Series Overview[]
Color | Season | Episodes | Toonami Premiere | Toonami Finale |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 26 | August 4, 2012 | May 3, 2014 | |
Movie | 01 | Unaired | ||
Movie | 01 | Unaired | ||
OVA | 01 | Unaired |
Season 1 (2002-2003)[]
Stand Alone Complex consists of 14 "Stand Alone" (SA) episodes and 12 "Complex" (C) episodes. "Stand Alone" episodes take place independently of the main plot and focus on Public Security Section 9's investigation of isolated cases. "Complex" episodes advance the main plot, which follows Section 9's investigation of the Laughing Man incident.
No. | (SA) or (C) | English Dubbed Episode Title | Japanese Airdate | English Airdate | Toonami Airdate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 | Stand Alone | "SECTION 9" | October 1, 2002 | November 6, 2004 | August 4, 2012 |
At a geisha house, the female androids have gone out of control. They have taken two members of a foreign body hostage, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister's secretary, and the head of the Minister's Support Association. The situation is further complicated by a feud over authority between the police and the military. Section 9 Chief Aramaki lends a helping hand and brings in his unit to resolve the crisis. | |||||
02 | Stand Alone | "TESTATION" | October 1, 2002 | November 13, 2004 | August 11, 2012 |
A prototype multiped tank has destroyed two other prototypes and broken out of a testing facility. Section 9, employing its own smaller multipeds, the Tachikomas, is brought in to stop it. The hijacker is using the ID of the tank's designer who recently died. Whoever is operating the tank, their motives are unknown. Section 9 has little time to figure out these two mysteries before the tank enters the urban area. | |||||
03 | Stand Alone | "ANDROID AND I" | November 1, 2002 | November 20, 2004 | August 18, 2012 |
A certain type of android, the GA07_JL, nicknamed Jeri by its users, has been affected by a virus. Recently, all Jeri model androids have been committing "suicide". Section 9 is called in as it may be related to a virus detected in an android at the National Assembly Building. | |||||
04 | Complex | "INTERCEPTER" | November 1, 2002 | November 27, 2004 | August 25, 2012 |
A former colleague of Togusa's named Yamaguchi calls and asks him to look at some sensitive data related to the Laughing Man case. Before Yamaguchi can arrive with the material, however, the car he is driving swerves off of the road and explodes. Aramaki allows Togusa to investigate Yamaguchi's death and Togusa is able to retrieve the information that his colleague wanted him to look at. Information that could implicate high-ranking officials within Police HQ. | |||||
05 | Complex | "DECOY" | December 1, 2002 | December 4, 2004 | September 1, 2012 |
During a press conference in the previous episode, Superintedent-General Daidō had been publically threatened by the person known as the Laughing Man. Through an intermediary, the Laughing Man demanded that Daidō reveal "the truth" or else he would be, "removed from the stage." For six years the Special Investigations Unit, which is part of the Metropolitan Police that Daidō oversees, has been working on this case. It now seems that they have found a possible suspect in Nanao=A, a man with dubious connections. Meanwhile, still acting from behind the scenes, Section 9 continues their own investigation into the Laughing Man incident. | |||||
06 | Complex | "MEME" | December 1, 2002 | December 11, 2004 | September 8, 2012 |
At a press conference, the Superintendent-General makes himself a prime target for the Laughing Man's threat. Section 9 has gathered enough evidence to arrest Nanao=A, but, before they can, he is able to release a modular, delayed-action virus. The virus seems to only affect those on the security detail that is guarding Superintendent-General Daidō. However, Section 9 will not know who on the security team has been taken over by the virus until the symptoms begin to manifest. By that time, it may be too late. | |||||
07 | Stand Alone | "IDOLATOR" | January 1, 2003 | December 18, 2004 | September 15, 2012 |
Marcelo Jarti, the leader of a South American revolutionary army called Jenoma, has been assassinated once again. However, it turns out to be another one of his many doubles, thus adding to the legend that he is his country's "Immortal Hero". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls in Section 9 to help investigate. What they find will finally put to rest the legend that is Marcelo Jarti. | |||||
08 | Stand Alone | "MISSING HEARTS" | January 1, 2003 | January 1, 2005 | September 22, 2012 |
Motoko is asked by her friend Kurutan to investigate a strange scenario. A six-year old girl's life was saved by an immediate heart transplant. When her parents tried to send their gratitude to the donor, the donor's parents filed a police report since they never gave permission for the donation. What's more, the investigating officer has now been hospitalized after an accident. There is more to this case then meets the eye and Motoko and her colleagues must find out who's behind these apparant illegal organ donations. | |||||
09 | Complex | "CHAT! CHAT! CHAT!" | February 1, 2003 | January 8, 2005 | September 29, 2012 |
A gathering is initiated in cyberspace to discuss the Laughing Man. After a six year absence, the super-hacker reemerged from the shadows of the net and publicly threatened to assassinate Superintendent-General Daido of the Niihama Metropolitan Police ("INTERCEPTER"). With an audience watching across the net, several people take their places at a table in order to pass around their theories as to why the Laughing Man returned and to discuss what happened during the assassination attempt at the press conference ("DECOY" and "MEME"). | |||||
10 | Stand Alone | "JUNGLE CRUISE" | February 1, 2003 | January 15, 2005 | October 6, 2012 |
Marco Amoretti, a former Navy Petty Officer from the American Empire, has come to Japan and is committing heinous acts of brutality against women. Section 9 is assisted in this matter by the American Empire's CIA. While this doesn't sit well with Public Security's members, Batou finds the whole case particularly hard on his psyche as the nightmares from his past rear their ugly head. | |||||
11 | Complex | "PORTRAITZ" | March 1, 2003 | January 22, 2005 | October 6, 2012 |
A high-level hacking has occured at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Section 9 has traced the source of the hack job back to a vocational aid center located high in the mountains. The hack was done by someone very skilled since it only took two hours to crack the MHLW's ultra-secure barriers. The odd thing is that the MHLW has not filed a formal complaint about the incident. Togusa is sent undercover to discover what is going on at the aid center. | |||||
12 | Stand Alone | "ESCAPE FROM" | March 1, 2003 | January 29, 2005 | October 13, 2012 |
This episode actually has two parts. The second story links with the first, but they consist of different settings. "Tachikoma Runs Away": The Tachikoma that Batou has been feeding natural oil to awakens before the other Tachikomas do and leaves the hanger to have an adventure. On the town, it meets up with a girl named Miki who is searching for her dog. "The Movie Director's Dream": While out on its adventure, Batou's Tachikoma found a cyberbrain that has something very interesting within it. One of Section 9's lab techs has become "lost" inside the device, and it's up to the Major to bring him back. | |||||
13 | Stand Alone | "NOT EQUAL" | April 1, 2003 | February 5, 2005 | October 13, 2012 |
While tracking the New World Brigade, an anti-cyberization group, to an unused radiation scrubber facility off Okinawa, the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency took pictures that show Eka Tokura, the kidnapped daughter of a cyber-technology company CEO. However, the girl was abducted over 16 years ago when she was 10 years old. In the recent photos, she looks just as she did on the day she was taken. For reasons unknown, contact with the Maritime Safety Agency's reconnaissance team has been lost. Section 9 heads to the facility to locate the unit and find out why Eka Tokura was there. | |||||
14 | Stand Alone | "¥€$" | April 1, 2003 | February 12, 2005 | October 20, 2012 |
Section 9 goes undercover, disguised as garbage collecters. The target of their operation is a Chinese mafia group who will be attempting a robbery of a financial institution. At the same time, a South Seas Mafia assassin enters the country with orders of her own. Her target is a former mathematician turned billionaire financial whiz who is known to be a recluse. | |||||
15 | Stand Alone | "MACHINES DÉSIRANTES" | May 1, 2003 | February 19, 2005 | October 20, 2012 |
A new sniper device is tested out, but is found to have flaws. While Section 9 attends a debriefing session on the fate of the sniping device, the Tachikomas themselves begin to worry that tomorrow they could be the ones that are scrapped. The Tachikomas of Section 9 unite and discuss the various issues dealing with them that have occurred within previous episodes. They worry that the Major does not appreciate them. At the same time, the Major is looking into the idea of proceeding without the Tachikomas at Section 9's side. | |||||
16 | Stand Alone | "Ag2O" | May 1, 2003 | February 26, 2005 | October 27, 2012 |
After the events of "MACHINES DÉSIRANTES", the Tachikomas are sent back to the lab for further testing. Batou has little time to ponder the loss of his pet, however. A foreign spy is suspected to be working within a Japanese Self-Defense Force training camp based in New Port City. With the Major and the Chief away at a security conference in England, Batou alone is assigned to go undercover to confirm the suspect. | |||||
17 | Stand Alone | "ANGELS' SHARE" | June 1, 2003 | March 5, 2005 | October 27, 2012 |
Aramaki and Kusanagi attend an international security conference in London. While there, Aramaki visits an old acquaintance of his, who is the operator of a wine fund, a place where people store their wines in order to let the wine age and become more expensive. Their meeting is not purely a social one, but before Aramaki and his friend can sit down and talk about the old days, the bank is broken into by two mafia men. | |||||
18 | Stand Alone | "LOST HERITAGE" | June 1, 2003 | March 12, 2005 | November 3, 2012 |
Chinese Vice Minister Jin has arrived in Japan to visit the Kagoshima War Memorial where hundreds of Japanese and Chinese soldiers and civilians from a previous war have been interred. Many protesters are demonstrating against the Vice Minister's visit to the memorial. Security is of the utmost concern in this matter. That's where Section 9 comes into the picture. | |||||
19 | Stand Alone | "CAPTIVATED" | July 1, 2003 | March 19, 2005 | November 3, 2012 |
Recently, there have been numerous kidnappings which resemble the modus operandi of the Northern Territories Mafia. Aramaki and his team have been called in by the Prime Minister. Ironically, the request to investigate the matter has come from the former Prime Minister of Japan, whose own daughter has been kidnapped by the Mafia. During his time as Head of Government, he denied that the group ever existed. Delving further into the matter, Public Security discovers rumors that the abductors are harvesting organs and cyberbrains from the kidnapped children and selling them on the black market. | |||||
20 | Complex | "RE-VIEW" | July 1, 2003 | March 26, 2005 | March 22, 2014 |
Back on the Laughing Man case, Section 9 tries to find evidence of tampering in the Nanao=A case and delves more into the recent hack job at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Using J.D. Salinger's The Cather in the Rye as a guide, Togusa checks out the MHLW and finds that something is missing: A ledger containing a list of vaccine recipients. | |||||
21 | Complex | "ERASER" | August 3, 2003 | April 2, 2005 | March 29, 2014 |
Following the events of "RE-VIEW", Togusa has been rushed to the hospital. Just before he goes into surgery, he passes on what he has learned to the rest of his team. As he fights for his life, his colleagues at Section 9 take over the case to find the vaccine recipient ledger and the person responsible for taking it. However, others in the government are not happy about this investigation. The Drug and Narcotic Suppression Squad, the same unit that shot Togusa in the previous episode, is again dispatched by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare in order to find the thief and the ledger before Section 9. | |||||
22 | Complex | "SCANDAL" | August 3, 2003 | April 9, 2005 | April 5, 2014 |
Events begin to shift into overdrive after the events of "ERASER". While things seem to be going Section 9's way, people in the shadows are starting to appear. As Motoko, accompanied by her friend Kurutan, arrives at the hospital to switch to a new prosthetic body, Togusa begins the recovery process after being wounded by the DEA's NARC Squad. However, the people still active within the NARC Squad have a few more surprises in store. | |||||
23 | Complex | "EQUINOX" | September 1, 2003 | April 16, 2005 | April 12, 2014 |
The Laughing Man returns and, just as he did six years ago, kidnaps the President of Serano Genomics without being detected. Section 9 arrives too late and sets out to find him. Meanwhile, the Laughing Man and Mr. Serano discuss what happened six years ago. The stakes are much higher this time, and for the Laughing Man failure is not an option. | |||||
24 | Complex | "ANNIHILATION" | September 1, 2003 | April 23, 2005 | April 19, 2014 |
Togusa, at the request of Chief Aramaki, returns to work. Both head out to the Prime Minister's residence with a detailed report citing Secretary-General Yakushima as the real power behind the Laughing Man Incident. However, before they can even leave their own building, they are told by the Minister of Home Affairs that Public Security has already been accused of being the masterminds behind the Laughing Man. The situation has gone from bad to worse and it will take a concerted effort by all of its members for Section 9 to clear itself of the charges. | |||||
25 | Complex | "BARRAGE" | October 1, 2003 | April 30, 2005 | April 26, 2014 |
As the JMSDF's Special Forces Unit rounds up the remaining members of Section 9, Daisuke Aramaki meets with the Minister of Justice to make one last appeal to the government to salvage his team. Section 9 may be down, but certainly not out. And they have help in the form of the "think-tanks", otherwise known as the Tachikomas. Public Security will make one final push to save itself from extinction. | |||||
26 | Complex | "STAND ALONE COMPLEX" | October 1, 2003 | May 7, 2005 | May 3, 2014 |
Togusa has been released from jail, but his badge and gun are confiscated and he is given papers showing the dissolution of Section 9. Out of work and depressed, he tries to find information on the others, but turns up nothing. Trying to turn his life around, he begins to look for a new job, only to be sidetracked by the ongoing case against Secretary-General Yakushima involving the illegal use of micromachines. With the news plastered everywhere, Togusa cannot help but wonder where he stands now. |
Ghost in the Shell[]
Ghost in the Shell is a 1995 Japanese anime film based on manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow. The film was directed by Mamoru Oshii, animated by Production I.G, and scripted by Kazunori Itō, with voice acting by Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ōtsuka and Iemasa Kayumi.
In Japan, the film was released on VHS on April 26, 1996. The DVD version was released on February 25, 2004, and in Blu-ray on August 24, 2007. In North America, the film was released on DVD on March 31, 1998, by Anchor Bay. A special edition of the film was released in December 2004 and contains an additional disc containing character dossiers, creator biography, director biography, Ghost in the Shell trailers and previews.
A reproduced version of the original film titled, Ghost in the Shell 2.0 was made in celebration for the release of The Sky Crawlers in 2008. For the film's Version 2.0 release, all the original animations were re-produced with the latest digital film and animation technologies, such as 3D-CGI. The original soundtrack was also re-arranged and re-recorded.
The "2.0" version was released in theatres in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo on July 12, 2008. The film was released in DVD and Blu-ray on December 19, 2008, in Japan. The North American release for the film was scheduled to be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray. The Special Edition release was scheduled to include the original 1995 release alongside the Version 2.0 on a Double Layer Blu-ray, and complimented with the inclusion of a soundtrack CD and booklet with commentary detailing the Version 2.0 production. This has since changed and Manga Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray on November 24, 2009. The original version of the movie is included on the disc, but it is merely the 480i laserdisc master encoded in 1080i. The original English dub was used for the new 2.0 version with the new sound effects.
No. | English Episode Title | Japanese Release | English Release |
---|---|---|---|
01 | "Ghost in the Shell" | October 18, 1995 | March 31, 1998 |
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster. The pursuit will call into question what makes a human and what is the Puppetmaster in a world where the distinction between human and machine is increasingly blurry. |
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence[]
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, known simply as Innocence in Japan, is a 2004 anime/computer animated science fiction film and sequel to the film, Ghost in the Shell. Released in Japan on March 6, 2004, and in the United States on September 17, 2004, Innocence had a production budget of approximately $20 million (approx. 2 billion yen). To raise such a large amount of money, Production I.G's president, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, asked Studio Ghibli's president, Toshio Suzuki, to work on the project with him as a co-producer. The film is written and directed by Mamoru Oshii, with a story loosely connected to the manga by Shirow Masamune.
In order to better market the film outside of Japan, the Ghost in the Shell 2 moniker was added to the title of the film, with Innocence simply becoming the subtitle. This was seen by some fans as conflicting with Oshii's statements that the film wasn't in actuality a standard Hollywood-esque sequel, and was able to, and intended to, stand alone.
On December 28, 2004, DreamWorks (parent company of theatrical distributor Go Fish Pictures) released Innocence on DVD in the United States., Reviews immediately began appearing on Amazon and other websites criticizing the movie's subtitle track. Instead of including the overlay subtitles from the theatrical release, DreamWorks produced the DVD subtitles using closed captioning. The result was a script that intruded on the movie's visual effects; and in addition to reading dialogue, audiences saw unnecessary alerts like "Footsteps..." or "Helicopter approaches..." After receiving numerous complaints, DreamWorks released a statement saying that unsatisfied customers could exchange their DVDs for properly subtitled ones.
Bandai Entertainment has released the film on Blu-ray and DVD in the United States, with an English dub also featuring the cast used in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Bandai had licensed the film for a short period from Paramount.
No. | English Episode Title | Japanese Release | English Release |
---|---|---|---|
01 | "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" | March 6, 2004 | September 17, 2004 |
The year is 2032 and Batou, a detective for the Public Security Section 9, the government's covert anti-terrorist unit, is investigating the case of a gynoid (a hyper-realistic female robot created specifically for sexual companionship) who malfuntions and slaughters her owner. Investigating further, he and his partner, Togusa, have to fight through Yakuza thugs, hackers, government bureaucrats, and corporate criminals to reveal the astonishing truth behind the crime. |
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man[]
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man is a feature-length OVA that was released in Japan on September 23, 2005, and in North America on October 2, 2007. The OVA retells the first season of the TV anime series with minor alterations to the storyline to accommodate an abbreviated take on the Laughing Man affair. Some additional animation and voice work was also added. Although the Japanese language version retained the voice cast from the anime series, the English version has a new cast of voice actors. The dialogue recording for the English version was produced by Ocean Productions. A Blu-ray version was released on December 22, 2010
No. | English Episode Title | Japanese Release | English Release |
---|---|---|---|
01 | "The Laughing Man" | September 23, 2005 | October 2, 2007 |
In 2024, the terrorist incident known as "The Laughing Man Incident" occurred in which Ernest Serano, president of the groundbreaking micromachine company, Sereno Genomics, was kidnapped and ransomed. One day, the case having remained unsolved for six years, Detective Yamaguchi, who has been investigating "The Laughing Man Incident," sends word that he wants to meet with Togusa from Public Safety Section 9. However, soon after sending this message, Yamaguchi, crucial to the success of the case, dies in an accident. Many days pass and in the midst of a police interview relay concerning suspicions behind interceptors, a forewarning is received from "The Laughing Man" of his next crime. The incorporeal hacker begins to move once again. |
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