A Solid Title About a Complex Society

Explaining the future-realistic world of the Ghost in the Shell series of releases is a larger feat than I can do here today. Let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first Ghost in the Shell full-length animated movie, but it took me about three viewings (over several years) to feel comfortable saying I had an inkling of what was going on. Ghost in the Shell is based on a manga by Shirow Masamune, and he created a very complete and fleshed-out futuristic setting for his cyber-themed police drama to play out in.

Today the much anticipated "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society" DVD is released into the US by Bandai Entertainment.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society

My biggest concern in popping in this release was that it was my first GitS viewing in more than a few years, and I 1) felt a little rusty on the basic story and 2) wasn't quite sure where this story stood with the original animated movie.

I won't go too deep into the rich storyline, but GitS is set about 25 years into the future in a metropolis in Japan. Much of what we see is recognizable, but there have (obviously) been grand advancements in technology. Major Motoko Kusanagi was a member of the Section 9 area of the police force: the troops assigned to solve cyber-crimes. More machine than person, "the Major" exhibited Bionic Woman-like skills to the 3rd degree.

GitS: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society begins two years after the the Major's resignation. Terrorism in the future is cleverly (and complexly) at the cutting edge of technology. In this case in the form of an Internet virus...in a world where people's brains are hooked directly to the net at all times, and a virus means more than a blue screen and error message.

Is it possible that the Major is somehow involved in the recent string of bizarre hostage suicide situations? The mysterious "Puppeteer" is behind these strange events, but who is this terrorist mastermind, and what does he...or she...want?

For starters, GitS: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society is gorgeous. The attention to detail and smooth 3D and 2D renderings are breathtaking. The first few minutes really set the stage for something exciting. Unfortunately, that something exciting does take its time in getting there.

By the end of Solid State Society I felt like I knew enough about the GitS world going in (not that much) that the point and story was not lost on me. But, I have to be honest, from about minute 3 to about minute 25 is almost solid dialogue. And not "Nice to meet you... how's the weather?" either. It is filled with solid technical story-progressing, but not always explanatory, meetings between police officials about how to tackle their project. It felt like a test... and I almost didn't pass.

But I am glad I did, because the explosion of action and fast-paced story progression after that felt like I had been riding on the roller coaster going up and up and up (and up and up) and then it was time for the pay-off. And what a ride it is! Fans will already know that there is more where this came from (meaning there isn't a zip-tight ending) but the adventure (that word seems too simple) that unfolds is rich, bold, and satisfying. The way the camera moves and how the cars run across the highway, as well as the cyberbrain interfaces are all expertly rendered and are surprisingly believable.

If I had to pick an anime future that seemed the most plausible, Ghost in the Shell would be very high on that list.

Fans are going to go cyber-bananas for this release... as they should. Newbies should definitely give it a look. Director Kenji Kamiyama (who also wrote and edited) is not using this as a show-off piece to get to showcase projects. This is that "other project" and we can only hope for the franchise to continue at this caliber.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society is available today.

(screencaps from: http://www.ghostintheshell.tv/sss/index.html)