The Ghost in the Shell series, two feature length movies and two seasons of a TV show so far, have been some of the most exciting anime to come out of Japan.  Both from an animation and story point of view the series is cutting edge.  For those of you who just can't wait for the second season of the TV series to be released in region 1 starting later this year, Bandai has released Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence - Music Video Anthology.  This is a series of songs from the movie accompanied by some eye-popping images.

The music is good, though it is mainly background type music, a lot of it is instrumentals.  The thing that is really exciting about this disc are the amazing CGI images that they use to illustrate the songs.  They are state of the art animation, with a lot of movement and a lot of detail.  These images don't retell the story from the movie, or really tell any story at all.  They are just high quality animation that will astound fans of the medium.
 
Running at a 37-minutes, I can't say that this is a great deal, but it sure is lovely to look at.

Audio:

This disc offers the choice of a DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1 mix, in addition to a DiMAGIC Virtualizer X Enhanced Stereo mode.  The two 5.1 channel mixes are very good.  The rears are used to good effect, but they aren't overdone.  The music itself is crystal clear, with a wonderful range and excellent definition.  The stereo mix sounded good too, but I definitely preferred the two multichannel mixes.  This is an excellent sounding disc.

There are optional subtitles in Japanese, English, and Karaoke style where the word that is being sung is highlighted.

Video:

The anamorphic widescreen video is absolutely astounding.  The colors are strong, the details are fine and the lines are sharp.  There are no digital defects.  This is a reference level disc.

Extras:

There are two bonus videos, both of which are instrumentals, as well as three trailers.

Final Thoughts:

This collection of music videos has some very attractive animation to accompany the haunting music from Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.  Without anything in the way of a plot or narrative though, I can't see myself popping this in too often.  Since the retail price is pretty high for just 37-minutes of video, I can't really recommend this disc.  Animation fans would want to Rent it, while fans of the music should buy the official soundtrack to the movie.  It is coming out on September 13th, 2005 and retails for $10 less than this DVD.