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Click here to visit the Official Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG site! Undeniably one of the best anime series of 2006, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG finally reaches its finale, and what a finale it is. Section 9 are in more trouble than ever. They have
walked into Gohda's trap, Batou leads most of the team through Dejima, hoping to
deliver plutonium into the hands of the refugees so they can co-operate with a
UN Inspection. But it's not easy, the elite rangers of Section 4 are there
to stop them, Army helicopters roam the skies and a jamming signal has cut them
off from their commanders. If that wasn't bad enough the bombardment of
Dejima by the Self Defence Army has begun, Aramaki, Togusa and Proto are under
house arrest in the Prime Minister's residence and Major Kusanagi is trapped
with Kuze beneath a destroyed building. The schemes of Gohda and the
Defence Ministry are coming together, the fear of a nuclear suicide bombing will
soon become a reality, it's only a matter of time. An American nuclear
submarine lies on the edge of the exclusion zone preparing to fire a warhead at
Dejima, Gohda has arranged nuclear disaster but it's the refugees that will get
the blame. Section 9 have unwittingly danced to Gohda's tune, and have brought the
refugees the nuclear material that will 'prove' their guilt. Times have
never been bleaker, 3 million lives are on the line and Section 9 seem powerless
to save them... |
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The rest of the series may have been very good, but this completely tops all that has gone before. After getting most of the heavy dialogue out of the way in volume 6, this one lets rip with a huge amount of action. A tense game of cat and mouse has begun between the Section 4 Rangers and the Batou-led Section 9 squad, whilst computer-controlled helicopter gunships instantly attack any hostile action from the refugees. The uneasy stalemate between the army and the refugees crumbles, missiles rain down from nearby Navy |
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ships and all the while the US sub prepares to launch nuclear destruction on Dejima. During the first episode on the volume the action moves at a blistering pace, the situation rapidly escalates towards full blown war with hardly a pause for breath. You are left on the edge of your seat wondering where the story will take you next and also how, if at all, disaster can be avoided.
With all the fighting and high paced action you could be forgiven for
thinking the story would be a bit less cerebral, but you'd be wrong.
As you have come to expect with anything related to Ghost in the
Shell, the series packs plenty of brain to go with the brawn.
As well as the fruition of Gohda's grand scheme, we also finally get to
the bottom of Kuze's character and his ideas. The respites from
the action come in the form of Kusanagi and Kuze's discussions.
Trapped below the ground and cut off from the chaos above, Kusanagi has
plenty of time to get to the bottom of why Kuze has been helping the
refugees, and what is at the core of his revolution. The ideas
raised are as intriguing as ever, what Kuze proposes could be humanity's
next stage of evolution, but it comes at a price. With destruction
close at hand though it could be the only option, will Kusanagi agree to
help the man she has been trying so hard to capture? |
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Such dilemmas and personal struggles litter the episodes on this disc, and provide an intriguing counterpoint to the larger situation. The actions of just a handful of people could have a huge effect, and they know it. The voice acting is superb once again in both languages, and it really needs to be to convey the subtle underlying emotions of the main characters. The story has been superb throughout this series, you are never quite sure where it was going and you are never quite sure how things will go at the end |
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either. It sets up some twists and turns that you don't quite see coming, yet everything comes together beautifully in the final episode. There are some great scenes and some great imagery, but it's once poignant act of sacrifice that really shines out. It's unexpected and surprisingly moving in its execution, a remarkable moment at the climax of a remarkable series. As always Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG delivers slick animation and music with brilliant action and some really thought-provoking ideas. The story is excellent and the climax is both moving and brilliantly executed. What I was really impressed by however, was the way that the ending of the series tied in perfectly with the start of the original Ghost in the Shell manga. The series subtly brought the franchise full circle whilst telling its own story, ending a roller-coaster of action and drama by taking it back to its roots. At the end of the day this whole volume is one of the finest endings to any anime series. The series has expanded the scope of the franchise, taking the story to a larger, more global, scale without losing any of the character focus. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG vol 7 is a great ending to a great series, and one that every anime fan should own. Extras The final round of interviews once again features director Kenji Kamiyama, but this time he is joined by the voices of the series two most enigmatic characters - Ken Nishida (Gohda) and Rikiya Koyama (Kuze). The second disc carries the DTS audio tracks and Manga trailers. There is a Limited Edition version of this volume (limited to 3000 copies, and available solely from Play.Com), which comes in a tin case with a t-shirt and Tachikoma figurine. It's these limited edition extras that put the extras mark up to a full five stars, for the standard edition it would be 4. Ratings Feature:
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