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Ghost In The Shell - Stand Alone Complex - SAC 1st GIG - Complete Box Set


RRP: £39.99
Our Price: £15.80 (subject to change)

Incredible Manga
Review date: 2008-11-30 Rating: 8 out of 10

This is visionary stuff, with a fine sense of cinematography. The storyline and the action play out very well and I'd have to say I was gripped by this.

Very very good indeed.

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Reviews


A true companion to the original
Review date: 2008-08-25 Rating: 10 out of 10

GitS Standalone Complex is a truer companion to the original then the actual second movie Innocents. Anima TV shows & movies don't always co-exist in continuity terms. As many times they take the main themes & ideas reusing them in a new way appropriate to the storytelling medium. So don't get hung up on how all this ties into the movie as it doesn't, just enjoy it as a standalone story.

All the main Section 9 movie characters are here, plus a couple of new ones. Other then the Tachikomas, these new characters are mostly in the background not really being developed much beyond their Section 9 function. While the Tachikomas are used for comic relief and some of the philosophical ideas later on in the series about Ghosts; I really enjoyed these guys. They even have their own short at the end of each episode, though these are a bit hit & miss.

While there is a plot arc it doesn't dominate the series as different stories are mixed in throughout and they make a nice complement to the main arc keeping the series feeling balanced. There's lots of action packed storytelling, some philosophy, but apart of one episode it's actually philosophically light, this is good or bad depending on if you enjoyed this about the movie; although, there's none of those slow random scenes with music that were used in the movies. I found these enjoyed; quiet points for reflection on what had happened up to that point, or just sit back enjoy the pretty artwork & music. The art style is very similar to the movie but obviously being for TV the budget isn't in the same league, but that didn't stop this from looking topnotch. Music wasn't as striking as the movies but good enough.

Overall this is a very strong series and I give it full marks. But the ending, without spoiling it was the weakest thing about the series. Being episodically based it made use of cliffhanger endings that detract from the story but adding `What's going to happen next' moments. Those moments were unsatisfactorily resolved in my opinion.

All that said if you enjoyed the movies you should also get a good deal of enjoyment out of this box set.

When She's Good She's Very Very Good, But When She's Bad She's Horrid
Review date: 2008-08-11 Rating: 6 out of 10

The one thing that stands out from this series is the colour palette, which seems to abandon the typical dystopian setting of colours for a more bright and airy Naruto feel, which is certainly not the way forward for GiTS given the strength of animation and palette in the movie. In fact, calling this GiTS is quite a large feat as the philosophising element is practically abandoned completely in this entire series, something I was disappointed about.

The method of storytelling is the real downside here, mainly because the Laughing Man tale is (above all else) incredibly good and interesting throughout. Unfortunately this is dispersed by many a hit-and-miss Stand Alone episodes, many of which start out poor and eventually turn decent, or many which wouldn't go amiss in Naruto filler, especially the diatribe seen in Volume 5. The issue here is that they all seem rushed, and if fleshed out more could be decent, but it's full of too much cliche, the story of the defiant child wishing to take revenge against his parents, the tale of hostages helping criminals to take down the middle agents is all too predictable, and something I wish GiTS was above of. That being said, there is a small Tachikoma arc about AI in Volumes 3-4 which I find both amusing and well directed, which was impressive, and Batou and Togusa remain consistently strong characters throughout, it's a shame others aren't as fleshed out.

SAC is a very pretty high budget TV show that seems to have lost sight of what made the movie so great. On the cheap it's a half decent purchase but the series lacks considerable flow in it's method of storytelling, and with many individual episodes being lacklustre at best, it's hard to call this as groundbreaking as the movie. Subs are a tad hit and miss but on the whole acceptable fare throughout.

o.O
Review date: 2008-06-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

First anime series i have ever watched. bought it purely off the back of the movie.

Absolute quality. I dont pretend to be a review critic as i have nothing to base this on as my anime experience is zero. First few episodes were dull but the series takes off.

Dub & Sub quality?
Review date: 2008-03-10 Rating: 10 out of 10

I have the 2 series saved into my wish list and has been considering buying them for a year now! My hesitation is due to the uncertainty of the subs and audio quality of them.

Please could any one have purchase the box set from amazon tell me if they have Japanese audio and English subtitle? I am not a big fan of dub (English actors' voice over). Having seen the negative feedback of the "black cover" at the sub's area I am more uncertain about these box sets' quality!

Product Details/Specifications


Artist(s):
Masamune Shirow

Recording label: Manga Entertainment
Manufacturer: Manga Entertainment
EAN: 5022366203746
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 7
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL,
Release date: 2005-11-14
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 750 minutes
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Japanese (Original Language)
Language: English (Dubbed)

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