Just finished writing up the Blu-Ray review for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd GIG: Individual Eleven. One more to go, should have Solid State Society up in a day or two.
Synopsis:
The year is 2030 and six years have passed since the end of World War IV. Influxes of refugees are allowed into Japan to fill the labor gaps of the growing economy. Terrorist cells identifying themselves as the Individual Eleven have begun a series of ultranationalist attacks targeting refugee camps, foreign consulates and even the Prime Minister. A charismatic new leader rises amongst the refugee’s resistance movement, a former member of the Individual Eleven. Simultaneously a top member of the Cabinet Intelligence Agency contacts Section 9 with shocking revelations and unknown ambitions regarding the current state of affairs. When the refugee resistance procures a nuclear bomb can Major Motoko Kusanagi and Public Security Section 9 diffuse the situation and help avoid a catastrophic civil war? Can they uncover the mastermind orchestrating the situation? Who is the mysterious resistance leader and what link does he hold to the Major’s past?
Review:
In this release of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd GIG: Individual Eleven, the story revolves around a mysterious resistance leader Hideo Kuze and the villain Kazundo Gohda. The history behind Kuze is deep. He was a part of an elite infantry unit of the SDF in the Peninsula War. While his group was setting up for a preemptive strike on the People’s Army, they stumble upon a camp that was not in the intelligence report that they were briefed with. Seeing how these soldiers of the People’s Army turned into a band of bandits. Kuze’s group mobilized and fought the group of bandits, saving the villagers in the process. The news of this was never revealed and members of Kuze’s unit suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. While a cameraman was questioning a wasted soldier, Kuze traded his rifle for a camera and walked off by himself. The scene was very symbolic. In a sense, he told people that he did not want to fight and if others feel they can perform better, here is the rifle. Maybe I am thinking too much into it and Kuze only wanted the camera so he can go off to his solitary life watching refugees’ daily life routines. But the great thing about Ghost in the Shell is that certain aspects of the plot are up to the viewers to decipher. And this point is proved even more during the conversation between Major and Kuze’s trapped scene.
As for the story behind Gohda, who has to be one of the ugliest villains ever created in anime. He is the head of the Cabinet Intelligence Agency and the mastermind behind the whole Individual Eleven event. His entrance into the show was fitting and he did prove his point during his introduction to Chief Daisuke Aramaki, where he states that people remember his name once he corrects them and also by seeing his disfigured face. This is a certain fact, because the viewer will vividly recollect Gohda throughout the show. As I watched “Individual Eleven,†I often thought what part did Gohda played in this event or that event. You can see that he had a lot of knowledge of the whole situation, and that part of his character was displayed during the initial encounter with him and Major Kusanagi. During the helicopter incident where a pilot had heart failure and his helicopter went rogue, Gohda exuded a sense of confidence that the situation was not going to go out of hand and Section 9 was going to take care of it rather easily.
As the plot progressed, a romantic relationship seems to develop as well, with Motoko and Kuze, after Motoko’s brain dive into Kuze. They had a relationship earlier in their childhood. Where does Batou stand in all this? Motoko gives a small reference to Batou when Kuze questions whether Motoko has anyone who she can share her deepest thoughts with. Her reply, “I suppose.†Quite what you expect from the Major and after the scene you see Batou digging her out of rubble and at the same time screamed out what he did in “The Laughing Man,†“MOTOKO!†Those were some powerful scenes and puts the whole film into perspective.
“Individual Eleven” has a faster pace than the previous release, “The Laughing Man.†There are a lot more action scenes that describe the story, than there are dialogues that explain it. Director Kenji Kamiyama wanted a quicker pace for the film. This resulted in a pace that was gripping and held me as a viewer on the edge of my seat. By using this strategy, the show becomes a bit of a mystery and is up for the viewer’s interpretation of certain events. Depending on a viewer’s emotions certain scenes appear differently. If you were someone who liked the character of Gohda you would not like what happens to him in the end. If you were fed up with his crap, you would feel that he deserved what he got. It is things like that, that make Ghost in the Shell such a unique piece of anime. While there is a lot of information that is shown, the viewers have to take an active part in making sense of it all and stay tuned. This release was fun. Once again, it was an amazing experience to have seen this in high definition. With pictures so crisp and smooth and the audio so clear, I was fully immersed in what was in front of me on the screen.
The Breakdown:
I have to thank the folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment, Manga Entertainment and Bandai Entertainment for making the Blu-Ray release possible. This installment of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd GIG: Individual Eleven was tremendously entertaining and thought provoking. It is action packed and viewers are in for a very good time.
Hello all, hope you are having a great holiday weekend. As you have read from the title. I have composed a review of the Blu-Ray edition of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: The Laughing Man slated for release on June 21st. I still have the Blu-Ray editions of Solid State Society and Individual Eleven to watch and review so check back soon.
Synopsis:
The year is 2030 and six years have passed since a criminal known only as “The Laughing Man†swept through top medical nanotechnology firms committing acts of cyber terrorism, kidnapping, extortion, and corporate espionage leaving no known suspects. New information is revealed to Japan’s top homeland security force, drawing Major Kusanagi and Section 9 into the hunt for a suspect capable of hacking the eyes of every operative, obscuring all details of his appearance and leaving behind a trail of copycats and hacked cyborg citizens. Who is The Laughing Man? What are his motives? And how do you catch a criminal that you cannot see? Join the beautiful cyborg Motoko Kusanagi in a world of high technology and deadly conspiracies as she searches for the answers to these questions and more!
Review:
Let me be honest with you, and this might even sound ridiculous. I have not completed watching the television series of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex… so the story of “The Laughing Man†is completely foreign to me. I can understand from a stand point that for those who have seen the series that this special release is nothing more than an OVA that summarizes the happenings of the series with the potential of some re-edited scenes to make the short animation work. In a sense, not having previous experience may play to my advantage, as I have nothing to compare this story to, therefore my views are strictly directed toward what I have in my hands and what I just saw in 1080i HD (I will discuss the Blu-Ray edition later).
Moving right along, the run time of this piece is 160 minutes. But it felt so much longer. I commend director Kamiyama for that effect, after watching the extras on the Stand Alone Complex Archive I found out that he was visioning this special release through different eyes; the eyes of people who have seen the television series and those who have not. Utilizing those points of view, he was able to direct the story in a way where I felt I did not miss a thing from not having seen “The Laughing Man†from the series. From the beginning to the end, the plot flowed fluidly. The dots were connected flawlessly and the viewer is put in the position to enjoy the excitement that is about to unfold on the screen.
The story revolves around an incident that happened six years ago in the world of Ghost in the Shell. “The Laughing Man,†a criminal that has become a cult icon in a way, is back at it again. For those who have seen him, only recognize the happy face icon with a cap pointing to the side. That is because he is able to hack into the sights of people. But what is the true story behind “The Laughing Man?†With a slew number of copycats, the real motive of his actions diluted and skewed, the original “Laughing Man†is out to prove that he is not really about what the news out there portray him to be. The uniqueness from this release was that what you learn from the start is not what turns out to be later on. The viewer is put through a series of scenarios and has to think about them. And just when you thought you got the gist of the show, a twist is thrown at you in various ways to knock you off, forcing you to readjust. This constant mind play is fun and entertaining. And while the action was superb, I believe the way the plot was told was where the bread and butter were. It was truly an amazing experience.
This special release is one out of three. And if this is an indication of what to expect from the others, I must say, I am very thrilled. Maybe I am late in watching these releases, as they have been out on DVD for a while now. But while I feel sorry for myself that I have not exposed myself to these great stories, I am in no means feeling any sorrow for letting myself feast on the Blu-Ray editions of these releases. Watching anime on Blu-Ray is something else. While DVD is still very competitive in video quality, the high definition of 1080 resolution blows anything else away. Especially for a series like Ghost in the Shell, where the viewers are expecting explosions, guns, mechas, Tachikomas, computer hacking effects and futuristic themes. Everything was crisp and clean. I have no complaints in the animation department.
The Breakdown:
It has been a while since the stories of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex were told. For those who have missed it, now is your time to discover the excitement that surround this work of art. Produced by Production I.G ,directed by Kenji Kamiyama and with music by Yoko Kanno, comes the tale of “The Laughing Man†available now on Blu-Ray.
In celebration of the holiday weekend, AnimeNation has but together a 30% off deal for FUNimation products. Shop it here.
NIS America is proud to announce that the highly praised romantic comedy Toradora! Volume 1 & 2 and WAGNARIA!! Complete Series will both be available in Standard Editions for anime fans this summer. Toradora! Volume 1 & 2 and WAGNARIA!! Complete Series Standard Editions will be available as an affordable option for our fans, and will include the Story Guide leaflet and bonus clips that were included in the Premium Edition for maximum viewing pleasure! For more information, visit http://www.NISAmerica.com. (more…)
The eroge turned anime by Minato Soft will air in the Fall season. Visit here for more information.
From Production I.G and CLAMP comes Blood-C. The PV is now up on the official page.
NIS America has announced that they will be inviting Sohei Niikawa as a Guest of Honor to Anime Expo 2011. Mr. Niikawa is the president of Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., and is the creative force behind the Disgaea and Prinny series.
Right Stuf, Inc.and its Nozomi Entertainmentdivision are pleased to announce the grand opening of soundofthesky.rightstuf.com, the official series site for SOUND OF THE SKY (Sora no Woto), which is scheduled to be released as a limited-edition DVD box set in July 2011. (more…)