(L) Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society

[Shiroth]

Production IG have posted information on what we'll be seeing from the new movie.

Linky~

From the look of things, it seems to be yet another interesting GiTS's watch, and also what could be the end for the Stand Alone Complex story, or maybe a new beginning?

It starts to air in Japan on September 1, and then on DVD late November.. looks like early 2007 for the R1 version.

[BlackDove]

Okay I managed to see it translated.

Pretty much what you'd expect from Stand Alone Complex.

They threw away the idea that Motoko needs to mother the viewer and they let her do her thing (for a scene later to work flawlessly) while the action was more oriented on the work Section 9 does while chasing down the case.

It worked much like Innocence in a matter of speaking, although with Innocence, I doubt the audience was ready for Motoko to be missing from the picture, much like here I think that the viewers will tolerate her being gone from most of it.

At any rate, the story's pretty spiffy and it does require you to be a fan of the series. For anyone who doesn't already care about the characters, the movie will be downright boring five minutes into it because it assumes you already care about the story (which I did, so it was all flowing nicely for me).

The story itself isn't really clarified until the ending hits, but I guess that's what we'd come to expect from the show, most of the stuff being revealed near the end. The get up to the finale however is fairly complex and I don't really want to get into it yet seeing how I just finished viewing it, suffice it to say you'll probably want to view it more than once.

Oh and... Origa just simply rules in this one as well.

Can't wait for the OST and the announcment of the third series/next movie/whatever format they're planning to use to continue the SAC.

Whatever the continuation's going to be, it's surely to be awesome seeing how the movie sets a very good stage for what's to come.

[Jinru]

interesting, i hope quality version of SSS is released soon. i myself just heard about SSS a couple weeks ago and am a huge fan of GITS.

[Forbin]

Originally Posted by Jinru

interesting, i hope quality version of SSS is released soon. i myself just heard about SSS a couple weeks ago and am a huge fan of GITS.

Well, except that's not going to happen for a while as Bandai sent out C&D letters to all the usual fansubbers.

[Wosho128]

Yeah, I'm sad that the fansubbers won't be picking up this title.

When the movie hits stores in English, I'll be sure to pick it up!

I heard it's not slated for a release until 2007 though. I want to see the crazy hijinks of Section 9!

*cries*

[Aidan]

Originally Posted by BlackDove

The story itself isn't really clarified until the ending hits, but I guess that's what we'd come to expect from the show, most of the stuff being revealed near the end. The get up to the finale however is fairly complex and I don't really want to get into it yet seeing how I just finished viewing it, suffice it to say you'll probably want to view it more than once.

Indeed, the complex lines gave me a headache, but I'm starting to wonder if they just tell a simple story in a complex way. I could never follow what a Stand Alone Complex was to begin with. Well, it's just what it says, but the explanation they gave was hard to follow. Time to rewatch the DVD's I guess. After the Major, Togusa has to be my favorite character in GITS, important things always seem to surround him. I'm happy to see him a bit up front in Solid State.

[guest]

So I see the infamous the ghost in the shell is going to have another sequel. Is this worth waiting for?

I watched the original movie of "the ghost in the shell" a few years ago and was not impressed. Then the tv series (the laughing man case) was on adult swim so I thought I might give it another try since it has been quite popular for a long time. There must be a reason to it. That was better. I kind of like that. When I saw the second tv series on AS, I watched it. I like it. I am now renting the dvd to finish it.

I have yet to watch "the ghost in the shell: innocence" the movie. From what I heard, it is probably not going to be interesting to me. If the new series is going to be more like the movie "innocence," I am probably not going to be interested. Is this worth waiting for?

btw, I think I have watched every series and movie out there for "the ghost in the shell," right, except for the movie "innocence"?

[lommm]

this movie is basical Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society

so it is like the Laughing Man and the Particularist Eleven tv series, and nearly like Innocence, though it will be the same basic characters....

basically, those first two movies were mad by one guy, while the SSS movie and the SAC tv shows were made by a different guy...

[MrProphet]

Solid State Society is not a movie. It was never screened at any cinema, AFAIK. It's a glorified OVA.

[Forbin]

Originally Posted by Aidan

Indeed, the complex lines gave me a headache, but I'm starting to wonder if they just tell a simple story in a complex way. I could never follow what a Stand Alone Complex was to begin with. Well, it's just what it says, but the explanation they gave was hard to follow. Time to rewatch the DVD's I guess. After the Mayor, Togusa has to be my favorite character in GITS, important things always seem to surround him. I'm happy to see him a bit up front in Solid State.

From what I understand, a Stand Alone Complex means that you have a Complex (a state of mind) but you aren't recruiting people, a Stand Alone with your ideals.

That was the whole Laughing man. It was one guy with an Idea and others liked it and started to copycat him.

[MrProphet]

Stand Alone Complex, in the context of this series, actually means several things:

1) A psychosomatic disorder developed in those people who chose not to have cyberbrains and are thus not connected to the Network.

2) A phenomenon whereby individuals connected to a Network start to exhibit similar ideas without being in direct contact with each other.

The second is more relevant to the plot of the series (while the first was only featured in a little production essay, if memory serves me correctly).

Both SAC series are an exposition of the Stand Alone Complex: groups of people start to share a cohesion of consciousness and synchronize their belief systems with each other. While in the first SAC, the Laughing Man situation was a string of copycat crimes that had no original to copy (thus, all "laughing men" were synchronized with each other), in the 2nd gig this actually takes a more massive societal form, where a huge collection of individuals with self-interest start forming a singular cyber consciousness.

The term "Stand Alone Complex" is a creation of the writers of this show. I believe in actual research it is in fact called a "simulacrum": a copy that has no original. Fredric Jameson, who is quoted by both the Laughing Man and Motoko, also used this term.

[Aidan]

I'd rather think of Solid State as a movie made for TV, like Merlin a couple of years back. Some very interesting concepts get explored in Solid Sate. Most notable is the concept of the collective consciousness and the Stand Alone Complex within it.

What I got out of the Stand Alone Complex was that a group of people unconsciously work towards a common goal, which results in their action seeming unrelated, until one step back and views the big picture.

[Deacon Blues]

Originally Posted by MrProphet

Solid State Society is not a movie. It was never screened at any cinema, AFAIK. It's a glorified OVA.

Um... it's a movie. Don't believe me? Read the official site.

...this full-length 105 minute feature has required an unprecedented budget of 360 million yen (or 3.20 million dollars), in order to provide theatrical quality. The movie will premiere in Japan on the SKYPerfecTV! satellite television network on September 1st, and successively released on DVD on November 24th.

I wouldn't exactly say that the events in 2ng GIG were all that of a STAND ALONE COMPLEX. Gohda merely exploited one small portion and ended up writing a huge scriptp for everyone to follow...

[ZeusIrae]

I saw it.It was good.
It feels like a 3rd season except it's shorter.
As usual the story deal with current issues and have some intresting ideas.The end is disturbing but very good.And the major is hot
I think it will be hard to follow for those who didn't see the previous seasons.But anyway only people who saw GitS:SAC will watch the movie.

[MrProphet]

Originally Posted by Deacon Blues

I wouldn't exactly say that the events in 2ng GIG were all that of a STAND ALONE COMPLEX. Gohda merely exploited one small portion and ended up writing a huge scriptp for everyone to follow...

Sure. That's why it is interesting. 8)

- At first we find out about a Stand Alone Complex in the form of the Individual Eleven. 11 seemingly independant persons who arrive at the same exact goal and band up together.

- Then we find that it was actually a fake SAC, a memetic virus spread by Gohda in order to achieve a measure of national unity and manipulate the public consciousness.

- And then, in the very end, we find out that there is in fact a true SAC going on, but not in the terms of the Individual Eleven, but among the refugees, who all use Kuze as a focal point for the formation of a single cybernetic mind.

[Deacon Blues]

Uh... even the idea with the refugees was scripted by Gohda... why else do you think they axed him in the end?

This movie had some serious flaws I hope they intend on fixing with either a novel adaptation or another manga, because in terms of continuity... it's whacked.

[Aidan]

Originally Posted by Deacon Blues

This movie had some serious flaws I hope they intend on fixing with either a novel adaptation or another manga, because in terms of continuity... it's whacked.

Would you be able to shed some light on that, I'm being curious.

[Deacon Blues]

Spoiler:

There is no explanation as to how or why the hell the Tachikoma's are like... LAWL HI WE'RE BACK! That totally defeats the purpose of their valiant sacrifice in the end of the series. Not to mention that the Major just up and left to pursue things on her own... I was under the understanding that she couldn't just... leave. Though that does make sense with her leaving the others at the end of the series, it's still rather dumb if you ask me. I should post my complete review here, but I still have to patch up some things in it... :S

[v1cious]

looks like somebody met bandai's challenege. i don't know who, but there's a real sub out there now.

[Aidan]

Originally Posted by Deacon Blues

Spoiler:

There is no explanation as to how or why the hell the Tachikoma's are like... LAWL HI WE'RE BACK! That totally defeats the purpose of their valiant sacrifice in the end of the series. Not to mention that the Major just up and left to pursue things on her own... I was under the understanding that she couldn't just... leave. Though that does make sense with her leaving the others at the end of the series, it's still rather dumb if you ask me. I should post my complete review here, but I still have to patch up some things in it... :S

Ah I see.

Spoiler:

Tachikoma's coming back was a big surprise, an explanation would have been nice, but it's not unexpected or impossible, they did put all their memories in the piece of cyberspace they secured at the end of SAC 2. They were even connected to it right up until the end. The Major must have simply integrated those memories with the AI, bringing them back to their original state, giving them names this time around, signifying their individuality.

About the Major leaving (retiring), she must have been heart broken at the end of SAC2 (It was shown that she was still capable of emotions), she was also acting very strange near and at the end of SAC2, a bit more emotional. But honestly I would also have liked an explanation, she gives one at the end, but it's not very satisfying. She left to go searching on the net. I can only assume that she left to search for Kuze in cyber space, which lead to her finding Tachikoma's memories and the Solid State. But than again an explanation like "leaving because of a man" would have been too sappy and it would have destroyed her image. I thought she found him at the start of the movie, to tell you the truth.