Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 10/10
Just finished re-watching this (both seasons), which I haven't done in a long time. Fuck, but this is my favorite science fiction show of all time, not just my favorite anime. While the Battlestar Galactica remake was on the air, it briefly became my favorite, but the weak ending of that show put it back in second place.
To me, what makes good science fiction good are the ideas being discussed, both directly and metaphorically. It's the reason I prefer Star Trek over Star Wars. GitS:SAC packs in far more ideas into two seasons than a Star Trek series can juggle in seven, and it's interesting and relevant stuff. There's sociopolitical issues like the relationship between governments, corporations, and the populace. Militaries having too much influence over the government, governments taking too many liberties with liberty in police practices. The central theme (from which the series gets its name) postulates bizarre changes in the nature of groupthink once people augment their brains with mass-produced items. Various commentaries on the possible effects of technology on social structures and social mores. Of course there is also a lot on the nature of sentience, which the franchise is kind of famous for. What is sentience? What is the relationship between memory and self-awareness and/or identity? What is the changing role of external memory in human development once external memory involves computers hard-wired into our brains? How do we actually define self-awareness and self-identity once the line starts to blur between increasingly cyberized humans and increasingly-intelligent machines? What is the relationship between our bodies/physical appearance and self-identity? There are even some of Baudrillard's ideas tossed into the mix somewhere. The more times I watch it, the more ideas I learn to see in between the lines.
Despite tossing so many ideas around, the pace never bogs down, the action is genuinely thrilling, and the symbols never get in the way of old-fashioned storytelling (which is mostly of the conspiracy-oriented police procedural variety).
The characters are interesting and have distinct personalities, motives, and understandable reasons for the way they behave. The main character questions her own humanity. Her second in command is madly in love with her, the feelings are not mutual, and both of them are too damn macho to ever talk about their feelings openly. The cynical sniper turns out to be the most idealistic of the lot. The ex-cop is charming, decent, relatable and adorkable. The main character's girlfriend (she's sex-positive and bisexual) is even more innocent, good-natured, and adorkable than the cop. The hacker runs a questionable business on the side (and may use it as a front for goodness knows what kind of scams). The ex-mobster is actually a pretty decent and dedicated cop, but is a shameless and sleazy womanizer. The gruff chief seems to be a cliche until you find out he's an incredibly devious and conniving politician who pulls all the wrong strings for all the right reasons, and probably throws himself into his work to avoid thinking about personal problems. The Tachikomas (mini-spider tanks) serve as the source of discussion about machines that are starting to get too clever for their own good, and are both adorable and heroic. For all that you emotionally identify with these characters, get sad when they're hurt and laugh at their personality quirks, they're the ones who are abusing power over their fellow citizens and doing things that no one in a democratically elected government should do, and the writers are smart enough not to make any of those questions easy to answer for the viewer.
It's pretty hard sci-fi with none of the nutty spirituality or bad science that so frequently characterizes so much American and Japanese science fiction. It's so rare to find
any hard sci-fi on television or in movies these days, much less really good hard sci-fi.
Yeah, I know. GitS:SAC was specifically made for Western audiences and I know a lot of American/Western anime fans poo-poo it for that reason, but fuck those snobs. I really love this show. If you generally don't care for anime, this one may appeal to you.
