Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex: Volume 2

Section-9 met their match at the end of the last volume, with the introduction of "The Laughing Man". Nobody knows the true identity of this figure but Major Kusanagi and her team begin an in depth investigation on this man who has kept hidden for six years. In amidst the hunt, character insights are revealed and tension is mounted as we continue with the series based on one of the greatest anime films of all time.


Opening volume two are the first two "complex" episodes of the series that focus on the developing arc featuring "The Laughing Man". Writer Yoshiki Sakurai twists and turns the storyline, providing schizoid outcomes at every turn for Section-9 as they fail to catch their real criminal, which makes their frustration all the more understandable yet fuels an intriguing character study of the main villain which is surely going to open up later down the line. While the man himself has still kept hidden all of his little cohorts and glory hunters are thrust into the forefront while outside organizations enter the fray to put a dampener on things.

With episodes nine and ten out of the way the series gets back to its "Stand Alone" routine and these remaining episodes do more to flesh out some of Section-9's members and allow some newer ones more screen time. Two newer cast additions get acknowledged; Paz and Borma, the latter of whom bears a resemblance to Batou and is noticeably cybernetic from the outset.

Major Kusanagi is given a social life that we haven't seen until now, when she visit's the apartment of her friend who also works as a nurse at the nearby hospital, but often disappoints her friend when she does little to actually socialise, favouring her work even off duty. Despite promising that she'll make it up to her friend, Kusanagi continues wrapping herself up in other things. Though somewhat typical of many anime productions there is the hint of lesbian undertones, aimed at the demographic male audience of late teens to 30's it would seem and wouldn't be too presumptuous to wonder, being that we know very little about Kusanagi's personal life.


Perhaps the most important part of Kusanagi's character is that which tells a small detail about her childhood in episode 8 - "Missing Hearts", which is also an episode that deals with the very real issue of organ transplants and black market smuggling rings. We learn that Kusanagi became a recipient of her cybernetic body around the age of six, when she takes a case very close to heart. Those in her team ask little questions, save for Togusa who is the most naturally curious member of Section-9.

Political intrigue continues to head up this batch of episodes, with corrupt politicians facing Section-9 and we know that later episodes will deal with key characters from storylines featured in this volume, namely Daido. Section-9 still has to follow codes and jurisdictions, preventing them from taking immediate action until absolutely necessary and so real ethics take part amongst a series of events drowned in paranoia. With a helping of good old fashioned fisty cuffs, humour and Tachikoma action weaved into the storylines, Stand Alone Complex remains as engaging for its second volume as it did for its first.


Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex volume two contains the following episodes:

Decoy
After the attempted assassination of the Superintendent General, Section-9 sets out to examine the case of "The Laughing Man", who had interrupted the recent conference. When several men are arrested claiming to be the real suspect there is much speculation as to who is and Kusanagi and her team find themselves playing a game - one that isn't particularly fun.

Meme
"The Laughing Man" takes action and some unexpected events unfold as Kusanagi and Paz head up the security team and witness a series of ghost hacks, causing panic when the Commissioner's life is almost taken under their surveillance.

Idolator
Section-9 has been closely watching Marcelo Jarti, a revolutionist leader who has been reported as dead in the news. The team suspect that several clones were made from Jarti and have been spotted at various places worldwide.

Missing Hearts
Kusanagi gets a call from her concerned friend at the hospital, who tells her that a young girl had recently received a heart transplant which may have been donated under illegal circumstances. Kusanagi takes the case under her wing and takes her team along to uncover a plot involving medical students stealing organs in order to sell on the black market.


The DVD

Volume 2 is presented as a 2-disc set, much like volume 1, with the second disc holding the same episode content but with an additional DTS option. Though I only received check discs I presume that the DVD is housed in a 2 tray amaray case, in a card slipcase.

Picture

To correct my previous review the series is presented anamorphically in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Last time I noted a couple of issues with the transfer, of which the compression stood out as being the worst. This time around there are no immediate problems, although compression problems are still evident, showing up in certain scenes it is minimal and no worse than several other anime releases. The image retains plenty of detail and a natural colour palette that highlight the series' budget and minor flaws aside it's attractive enough without being largely distracting. As an extra note however, much like the first volume I found the image would break up in a few areas. This happened on three DVD players but exhibited no such problems on my PC, which may suggest the disc will have problems in certain players.

Sound

Manga have provided us with six audio tracks: Japanese 2.0, Japanese 5.1, Japanese DTS, English 2.0, English 5.1 and English DTS. I decided to stick with the DTS option and on reflection it isn't hugely different from the Dolby 5.1 mix but it is still very impressive, with more bass added. There's a lot of action again which is handled well, particularly those scenes involving guns and surround usage is widely catered for. There is one problem though which troubles the Japanese track and that is a couple of sound drop outs. While I experienced at least two occasions of 1-second drop outs I only managed to jot down the time for one of these. For reference this happens during episode seven and hits at the 13:46 mark. Switching over to the English dub reveals no such problem.

The optional English subtitles have been fixed for this release and are well timed but they could have done with having a thicker, black edge to them as they tend to blend in a little too much with brighter backgrounds.

Extras

Interview with Osamu Saka (Aramaki) 9:24
Actor, Osamu Saka talks about the character of Aramaki and how he envisions him. He mentions how he would like to see the character grow more and reveal more of his personal life, of which slight references have made toward. He goes on to talk about Aramaki's status within Section-9 and how he is greatly respected by his men for whom he cares for.

Interview with Yoko Kanno (11:19)
Composer, Yoko Kanno talks about finding inspiration for her work and the kind of daily routines that are formed inside her head as she goes about deciding on which particular tracks she can use. She mentions her favourite characters and fellow musicians who gave her support as well as hinting at future episodes, which sound exciting.

Quiz
This is found on disc 2 and is the only extra present. Like the previous volume ten questions must be answered in order to unlock the extra. If you paid attention then you will be treated to a clip from volume three's "Chat Chat Chat" episode that lasts for 7:17.


Overall

Another highly entertaining volume in the series - well written and beautifully animated it captures the attention for an easy 100-minutes. It's now evident that we have an ongoing arc sitting alongside the single episodes, which should be interesting to watch at a later time.

I have to question Manga's quality control again though as I'm disappointed by their second release once more, which surely could have been remedied? I don't expect it to be fixed at this point but it is something that should be acknowledged. I fail to understand how these current volumes have gone by with their problems undetected.