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Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX (Mobile Armoured Riot Police: STAND ALONE COMPLEX or Kōkaku Kidōtai: Stand Alone Complex)
Demographic	Seinen
Genre	Mystery , Drama , Adventure , Sci-fi , Cyberpunk , Postcyberpunk , Action , Film Noir
TV anime
Director	Kenji Kamiyama
Studio	Production I.G.
Licensor	Bandai Entertainment Manga Entertainment
Network	Animax Animax Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) AnimeCentral YTV (Bionix) MTV Central Cuatro SBS MCM Canal+ Europe2 TV Anione TV SIC Radical
Original run	1 October 2002 – 25 March 2003
Episodes	26
TV anime: Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
Director	Kenji Kamiyama
Studio	Production I.G.
Licensor	Bandai Entertainment Manga Entertainment
Network	Animax, Nippon TV Animax Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) AnimeCentral YTV (Bionix) MTV Central Cuatro Anione TV MCM AnimeCentral
Original run	1 January 2004 – 8 January 2005
Episodes	26

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX, Kōkaku Kidōtai^?, Mobile Armoured Riot Police) is a Japanese anime TV series set in the Ghost in the Shell universe created by Masamune Shirow. It is often referred to by its acronym GitS:SAC.

Production of the show was undertaken by Production I.G. headed by director Kenji Kamiyama. The overarching series was sketched by original creator Masamune Shirow, unifying each season's 26 episodes into a larger encompassing plot. The series first premiered in Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax, which was also involved directly in the production of the series, and have also broadcast the series across its respective networks worldwide, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and other regions.^[1]

The series receives its subtitle from a theoretical mental complex attributed to the adaptation of cybernetics into the mass public. In the story, 'stand alone complex' is said to describe copies with no original and is portrayed by copycat crimes with no original criminal or, in other words, an imaginary criminal. It also refers to the structure of each first season episode: each episode can be viewed independently of each other, and there is little catch-up (if at all) given in each episode to keep the viewer up to date (unlike many anime series). The individual episodes are discreetly marked either "stand alone" or "complex" in the title screen. The "complex" episodes are more closely entwined with this encompassing plot, and the "stand alone" less so.

There is also a DVD extra of comedic shorts, Tachikomatic Days, attached to the episodes on the home video releases featuring the antics of the Tachikoma mini-tanks of Section 9, involving plot points from the episodes it accompanies.

After finishing its run in 2003, the series was continued into a second season under the title Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, which premiered in Japan on Animax, from January 2004, via a pay-per-view basis.^[1] The second season episodes are labeled "Individual", "Dividual", and "Dual", with "Individual" episodes closely intertwined with the Individual Eleven case, "Dividual" episodes stand-alone, and "Dual" episodes having to do with the Cabinet Intelligence Service and the character Gouda.

The series has also been continued into an anime TV film, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society, which premiered on September 1, 2006 in Japan on Animax via a pay-per-view basis.

Additionally, the S.A.C. 1st and 2nd GIG series have been summed up in movies, composed of the essential events related to the "The Laughing Man" and "Individual Eleven" storylines respectively. The 1st GIG movie titled "The Laughing Man" with a release date for North America slated in October 2007. The S.A.C. 2nd GIG has been released direct-to-DVD in Japan (January 27, 2006) titled "Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG: Individual Eleven". The film edits down the series into a 160 minute version, much like The "Laughing Man" DVD before it.

Contents 1 Story 1.1 Cinematic comparison 2 Technology 3 Episodes 4 Voice cast 4.1 Japanese voice cast 4.2 English voice cast 4.3 English voice cast (The Laughing Man film) 5 Music 5.1 Soundtracks 6 Production and distribution 7 DVD releases 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Taking place in a fictional city of Japan called "Niihama-shi" (New Port City) in the year 2030, Stand Alone Complex tells the story of a special operations task-force called Public Security Section 9. The series follows the exploits of Section 9's agents who range from ex-military to ex-police to even ex-mafia as they address each case and how it affects them on a personal level, eventually leading to the mysterious figure dubbed by the media as "The Laughing Man".

Public Security Section 9 is an elite domestic anti-crime unit charged with the task of preventing technology-related acts of terrorism and crime. Their duties include response to serious cyber crimes (i.e. cyberbrain hacking, cyber-terrorism), investigation of unlawful acts of those in public office and of high profile murder cases. From time to time they also serve as protection to foreign VIPs.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex follows an alternate and separate storyline from that of Mamoru Oshii's theatrical film adaptations. The TV series expounds further on the careers of Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9, and also retains more elements from Masamune Shirow's original manga than Oshii's feature films.

Literary references within the series include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Flowers for Algernon, the Nine Stories, especially "The Laughing Man" written by J. D. Salinger, and The Catcher in the Rye, also authored by Salinger.

The TV series differs from the cinema adaptation in its focus upon issues created by the advance of technology. Instead of the intensely focused and personal examination of technology, what is presented is a look at society and technology as a larger whole. The two series, each comprising 26 half-hour TV episodes, has a larger budget of time to explore the concepts and ideas found in the original manga. In comparison to the film version, the series is considered by many to be easier to understand. Also, in comparison, the series can be found to be closer to the manga; due to the presence of some humor, the usage of the Tachikomas ("Fuchikomas" in the manga, and referred to simply as "tanks" in the one scene in which a variant version makes an appearance), the design of the characters, and also, the usage of the characters Pazu, Borma and Saito (the last of whom made only a brief cameo in film version).

Stand Alone Complex exhibits the accumulated experience and expertise of Production I.G. in their application of computer generated imagery. This is evident in their digital color grading, environmental effects, and cel-shaded computer models.

Stand Alone Complex tries to depict the near future convincingly, extending trends from the current day into the future. Often a viewer can even speculate which current-day factory or design firm would be responsible for the future machines and buildings.

Of the many futuristic technologies, the cyberbrain or neural computer augmentation technology is discussed and convincingly portrayed. This is the implantation of powerful computers directly into the brain, greatly increasing certain mental capacities such as memory. Coupled with ubiquitous access to the informational net, this is shown as a fundamental technology integral to the future Japanese society. Applications include wireless communication just by "thinking" it, massive informational recall capabilities, and digitization of printed media and the encryption thereof. The series is notable for portraying a comprehensive and believable user interface to this technology. At the same time, drawbacks are revealed in the form of "Closed Shell Syndrome" or cyberbrain autism and "Cyberbrain Sclerosis". This technology is in many ways the crux of the series.

Microelectromechanical systems and the medical and less benign applications also figure heavily within the futurescape depicted within the show. In the fictional future year of 2030, this technology and its applications are still considered to be experimental, only reaching the first stages of practical usage.

An important technology used in the series is thermo-optical camouflage. Members of Section 9 as well as their Tachikoma tanks have the ability to activate a special camouflage technology which enables them to blend in with the environment, making them near-invisible to the naked eye. It is an active stealth system which projects ambient conditions of the opposing side, and thus rendering the masked object transparent by transmission. The system is not shown to be perfect, as it seems unable to compensate for sudden changes and physical impacts nor impervious to close observation. A faint translucent distortion is shown as the limitations of the technology. In the legal landscape of the series, usage of the technology without a warrant is heavily restricted. The use of this technology by Section 9 is the exception, and not the norm - further highlighting their extraordinary legal standing. Surprisingly, there is present day research into the active optic camouflage inspired by the fictional portrayal of it by the University of Tokyo [1].

The use of Light Autonomous Tanks, left out of the 1995 Ghost in the Shell movie by time constraints, are used extensively in Stand Alone Complex. Called Tachikoma (also known as "think tanks"), they are four-legged light tanks with two forearms and adhesive wire shooters. Armed with a small caliber machine gun in their right arm and an interchangeable weapons mount at their "mouth", they provide Section Nine with a quick and highly mobile weapons platform. The weapons mount is often equipped with a grenade launcher or a Gatling gun. The body design and movement of the Tachikoma appear to be modeled after jumping spiders.

Their AI simulates the endlessly curious and innocent behavior of small children, which both logically encourages fast learning and enables them to act as the comic relief of Section 9. As such they provide a counterpoint to the cynical and hardened humans of the force. Two episodes are dedicated to their exploits; episode 12, "ESCAPE FROM", and episode 15, "MACHINES DÉSIRANTES". In the latter episode, the curious nature of the Tachikoma result in instabilities in their artificial intelligence fatal to operation as weapons, leading to their disarmament and decommission from service with Section 9.

Another technology that is noticeable in the series that was also not included in the 1995 film is the use of Armed Suits, bipedal powered armored exoskeletons. Resembling Shirow's Landmate armor from another of his works, Appleseed, the Armed Suit uses a small set of inner "master" arms to control the larger, more-powerful, "slave" arms. A prototype Armed Suit makes an appearance later in the first season, and a new upgraded version of the Tachikoma returns in 2nd GIG. Another type of think tank, the Buchikoma is briefly shown at the end of 2nd GIG.

The series features Section 9 using a tiltwing aircraft very similar to the American-designed V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. The aircraft depicted within the show has the capacity to carry six Tachikoma and a complement of personnel, allowing Section Nine to rapidly deploy a highly mobile and well-armored force anywhere in Japan.

The ECHELON wiretap system makes an appearance in a later episode. While under the command of the American Empire's (United States) CIA, the system is borrowed by Section 9 for a short time. The system depicted within is a more powerful and more pervasive communications monitoring system capable of real-time interception of all phone, internet, cyberbrain communication of Japan. The limitation of this system was shown to be the computational power to process the flow of information.

The subtitle "Stand Alone Complex" refers to the phenomena of emergent behavior catalyzed by parallelization of the human psyche through the cyberbrain networks on a societal level. There is no original, there is no leader. What ties together the disparate and unrelated individuals into the event called the "Laughing Man" case is the systematic motive encoded into the basic informational flow itself. This concept of an ever normalized ego into the fabric of society recalls the writings of Philip K. Dick, among others.

Main article: List of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex episodes

The music for the series was composed by Yoko Kanno and produced by Victor Entertainment. The opening theme for each episode was "Inner universe" (lyrics: Origa, Shanti Snyder; music: Yoko Kanno; vocals: Origa). The ending theme for each episode was "Lithium Flower" (lyrics: Tim Jensen; music: Yoko Kanno; vocals: Scott Matthew).

The original soundtrack for the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series, composed by Yoko Kanno, has been released over five albums and one single:

• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex O.S.T
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex O.S.T 2
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex O.S.T 3
• be Human
• Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society O.S.T.
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex GET9 single

Also released was a Limited Edition box set containing all soundtracks (except for the GET9 single) and a fourth previously unreleased soundtrack called O.S.T 4 - Smooth in the Shell. Included with this Limited Edition box set was a USB flash memory stick in a tachikoma design.

The production of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series has been headed by Production I.G, anime television network Animax, who have broadcast the series across Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America and other regions, Bandai Entertainment, Dentsu Inc., Kodansha and Victor Entertainment.

The series is licensed for North American distribution by Bandai Entertainment, with the English dub produced by Animaze, which airs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in the United States, YTV's Bionix block in Canada and AnimeCentral in the United Kingdom. The series is also licensed for distribution in the United Kingdom region by Manga Entertainment, and for distribution in Australia by Madman Entertainment.

All episodes of the original 26-episode run have been released in the UK and distributed by Manga Entertainment on seven box sets each comprising two discs, as well as a compilation.

• Vol.1 - Episodes 1-4
• Vol.2 - Episodes 5-8
• Vol.3 - Episodes 9-12
• Vol.4 - Episodes 13-16
• Vol.5 - Episodes 17-20
• Vol.6 - Episodes 21-23
• Vol.7 - Episodes 24-26

• Complete 1st GIG Box Set - Episodes 1-26 (7-discs)

• Laughing Man (Ghost in the Shell)
• Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
• Cyberpunk
• Postcyberpunk
• Optical camouflage
• Artificial intelligence
• Ship of Theseus
• Cyber-terrorism
• Jean Baudrillard - Created the theory "Precession of Simulacra" a.k.a. Stand Alone Complex
• biohacker

• Official Site (Japan) (Japanese)
• Official Site (United States)
• Official Site (Australia)
• Production IG's SAC page
• Production IG's SAC page (Japanese)
• 攻殻機動隊PKI - GISPKI (Ghost in the Shell Wiki Site) (Japanese)
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex at the Internet Movie Database
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex at the TV IV
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• YTV Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex page
• In-depth discussion of the series, especially in relation to Postcyberpunk science fiction by Lawrence Person
• Shirow Sama. El blog español (Spanish)

v • d • e Ghost in the Shell
Manga	Ghost in the Shell · Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface · Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor
Film series	Ghost in the Shell · Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Stand Alone Complex series	S.A.C. (Season 1) · S.A.C. 2nd GIG (Season 2) · S.A.C. Solid State Society (Movie) · S.A.C. Laughing Man (Movie) · Tachikomatic Days (Omake) · List of episodes
Novels	After the Long Goodbye · The Lost Memory · Revenge of the Cold Machines · White Maze
Video Games	Ghost in the Shell · Stand Alone Complex
Music	Megatech Body · Stand Alone Complex O.S.T. · be Human · Stand Alone Complex GET9 single · Stand Alone Complex O.S.T. 2 · Stand Alone Complex O.S.T. 3 · S.A.C. Solid State Society O.S.T.
Characters	Daisuke Aramaki · Azuma · Batou · Borma · Kazundo Gouda · Ishikawa · Yoko Kayabuki · Motoko Kusanagi · Hideo Kuze · Laughing Man · Pazu · Project 2501 · Proto · Saito · Togusa · Yano · Kugutsu Mawashi  · Chief Cabinet Secretary Takakura  · Kubota
Technology	Cyberbrain · Fuchikoma · Operator · Tachikoma · Think tank · Seburo Arms
Other	Public Security Section 9 · List of organizations · Philosophy of Ghost in the Shell · Seburo · New Port City · American Empire · Masamune Shirow