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37 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
A fine addition to the cyberpunk SAC universe., 4 November 2006
10/10
Author: eviltimes from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex- Solid State Society. It has been two years since "Major" Motoko Kusanagi left Section 9, a Special Forces unit assigned to cyber crime and answerable only to the Prime Minister of Japan in 2034. Family man Togusa is now leading a much larger force. Chief Aramaki has visibly aged in the job, walking painfully with a cane and attended by Proto. Batou has become a brooding, depressed commander of the training school. All wonder if the Major will ever return.

This time around our heroes must deal with the seemingly unconnected rash of suicides, mass child abductions, conspiracy involving elderly healthcare, a "Wizard Class" hacker called the Puppeteer, and as always, corporate malfeasance and political wrangling. All tidied up with a terrific subtle "what if?" ending.

At $3.2 million SSS is one of the most expensive TV movie anime's yet, and all the money is up on the screen. Illuminating the convoluted storyline are: Increased detail in both background and foreground (missing in 2nd Gig). "Busy" scenes found only in big budget movies. Naturally smooth movement by people and machines. Small touches like the Nissan concept cars, wrinkled clothing, reflections and small lighting effects, raindrops, "Handheld" camera angles, etc. There are plenty of "remember this?" scenes and other touchstones from the series, including great music by Yoko Kanno, with Origa singing the opening and closing songs. Motoko's face is even cuter than ever and the rest of her- you just don't mess with perfection.

Overall SSS is a fine addition to the cyberpunk SAC universe. Can't wait for the English dub next year. Additional SAC stories are promised by Production I.G.

GITS: SAC is not for anime fans looking for scantily dressed little girls, giant robots or magical swordplay. Its story lines, dialogue and multiple overlapping themes are more suited to readers of William Gibson's "Neuromancer" or P. K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" So if you prefer the new "Battlestar Galactica" instead of "War of the Worlds", Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- Solid State Society might just be for you.

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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Don't Expect Any Revelations, 16 July 2007
7/10
Author: johcafra from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

--but 3S is a worthy continuation of the GITS:SAC television series on which I've also commented as an IMDb user.

Chances are your reading this means you've either seen or know what to expect from 3S or well know the GITS universe and the saga of Public Security Section 9. So neither introduction nor spoilers appear here. But if 3S is your introduction, you could do worse (as I did), and if it inspires you to view the two seasons of the series on DVD, you're welcome to engage with one of the more fully realized and challenging tales of speculative fiction told on the 'tube, by anime or otherwise. (Refrain for now from viewing the first two movies if you've not seen them, for reasons explained further on.)

Section 9 still exists, but The Major resigned two years ago. Togusa is in charge, at first harder-edged than you're accustomed to, while an aged Aramaki still plays an authoritative role. Batou is as expected after the conclusion of the series' second season and The Major's departure. Saito returns from a "hellish" engagement in Africa. The rest appears none the worse for prosthetic wear. I'm not all that certain why the Tachikoma return, though perhaps Batou is more the sentimentalist (with clout) at prosthetic heart.

No worries, The Major reappears (but did she do something to her nose?), as all try to contend with a "Super Wizard-class" and murderous hacker known as The Puppeteer, the identity of which may not fully satisfy but nonetheless may surprise you.

The core premise is a well-reasoned conjecture on the impact of an aging and shrinking home-grown "natural" demographic on a service-oriented economy and extraordinarily high-tech society. I would've liked to have seen this fleshed out, but there's only so much possible in a hundred or so minutes with room for the obligatory hyper-action sequences. References to the translated phrase "Noble Rot" give you some idea, and what's involved is more "Steady State" than "Solid State," though I can also understand the marketing decision behind the title choice.

3S is NOT a continuation of the first two GITS movies any more than the television series, but there is a direct homage to the end of the first GITS movie. At times you'll think you're viewing that movie, but the divergences outweigh the similarities. 3S also continues the series' style of not quite telling the whole story, which if done well acts as a hook for further viewing as well as thinking. Kanno Yoko's characteristically excellent musical score also borrows from the television series, and I'm glad the movie translates Origa's lyrics for the opening and ending theme songs from Russian to English.

All in all, it's not to complain. The mere fact that I allow an anime series to sustain my interest in its characterizations and plot line over years of viewing is revelation sufficient, as most conventional film series don't. My hat is off to all involved.

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16 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
A masterpiece, 18 January 2008
10/10
Author: collipal-1 from Argentina

There's two kind of anime(Japanese animation):one kind shows clichés of the genre and the other kind is used as an economic way for telling very variate stories which could exist with real actors but that it would be very expensive to make as normal movies.In the first category,I would put almost all of the teen anime with melodramatic stories,girls using the school uniform,tragic heroes,giant robots,surrealistic humor and magic creatures.In the second category,I would put more serious movies made to adults where the narrative has a complexity and emotional impact that we will never find in Pokemon or Digimon.As examples,I can mention Cowboy Bebop,all the movies made by director Satoshi Kon(for example,Perfect Blue or Millennium Actress) and the cyber-punk movies of Ghost in the Shell.Ghost in the Shell,based on the manga(comic) written by Masamune Shirow,has been adapted to TV and to the cinema.The films are Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2:Innocence.That films do not have much to do with the original manga because director Mamoru Oshii took the futuristic stories and concepts to explore philosophic and fascinating topics.Oshii put to them impressing images and spectacular action scenes but his emphasis is always in the ideas.As a parallel version of the same stories,the TV series Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex is more like the manga,making a balance between philosophic topics,politic mystery and futuristic action.Ghost in the Shell:Solid State Society is like a sequel of that TV series.Ghost in the Shell:Solid State Society is an exciting,intelligent,complex and very interesting film.This movie is a real masterpiece.Director Kenji Kamiyama tells an excellent story in this movie.The animation is perfect.Solid State Society is a very intelligent entertainment,which makes us think at the same time it totally entertains us.This masterpiece is a pleasure to any lover of the cinema.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A Stand Alone From The Stand Alone, Stands Alone, 1 July 2008
6/10
Author: benjamin_lappin from England

The third Ghost In The Shell feature length film, deviates as a continuation of the Stand Alone Complex series. While in the same universe as the original feature length motion picture which sparked the franchise into world wide recognition, Solid State Society is quite obviously a follow on from the lengthy complex series (hence the name residing in the title). In continuing the story they have created some interesting side points for those who have followed the series thus far, with development of characters while being brave enough to introduce a number of subsidiary characters to enhance the feel of the universe, to show that it itself has progressed and that it's not merely tied down to just four characters.

Ironically while Ghost In The Shell has progressed in the continuation of the story, Togusa for example making the pleasing and logical step up to 'team leader' the story never progresses much from that of "Innocence". Major Kusanagi is still absent from the 'Section 9' set up as she continues her vigilante exploits through the net, solving crimes when and where she can, where like in the second film she is mentioned more often than not and pined over. The plot set up is still identical, a virtual hacker who has capabilities that are often above and beyond the major and section 9 and how they bring down their opposition, who often has a more aversive and political agenda than is first thought. In essence this is very much a follow on from the Stand Alone Complex, because the plot line feels almost like a compressed first season into the confines of one hundred minutes.

Having established Solid State Society as a undeniable continuation of the Stand Alone Complex universe it must also be noted that in this particular installment there is a notable absence of philosophy. Where the original was crammed with the nature of what it means to be human and "Innocence" tackled the nature of reality there is a discernible lack of here. Personally while appreciating the intelligence of the films I often felt they crammed dialogue unnecessarily throwing philosophers names around like frisbees at the beach purely for referential sake, and often the point itself was lost even when understood. Solid State however all but ditches that mantra, much in a similar fashion to the series, yes there are moments of philosophical debate, but it focuses much more on an intelligently constructed cyber-crime thriller plot line which by chance of it being a Ghost In The Shell film carries the characters we have come to be attached to.

The cyber-crime in itself while possibly mirroring "The Laughing Man" from "Gig One" provides a fresh twist and a new way for the writers to show off their skills at constructing new virtual dramas. Aramaki takes much of a backseat focusing a lot more of the attention on the newly cyberised Togusa and how that has affected him. One minor complaint is, most likely through the anglicised dub, but perhaps not, is the garbled mess of plot development within the first twenty minutes as it establishes the who's what's and why's of the newly emerging case.

Ghost In The Shell continues to deliver entertaining, thought out and thoughtful films and stories to add to its ever increasing world, and do not take the mark and criticism i've levelled at this as a sleight, because I did enjoy it. It's merely that I know they are capable of more than a recycling of noble criminals with the "will she stay, won't she stay" of the majors attachment to section 9, and the "will they, won't they" with herself and Batou. The trouble is they seem unable to fuse philosophy with a cracking crime thriller peppered with action to a stable and progressive dialogue. That having been said, for those accustomed to the franchise it highlights why it is so successful, with interesting characters, a future world not entirely removed from ours and an thought out philosophically tinged action packed story line, which has had a huge impact on the cinematic landscape. While Solid State, however, may not have a similar impact as its initial predecessor for those that know the characters and know the world it is a worthwhile addition, and for those that don't, they need to log on and expand their own ghost.

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Another case for Section Nine, 24 April 2009
8/10
Author: Tweekums from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I assume most people will have seen both series of GitS: Stand Alone Complex so will be familiar with the characters. If you haven't seen them yet I'd strongly recommend watching them before watching this follow-on film.

Set two years after the second series Section Nine is on the trail of a hacker known as The Puppeteer. Don't worry, this isn't a rehash of the Puppet Master story from the original GitS film though. The team, led by Togusa since the Major left them, learns of the Puppeteer while investigating a sting of Suicides. While investigating a brake in at a lab Batou sees a familiar face; Major Motoko Kusanagi. She warns him to keep away from the Solid State Society. At first Batou doesn't mention that he saw her but as he starts to believe that she may be the Puppeteer he is forced to tell Togusa about his fears.

As one would expect the animation looks fantastic without being distracting... unlike in GitS: Innocence where I often found myself admiring an animated object at the expense of following the story. Once again the music went well with the action and the voice actors all sounded good, although I had to read the subtitles as I can't speak Japanese.

If you liked the "Tachikomatic Days" shorts at the end of each episode be sure to watch "Uchikoma Days" on the second DVD which features the little blue tanks as well as the new green ones and the Jameson Unit.

I strongly recommend this film to anybody who enjoyed the series, while it isn't essential to watch them first I'm sure it will be a better experience if you have as you'll know and care about the characters more.

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3 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Very good, though not faultless., 14 July 2008
7/10
Author: Dom Beuerle from United Kingdom

I'm quite a big fan of Masamune Shirow, though I haven't seen much of his recent work. I was first exposed to his intelligent and mildly titillating style in 1994 with Dominion: Tank Police. What was great about that series was the comedy, aesthetic genius and hot chicks. Ghost in the Shell came out the following year and was incredible work. Though a bit complicated for the youngster I was at the time, there were at least loads of tits.

This latest and third movie is pretty damn slick. I haven't watched the Stand Alone Complex series', but the story was engaging and thought-provoking regardless.

I'm really interested in concepts of the cyborg, and visions of the future. I'm not convinced by the idea of downloading a personality into a computer, but most of Shirow's work makes interesting observations of the social problems which would accompany such a move.

The story in this installment is particularly interesting, and follows an attempt by a person or persons unknown to solve political and social problems by manipulating cyber-brains through the global network. Far too complex to waste time explaining, it makes for a great 100 minutes.

The animation is superb, on the most part. The characters and backdrops are awesome, yet occasionally suffer from blatant CGI-ness. Smooth and beautiful it may be, but like the second Appleseed film, it just doesn't look right. Animation is not live action or CGI or any combination of the two, and a degree of difference is what makes each media interesting and fluent. For me, that aspect of this feature was whack, and distracting. Also, CSI-style shaky-cam in anime?? Rubbish.

The music is very good, though not quite as good as the first film, and there is a diabolical song in the first 10 minutes that made my arsehole close-over. Otherwise, the awesome Yoko Kanno (Macross Plus) goes beyond mood-music and achieves an awesome synthesis.

There's a reasonable helping of Shirow sexiness, though not enough. Needs more greased up babes. His trademark cool style in mecha and costume design remains strong, without succumbing to Matrix-style pansy over-styling. The film could have done with more comic relief, however. Shirow is a very funny guy, and this series of films has never really allowed that to find a place. Shame.

The direction is good, though makes obvious what an influence Mamoru Oshii's (Patlabor, Jin-Roh) personal style had on the direction and attitude of the films. That's no bad thing, as he is one of the all-time great directors. It would, however, have been nice to have seen some more impressive personal touches from Kenji Kamiyama.

Essentially very good, though perhaps too engorged with the intellect of the last two films, and trying just that little bit too hard to be cool.

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