OVA looks and sounds great, and the complex story will keep viewers interest.  A nice addition to the GitS world.

Series background:

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 movie:

Some time has past since the 2nd Gig.  In the intervening years, Major Motoko Kusanagi has left the organization and Togusa has been promoted to division chief.  Batou was offered the job, but didn't think his personality was suited to being the boss, and he's become more intense and moody with time.

As the movie opens, Section 9 is investigating the bizarre suicides of a group of Indonesian operatives.  When one of them takes a hostage and cries that he doesn't want the "puppeteer" to kill him, and then takes his own life, Section 9 realizes that they have a high grade hacker to track down.  The Puppeteer is able to hijack someone's conscience and make them do whatever he wants them to, including killing themselves.  When Batou is tracking down a lead, he encounters the Major who is apparently working on the same case.  But maybe she isn't working on the same side as Section 9 anymore.

The investigation also leads to some kidnapped children, 20,000 in fact.  How could so many children go missing without anyone noticing, and what do they have to do with the Puppeteer and the Indonesian operatives?

This was an exciting and engaging story, just like the previous two television series.  Originally envisioned to be two OVA specials, this single installment episode's only real flaw is that it tries to cram too much into too little time.  With a complex and convoluted plot, just like the two Ghost in the Shell TV seasons, this show has the same feel as the TV program.  The difference is that there's not any down time or stand-alone sections to give viewers a break.  When watching this viewers have to pay close attention to keep track of the cast of characters and the various plot twists, and that gets to be a bit tiring after a while.  I little down time would have made the movie a  little stronger.

Aside from that complaint, the show is quite good.  With a tight script, creative plot, and exciting action-filled conclusion, this movie takes all of the good parts of the TV series and distills it down to an hour and a half.  A pretty impressive feat.

Like the Stand Alone Complex volumes themselves, this direct-to-video movie comes in two flavors:  a regular version that contains the movie and a couple of extras, and a limited edition (LE) form.  The LE comes packaged in a tin box that is really cool, includes a CD of the soundtrack, and has an extra disc of bonus items that isn't available with the regular edition.

One note of warning:  While the LE is definitely worth the extra money, I'd recommend buying it at a brick and mortar store.  The tin is easily damaged and it would be nice to be able to inspect them first, but even worse is the way the discs arrive in the tin.  As the tin opens up the CD is on the left leaf and the movie and extras disc are on the right, partially overlapping.  Unfortunately someone without a lot of brains decided that the security tag, that little white rectangle of plastic that is often found inside DVD cases, should be placed under the Extras disc.  What a bone-headed move.  The disc with the bonus items is likely to get scratched, and more than one person on the web has stated that their disc was so badly marred that it wouldn't play correctly.  I'd advise opening the set immediately after purchase and inspecting the second DVD.

Audio:

The viewer has the choice of watching this program with either an English dub (DD 5.1 and DTS options) or in the original Japanese (also in DD 5.1 and DTS.)  I viewed these using the Japanese DTS track, and was very impressed.  There is good use of the full sound stage which gives 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.  There are optional full English subtitles or just subtitles for the signs and song lyrics.

Video:

Like the seasons of Ghost in the Shell, the video on this movie is absolutely stellar.  The anamorphic widescreen video (1.78:1) was encoded from a high definition master and is just about flawless.  The colors were excellent, blending gracefully from shade to shade without only the most minor traces of banding.  The picture was sharp and the definition was first-rate.  This is a great looking show.

Extras:

Main disc:  This disc has a cute 4½-minute Uchikomatic Days, which tells the origins (sort of) of the Tachikoma's replacements.  There is also the option to play the movie with the storyboard drawings in the lower right corner of the picture.

Extras disc available only with the LE version:  There's a nice set of extras included with the LE.  In addition to a pair of trailers (both American and Japanese), there is the World Work File, a 30-minute behind-the-scenes featurette.  This is a promotional piece that was created before the movie was released to both drum up interest in the project and bring viewers who might have missed the previous series up to date.  They also interview the director and character designer and other people who worked on the story.

Next up is Making of Tachikoma Robot.  This look at the creation of a robotic scale model Tachikoma was pretty interesting.  I'd love to have one. Production I. G. and Nissan teamed up to work on the car designs, and this is chronicled in Anime + Car Design - Designing the Car of the Future. Clocking in at nearly half an hour this shows how much thought and attention went into the car designs, something that's usually fairly minor.

There are two interviews included too, with both the English and Japanese production companies getting time to give their take on the story, characters, and meaning. I especially enjoyed the interview with Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, one of the founders of Production I. G.  He had a lot of interesting stories to relate about the show and its genesis.

Final Thoughts:

While this made-for-video movie doesn't eclipse the two TV series, it is very good.  With a complex but riveting plot and excellent animation this has all of the hallmarks of the series.  The only problem is that does try to put a little too much into its hour and a half running time.  Never the less, if you're a fan of the series, you should make it a point of pick this up.  Highly Recommended.