Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig-Volume 1 (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Main Menu Audio & Animation Interviews-Crew-Kenji Kamiyama (Director) Interviews-Crew-Yusuke Takeda(Art Director)& Hiroshi Kato(Conceptual Artist) Trailer-Fafner Volume 1 - Arcadian Project, Astro Boy1960Collection
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	98:02 (Case: 100)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Kenji Kamiyama
Studio Distributor	Production IG Madman Entertainment	Starring	Atsuko Tanaka Akio Ôtsuka Kôichi Yamadera Tamio Ôki Tesshô Genda
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Yôko Kanno

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	Yes
Subtitles	English Titling English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, Tachikomatic Days plays after credits

    After being disbanded at the end of the Laughing Man case in Season One (1st Gig), Section 9 makes its return in a second "Gig" of complex drama and adventure. The new Kayabuki government offers Aramaki and Major Kusanagi full reinstatement for Section 9 if the team can successfully defuse a hostage situation in the Chinese Embassy. A new terrorist group, the Individual Eleven, threaten to eliminate their hostages if their demands for the intake of refugees to be halted and the five refugee cities immediately closed are not met. Unsurprisingly, the mission is completed successfully, but the Individual Eleven and their apparent collective consciousness soon come to occupy Section 9's full attention.

    The first season of GitS:SAC received high praise for its mixture of philosophical and ethical complexity with high levels of action and political intrigue. The same complexity continues in this 2nd Gig, incorporating the topical issue of refugees and immigration for good measure. Deep-seated personal issues regarding individual humanity and the blurred line between biological and machine life still occupy Kusanagi, Batou and the others, but equally, Section 9 continue to use big guns and highly creative battle tactics to great effect. While the major through-line is subject to only tantalizing hints in the first four episodes, the Individual Eleven narrative looks set to move in some very intriguing directions over the series. Just four episodes had me hooked. And to top it off, the Tachikoma are back - to Batou's great pleasure - as are the cute Tachikomatic Days shorts.

    Similar to the the first season, episodes are divided into stand alone plots and episodes contributing to the continuing narrative. Episodes relating to the Individual Eleven group are labelled "Individual" while "Dividual" episodes stand on their own. Episodes titled "Dual" relate to the secretive Cabinet Intelligence service and the sinister agent Gouda introduced in episode four. Volume One includes the following episodes:

    1. Reboot: Reembody (Dividual) (24:20) - Although the title claims the episode as stand alone, Section 9's return is tied to the appearance of the Individual Eleven. See above for further details.

    2. I, Glutton: Night Cruise (Dividual) (24:25) - A war veteran struggling with "faint hopes and frustrations against reality" works through fantasies of assassination in the name of "Truth." An homage to Taxi Driver.

    3. Saturday Night, Sunday Morning: Cash Eye (Dividual) (24:15) - A hacker called Cash Eye plans to break into a high security vault. Section 9 are hired to protect the vault but all is not as it seems. . .

    4. Natural Enemy: Natural Enemy (Dual) (25:03) - A military exercise goes wrong when a pilot dies unexpectedly and AI helicopters refuse to stand down, attacking anything that moves. Kazundo Gouda from the Cabinet Intelligence Agency offers to lead Section 9's mission. Can he be trusted?

    2nd Gig looks set to continue the impressive work started in the 1st Gig and I have no hesitations recommending the first four episodes included in volume one.

Video

    A gorgeous video transfer with only a single minor glitch. The series is transferred in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, 16x9 enhanced. The original aspect ratio is 1.78:1, suggesting a very small section of the image has been cut top and/or bottom.

    Sharpness and detail are fantastic: everything is crisp and clean. I had to look very hard to find some very minor low level noise. No MPEG artefacts, in fact, no artefacts of any kind. The transfer is about as perfect as you can get.

    I did notice a single glitch in Episode 2: between 32:53 and 32:54 as Kasunagi enters the building, the frames do not advance correctly. It as though the video advances two frames and then steps back one, causing a very juddery image for just a second or two. Otherwise, the transfer is nigh on perfect.

    Subtitles are in Madman's usual yellow font and are an accurate translation of the dialogue. Each episode is divided into five chapters.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio is also of a very high standard. Two audio tracks are included: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (default) and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1. I listened to both in full.

    Dialogue is crisp, clear and dynamic in both tracks. I couldn't hear any hiss at all. Mouth movement matches fairly closely to the Japanese dialogue.

    Both audio tracks are very active in surround terms. Directional effects are subtle but effective: helicopters pass from the rear to the front soundstage and gun-fire is rendered well. The subwoofer gets a solid work out and both tracks have a very nice bottom end. The score especially receives excellent support from the subwoofer and uses the surrounds for effective dispersal. I would call this one of the more enjoyable 5.1 tracks I've heard: it's never overbearing but creates a highly immersive experience.

    Music for the series was composed by Yoko Kanno. Her opening credits song is particularly memorable and her score work is of a high standard.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Audio & Animation

Interviews-Crew

    Director Kenji Kamiyama (16:18) - Kamiyama's interview is well worth listening to. He discusses the connections between the 1st and 2nd Gigs, inspirations, and intentions for the series. The interview is informative and quite thoughtful and includes relevant clips from the series.

Interviews-Crew

    Art Director Yusuke Takeda and Conceptual Artist Hiroshi Kato (11:16) - Both discuss art design, particularly where 2nd Gig differs from 1st. Also includes clips from the series.

Trailer

    GitS:SAC 2nd Gig is available in Region 1 in standard and deluxe editions. The standard edition is essentially the same as ours, including the first four episodes on a single disc with the same extras and audio specs.

    The deluxe edition contains three discs. Disc 1 is the same as the standard edition. The second repeats the same episodes with English and Japanese DTS 5.1 audio. A third disc contains the CD soundtrack.

    The Region 2 Japan releases include only two episodes per disc.

    If you want DTS and the soundtrack, the Region 1 deluxe edition is the way to go, but the Region 4 release is an excellent standard edition.

    The second season of GitS:SAC looks to be at least the equal of the first. A high quality animation and mix of thought-provoking philosophy and big gun action make for high-class entertainment.

    Both audio and video are practically perfect.

    Extras are informative and interesting.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall