What's always attracted me to GITS, from the first movie on was the action and sci fi. I don't think of myself as an action fan, but when it's done with some originality, and the various twists that sci fi can provide, then I'm glued.

'Ghost hacking', being able to look up information in mid-gunplay, to get tactical data, and the risk of a seemingly harmless person actually being made of military grade hardware, sometimes with aerial acrobatic ability, makes for plenty of fun twists on ye olde "gunplay down a hallway" scanario.

Our star is of course, Major Matoko Kusanagi. Synthetic body aside, she seems to be one of the least interesting characters, on a personal level. This does mean however, that when they do slip a tiny bit of background on her, even the smallest thing feels like a big revelation. I suppose that's their plan. Being male, I'm not about to outright complain about her less than professional wardrobe, but it does take away from the 'reality' of it at times. I suppose if I had an idealized sythetic body, I might flaunt it too.

The other characters seem to be more fleshed out, more human.. (despite many of them only having a handful of human cells, inside a mechanical body) Batou, the mandatory 'big guy', is good natured, with a wry sense of humor that sometimes only shows itself with a smirk. Togusa is our 'everyman', with very few cybernetic upgrades, and a favoritism for an older firearm. It seems he's perhaps some kind of 'avatar' for the average viewer. While Batou is a seasoned ex mercenary, Togusa is fairly new to the ultra-high tech work, leaving him to be almost as new to many of the sci fi elements as the viewer, allowing things to be explained to us though his perceptions.

The main comic releif is supplied by the Tachikomas, a small fleet of VW-sized walking tanks, although they have much more impact on the story than just being cutely ignorant of things.

For me, one of the main failings of the show is the main stories, which span an entire season. They're filled with needless political and psychological mumbo jumbo, which one would think realistically, would be discussed in flatter terms... but if all your main characters have instant access to an encyclopedia in their heads, why should they wait up for us un-enhanced humans?

By contrast, for me the best episodes were those that had nothing to do with the main story. "Stand alone" episodes, you could say. Sometimes they show a single case, from start to finish, with a nice action sequence.. or maybe they explore one character a bit more, or in some cases, just tell a 'smaller' more emotional story.

If there's anyone who's seen the movies, but not these, be warned that this show ignores the events of the movies. Rationalize it any way you want..

And anyone who's read the manga, or played the old PS1 game will miss the cooler Fuchikomas... but the Tachikomas grow on you.... but I still want Fuchikomas.

The soundtrack sticks with me quite a bit on both seasons, (I'm halfway through season 2 at the time I write this) and both opening themes really stuck in my head.. by contrast, the closing themes didn't seem to fit the show, and were happily forgettable.

Ah, one last thing. Every episode is capped off in the end by a little short featuring the Tachkomas. They do some really random things, which often reflect on the events of the episode, but are sometimes truely random. They don't always seem to have a point, but in a way, that's part of the charm. They're doing their own thing after the show, and aren't particularly there to entertain you. Don't be surprised to expect a punchline, and get dumped off with a surreal "what??" feeling..

All in all, I'd have to say it's a must for anyone at all into sci-fi anime.. just smile and nod when they babble on too hard with the psycho-political stuff.

I just finished watching my first four episodes of Stand Alone Complex and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't particularly enjoy the Ghost in the Shell movie... I remember it as having too much rambling psycho-babble. This series, from what I've seen so far, has the right balance between the techie stuff, the digital mysticism and the action.

I might even go and rent volume 2.

I did however knock a half star off just for the Major's outfit, which looks like something a stripper might wear before starting on her pole dance. I don't mind a little leg or breast if there's a point to it in the character or the story, but in this case the character's costume design just doesn't seem to fit the character, so that the overall effect is jarring everytime she walks onto the screen. It is as if Scully (of X-files fame) strode seriously into a taped off crime scene wearing a Playboy bunny outfit.

However, teen-boy fantasy elements aside... it does seem like a worthwhile series and one I will likely continue to watch.

Oh, and one other thing, ignore the fairly awful, entirely 3D animated opening to the show... I know I nearly popped the DVD when it started into that, thinking the whole show might be poorly modelled and jerkily animated... the series itself 2D and very nice to look at...

Much like the theatrical films, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is one of those animes that's famous not so much for its plot but more for the way it seems to be in love with the sound of its own dialogue. Fans claim that this anime is "smart", but is there really a coherent point to all of it? The special effects ARE beautiful, but if you don't keep up with each episode from the very beginning, you'll get lost really fast, and before long you'll be buried under an endless string of cyberpunk technobabble. Not an anime for the beginner in the very least. At least Neon Genesis Evangelion had a soul.