GitS:SAC borrows a lot of the philosophical musings from the original film and manga, but it goes a long way into further developing this particular world and showing the various ways that technology interferes and redefines what is human. All this is explored both in the series' core "complex" episodes, as well as its "stand alone episodes", which show one different story at a time. If you are interested in non politically correct, thoughtful futurism, this is the show for you. It covers issues like AI, body augmentation, the roots of self-conscience, evolution and so on. I really like the fact that it also explores the political landscape of this not so distant future. Overall, a great experience.

I've been a sci-fi and fantasy fan, as well as author, for many years; thus I enjoy anime that has well-done sci-fi. Unfortunately, GITSAC doesn't do that, I'm sorry to have to tell all those people who think it does. GITS is fantasy. There is no real science in any of the GITS movies or series. This can be OK if you treat the storyline accordingly - as in fantasy and magic stories - but they treat everything here as if it's possible and everybody knows that it is. It isn't. You can't disappear into thin air no matter how badly you want to. The tachikomas wouldn't bounce around when they talk because it would use too much power and eventually bounce them to pieces. You can't broadcast thoughts any way at all, ever - thinking is entirely different from any broadcast system. There is no "ghost" in any living thing; mind and spirit are a function of trillions of cells and interconnecting electrochemical junctions, not some alternate existing thing. Computers work entirely differently than brains and you cannot make the two of them compatible; all you can do is get some minor functions in a bionic prosthetic part to respond to simple brain pattern electrical impulses. We can do that today with arms and legs, for instance; this is the most rudimentary connection of electromechanical devices to some of our simplest brain impulses; you cannot duplicate what the brain does with a computer. Even the best AI is far inferior to and simpler than what the human brain does. In fact, it's inferior to what a Border Collie's brain does! You cannot match the trillions of cells and connections in the brain with even a few hundred thousand electronic circuits in computers. GITS is NOT the future, it's FANTASY, ie, making a story with things that cannot happen. It's more like magic, since magic can't ever happen either, but we understand that and can make interesting fictional dramas with it. I've only pointed out a few things here that are not and never will be possible, but there are many more in the GITS series. It's a safe bet that regardless of how tough Motoko is in her "cyborized" body, she can't jump from a 50 story building, hit the ground and be fine! You couldn't drop a tank from a 50 story building and have it be functional after it hit the ground, and tanks are tougher than she is. The tachikoma can't jump all over the place as they do, their mass is too great and it would take tremendous power if it were even possible, which it's not - especially not with people inside. The sudden violent momentum change would smash the occupants to pieces. And there are many more impossibilities. The reason I bring it up is all of it destroys one's willing suspension of disbelief, and relegates it to Road Runner & Coyote "science" which just makes it another cartoon.All that said, the story is too disjointed and confusing, trying to put too much in when less would be better: more action, less theory and talking. The graphics and animation are about average here, there are much better anime, visually, out there. As in the movies, the characters are still bland, without much humanity; I mean, the tachikomas are more interesting, personable, and human, and they are complete machines! So, although some of the stuff they do in GITSAC is interesting, it just doesn't come up to being great sci-fi or storytelling.

The original "Ghost in the Shell" (1995) is one of my all-time favorite movies, live-action or animated. It's undoubtedly one of my favorite pieces of Japanese animation (Anime'), and it's also one of my all-time favorite sci-fi movies. As well, the original Manga that inspired it (by series creator Shirow Masamune) is one of my favorite books of all time. I also appreciate the deep influence the Manga and film had on "The Matrix" (1999), which is another personal favorite film of mine and another all-time favorite sci-fi movie.With the Anime' series "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," which aired in America on Cartoon Network's late-night programming block Adult Swim, we get another taste of the world that Masamune breathed life into all those years ago. "Stand Alone Complex" appears to be somewhat of an expansion of the original "Ghost in the Shell" from 1995, since as I remember the movie (successfully) condensed a pretty hefty storyline into a single 82-minute feature. A lot of story and characters were left out of the movie entirely, so that it could instead focus on the main storyline of the original Manga.Here in "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," a lot of the story left out of "Ghost in the Shell" is fleshed out, and plus a wealth of new ideas, characters, and concepts are also explored. The series is set in 2030 A.D. in Japan, where Section 9, an elite government task force, investigates crime (both human and computer crimes), terrorism, and all other manner of evil wrong-doing that threatens public security in the country. Led by the tough-as-nails cyborg vixen Major Motoko Kusanagi, they engage all threats with a wicked vengeance. The central storyline details Section 9's investigation of the elusive Laughing Man, a notorious computer hacker who brings to mind memories of the elusive Puppet Master from the original 1995 movie.This is a great, thought-provoking series, like the movie and Manga series that inspired it. Much like its predecessors, "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" dives into a futuristic world where humans are very close to being not human at all. Many humans in this future, are enhanced, in some way or another, by machines, as a means of getting the upper hand in a world where rapid technological advancement is proceeding forward with little or no oversight. How long before flesh & blood will merely be a thing of the past? Can you still be considered human in an artificial body made out of plastic, metal, wiring, and other complex prosthetics? Will there be an ideological war fought between cyber-enhanced humans and militant "anti-cyberization" rebel forces? In some ways, that makes this show seem almost eerily prescient, and entirely possible. It's these sort of paranoid philosophical questions that makes this series such socially relevant science fiction. (James Cameron, are you reading this?)The animation here is great. Like the movie that pioneered the trend, it is a stunningly envisioned, seamless blend of traditional hand-drawn animation and computer-generated imagery (CGI). My guess is that the traditional hand-drawn animation and CGI mirrors the series' persistent theme of the melding of man and machine together. (A very interesting conflict, indeed.) And the exotic soundtrack music by Yoko Kanno is exceptional; it's both moody and atmospheric - it perfectly fits the show in every way possible."Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" is a great Anime' show. It's fantastically animated and intriguingly philosophical in the presentation of its ideas and concepts; watchful viewers could also pick up a few references to the Ridley Scott-directed 1982 American sci-fi classic "Blade Runner," and perhaps even acclaimed American author William Gibson's seminal 1984 cyberpunk novel "Neuromancer," the latter of which is probably the single greatest source of inspiration for this whole setup. And Major Motoko Kusanagi has to be one of the most strikingly beautiful (if not THE most strikingly beautiful) cyborgs ever conceived for an animated format.10/10

I watched the entire series 1 and 2 whilst I was supposed to finish my thesis - nagging deadlines, raging teachers and what not could not dissuade me from watching this first, then finish my Master's degree - one has to set priorities! The series is brilliant for a number of reasons: 1. The animation. Admittedly not as brilliant as the movies, but I didn't expect that either: series work on a lower budget per minute of animation produced. Considering that, what they've achieved is just so magnificently well executed, it just took my breath away.2. The soundtrack. Both title tracks are sung by Origa, and by Jove, are those song 'hooks': even if you donlt care for anime or watching TV anyhow, these tracks glue you to the screen form the first second you hear them. Good job.3. The Plot & Philosophy. Even though I've seen series with a bit more 'driving' plots (these series being certain seasons of X-files, Millennium and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the overarching polt is just amazing. I spent half my days googling all the hints, reading 'Catcher in the Rhye' and Baudrillard and more, just to make sure I wouldn't miss any possible hint or twist.4. Philosophy & the Future. Next to the philosophical underpinnings of the plot, there's also the technicological future the makers foresee. Whereas in the movies we got to see more of the development of 'individuality' under the advancements of technology, we get to see more of the development of 'society', harking back to the original manga-series a bit more. Here also the production team show their intellectual savvy. Although they saved the guest appearance for Donna Haraway for the movie 'Innocence', this series has 'Cyborg Manifesto' written all over it. But their vision goes even beyond these more airy abstract questions: the picture they paint of what the everyday details of future life would be like, are just so incredibly real and on target, it just blows your mind away.I truly believe that this series accurately describes what our future looks like - and every time I hear a news item stating that 'scientists have succeeded in linking this and this computer programme directly to the human brain' or 'more and more shops are opening up in Second Life' or whatever, I now constantly think: we're one step closer to Ghost in the Shell. So, even if you don't like anime, go see this. You'll see your own future.