Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

[korn469]

I've only seen the first season of Gits:SAC, nothing else GITS related, and I enjoyed it. I thought the animation was pretty top notch for hand drawn stuff. Though watching the starting sequence I was hoping it was going to be computer animation. Overall it seemed more realistic than most anime. I'm so glad that there wasn't a blushing school girl, or the blurred background representing speed as a character goes a drop kick or whatever.

The overall plot wasn't bad, but the laughing man philosophy parts were horrible. Copies with no original oh noes!!!! More like it was a bunch of dumbass copy cat criminals trying to recreate a criminal event that was widely misperceived/manipulated. There was an original event, the copy cats were just mimicking the event's spin, not the laughing man's original intent. There wasn't some type of philosophical conundrum, even though the characters thought one existed.

I wish that more of the episodes would have been complex episodes instead of stand alone episodes, and I didn't really understand why the government had to violently take out section 9, instead of telling them to surrender.

I also agree with Riesstiu IV about the Tachikomas having faggy children's voices, but even worse they had faggy cliche anime children's personalities. It would have been one thing if they only had the same obnoxious voices, but acted like mature bad asses or something else besides excitied anime school girls. They were the worst part of the entire show. Well except when the special forces killed them.

[DinoDoc]

Were you watching the Original Japanese versions or the American ones? Because I never picked up any racism from Motoko and the gang only from the Individual 11 and Gouda. Also if we're thinkijng about the same looser, he was someone there were investigating as a possible assassin and Japanese.

[Tattila the Hun]

Those "tall, strapping japanese" tend to be cyborgs. And when have you seen refugees, that are not, well, doing too well?

[Riesstiu IV]

Originally posted by Alinestra Covelia
I've just watched 28 (?) which is about all the Asian refugees in Japan.

This episode is going to be the one that makes me stop watching in disgust. The entire episode clearly reinforces my earlier post - the Japanese culturally see themselves as separate from the Asians. The Asian refugees in this episode are shown to be stocky, swarthy, and fundamentally different from the tall strapping Japanese. The central theme of vengeance is described by Motoko with uncharacteristic venom as the dream of a loser who would never accomplish anything. Basically the message I got from this episode was: if you're Asian, but not Japanese*, don't even bother - you'll never amount to anything much except suckling at the teat of Mother Japan's dole handouts.

* Of course, in the Japanese way of thinking, Asian and Japanese are two mutually exclusive categories. So this was just included for all you culturally ignorant viewers who may have thought they were Asian, when they're clearly Aryan Europeans, as drawn in this animation.

Stick me with a fork - I'm done watching this. The low point of the first series was the "Chat! Chat! Chat!" episode, which was just badly scripted and where nothing of value actually happened. But that took about 10 episodes to arrive. 2nd Gig has outdone its predecessor by making me retire in disgust at an outright racist episode only two sessions in.

I can see where your coming from. There is also a strong bias in favor of the Japanese throughout the series. I think one of the most laughable episodes was when one Section 9's snipers recounted a story of killing an entire squad of UN soldiers, except for the Japanese soldiers of course.

[The Mad Monk]

Who are now his buddies. You forgot that part.

[Riesstiu IV]

More like his butt buddies. That guy was a flamer.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Riesstiu IV
I can see where your coming from. There is also a strong bias in favor of the Japanese throughout the series.

I did like the episode about the scientist trying to escape to the Americans in an effort to gain his freedom.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Alinestra Covelia
Stick me with a fork - I'm done watching this. The low point of the first series was the "Chat! Chat! Chat!" episode, which was just badly scripted and where nothing of value actually happened. But that took about 10 episodes to arrive. 2nd Gig has outdone its predecessor by making me retire in disgust at an outright racist episode only two sessions in.

Couple things, cyborgs and soldiers are unlikely to be anything less than examples of "perfect humanity," though Ichkawa and the chief certainly don't fit that model. Nor do many of the Japanese people. Second, refugees typically are not in the best shape, and the story arc of the 2nd series is about Japanese racism towards them.

A bigger concern with Masamune Shirow's work is his disgust with civilian government and his attachment to fascism. This runs through all his work, from Ghost in the Shell to Dominion and Appleseed.

[The Mad Monk]

That forces me to ask what you think his idea of "perfect humanity" is, since Togusa was presented in a far better light (in my view) than most of the cyborgs.

Also, Kusanagi appeared to have socialist leanings.

[Tattila the Hun]

Originally posted by Riesstiu IV


I can see where your coming from. There is also a strong bias in favor of the Japanese throughout the series. I think one of the most laughable episodes was when one Section 9's snipers recounted a story of killing an entire squad of UN soldiers, except for the Japanese soldiers of course.

Well geez, what would you have him do, kill off Kusanagi and Batou before the story even starts? Paradox! Besides, Major is uber.

I understood Batou was american, btw.

Edit: (That based on him being an ex-ranger, but apparently that was in JSDF.)

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
That forces me to ask what you think his idea of "perfect humanity" is, since Togusa was presented in a far better light (in my view) than most of the cyborgs.

Also, Kusanagi appeared to have socialist leanings.

I never picked that up. Keep in mind that Shirow had less to do with Stand Alone Complex and the movies. In Dominion, Shirow is quite overt about his disgust at civilians rule. GitS the movie is largely a rumination by Mamoru Oshii on what it means to be human in a technological society (the 2nd film is a continuation on that theme). SAC is an exploration of a similar theme, what all that technology means for society.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Some of this is probably unconscious. Note how in Dragonball Z, the main characters are Asian, until they use their super powers. Then they grow blond hair and blue eyes, to become super people - i.e. Europeans.

It strikes me as being a little sad.

[Jon Miller]

I have never heard anyone deny that the Japanese are strange.

JM

[Riesstiu IV]

Even North Koreans think they're weird.

[Jon Miller]

Was Japanese art pre1945 quite as pro-european?

JM