It's premiering tonight at 12:30 EST, right after Fullmetal Alchemist. Reruns will air on Thursdays at 1AM. Another much hyped and anticipated series that CN acquired this year.



I hope I don't have to know a whole lot from the movie or manga, since I've never seen or read either of them. *g* GitS already gets bonus points for having a Yoko Kanno soundtrack, though.

Oooooh, Yoko Kanno! ::Drool::

Hate the intro animation. Haaaaaaate.

I completely zoned out on all the techobabble. They might as well not have translated that for all the sense it made to me. The visuals are pretty cool, though. The exploding geisha heads were seriously icky, even if they weren't human.

The lead chick (does she have a name that I missed, or does everyone just call her Major?) really needs to find some damn pants. She's running around in her underwear and a leather jacket. Stupid. She has pretty eyes, though.

If I could plug my head directly into an online network, I would never get anything done ever again.

Someone really needs to send a memo to Japan: "Mullets are not a valid fashion choice. Ever."

The backgrounds are gorgeous, but the CGI cars bug.

The CGI opening is really annoying, but the music is soooo purdy.



WORD! Nobody should be able to work in their lingerie.

I thought this was a pretty good beginning. Even if it doesn't grow on me, I can stare at the shiny marble in the background and the gloss on the leather furniture.

So GitS gets an opening. No fair. I second the hate for the opening animation.



Word on both accounts. The lead chick's name is Motoko Kusanagi, for future reference.

I loved the song played during the first sequence. The animation is really nice, too. Some of the dialogue was pretty funny. "I think I broke him."

I have no idea what's going on, but it's not terrible or boring. I'll keep watching.

But the song "Inner Universe" may be the best thing. Ever.

I own both DVDs so far and I love them and the entire series.

And Batou.

And the episodes make tons more sense if you tape them and watch them a few times. The story can sometimes be really complex.

Nice teeth.

The outfit is so Aeon Flux-ish and over the top it doesn't really bother me. Positing that this all takes place in less than 30 years does because it's nowhere near the amount of time necessary. Should be more like 2130.

The opening with the robots fighting each other looks like it belongs on a Patlabor series.

One of these years I have to rent the movies.

LOL! True. Motoko isn't very modest. But since her whole body is artificial anyway, I don't think she really cares. It's not like she can catch a cold or anything. lol



Well Blade Runner is supposed to take place in 2019, and we don't have anything close to the technology in that story.

Most of these Cyberpunk type stories generally take place in the "Near Future", and take place in "What If" worlds.



They are great movies with absolutely stunning and highly detailed animation. Just don't expect wall-to-wall action. The Patlabor films are more about mystery and drama first, then the action. But once the action starts, it's good.

From memory, the opening theme for this and the sequel series are probably the best (TV) anime music pieces I've heard. The ending themes however... Are they using Lithium Flower as the ending theme in the US or have they come to their senses and picked a more appropriate tune?

Oh, I don't know. I imagine that if I lived in that world I'd roll out of bed and hook myself straight into the online network, vowing that I'd be just a minute, then look at the clock a couple of hours later and realise that I'm late for work then just grab a coat and dash off in my PJs. Provided, you know, that my boss didn't mind and I wouldn't get my ass fired for doing so.

Thus far I don't really mind the show, but I'm really not into cyberpunk. I'll need to watch a couple more episodes to see if it's engaging enough to grab my interest in spite of that or not.

Well, I picked up the first DVD a few weeks ago; just to get a taste of the series, before it aired. After four episodes, I'm kinda sorta digging it. I mean, I'm not in love with it. But there's some potential here.

The music is used really well and I think the visuals are damn impressive (i.e., episode #2); especially, for a TV series. Wow. I'm surprised at the level of hate the opening animation is getting. I mean, I'm not in totally in love with it myself, in an Athrun/Kira kinda way. It's just...whatever; not horrendous, but not anything I'm jumping all over. Y'know? I just think hate should be reserved for shitty writing, character assassinations, OVAs that should never be made, and...

Oh, my bad. Yeah. I'm still hung up on Wolf's Rain. That was, like, three weeks ago, right? Sorry. I don't take bad break-ups well.

Anyway, I might stick with the broadcast, but I dunno. I'll have to see how I feel, after I've seen the 2nd DVD.

Aw, I like 'Lithium Flower.' Anywho, they did indeed use it for the ending.

Glad to see that I'm not the only one over whose head the technobabble whizzed. I don't know whether or not I like it yet, but I'm willing to watch a few more episodes before deciding.

Word on the magnificence of "Inner Universe". It more than balanced out the hate for that 3D opening. It was my anime song of choice before I found "Rise". I didn't know Yoko Kanno was involved in it though. Is there no kind of music Yoko Kanno can't kick ass at doing?

The answer is not.



I, too, like Lithium Flower and don't see why it doesn't fit.

It's a nice song to be sure, it's just that I don't think that a country/angst-rock hybrid tune is the best thing for GitS. I'm more used to the electronica/ trance/ new age/ world music type of tunes from it.

Heck, even in the OST Lithium Flower sticks (stands?) out, despite the fact that Scott Matthew had another song on it (Beauty Is Within Us).

I don't think that it's really country. It seems more New Wave, which, I think, fits with Stand Alone Complex's music.

'Inner Universe' is a beautiful song, but I still don't like the opening animation. I'm not a big CGI fan in general, so eh.

Nice asshot, Motoko. I guess it's only fair after chained up Ed in FMA. Mmm, chained up Ed. Sorry, wrong thread. I really do like Motoko, though. It's nice to have a strong female lead. She's awesome.

Those blue robot tank thingys were cute, though a bit annoying.

I still don't really get all the techno babble, but the show's still enjoyable. Apparently, it got fantastic ratings last week. Let's hope that continues.

Hated the opening animation slightly less this week. I like the song a lot, but that style of animation always bugs me.

The chipper robot spider/car things were amusing. I kind of want one.

I still hear "blah blah, blah blah blah" when they go into technobabble mode. It doesn't seem to affect my understanding of the plot, though, so it's no big deal. Togusa's (I think that's his name) hair continues to be horrifying.

I'm kind of eh on the series, so far. I'm not connecting with the characters at all emotionally, and I find myself not really caring about all the military stuff, so it's not particularly interesting to me. I'll give it a couple more episodes, but I'm not feeling the love.

ETA: Hee! jinx, Leanan! I swear I was still typing when you posted, but we said almost exactly the same things.

Next week is a less technobabble-y number, so hopefully it'll please you. I find it helped to have a previous attachment to them from the movies.

Got a little more into it tonight...helps that one of the characters sounds like Jigen from Lupin III. Basic O.J. romp with a heavy-duty tank, mixed in with religious beliefs, corporate skullduggery, and relentlessly cheery mechs that I caught when X-Play reviews the GITS: STA video game.

While it's low on the "babble", next week's episode isn't very high on the good.

I really liked the mech animation, in this episode; 3D and cel-shader have come a long, LONG way.

GASP! It's one of my most favorite episodes in this series so far! The subtlety and emotion are great, in my opinion. It took a few viewings for me to catch everything.

So the designer put himself into the tank. That took me the whole first minute to figure out. Granted, I thought he had downloaded his mind and not physically stuck his brain inside it, but same difference. I guess years of Star Trek have inured me to technobabble.

She was actually all covered up this time. The spider thingies zipping along behind the 'big ass tank' were cute. Would be great in rush hour traffic, you could just shoot around all the cars on a couple of legs.

I saw the first movie years and years ago, and I remember liking it. Perhaps it's time to rewatch.

The technobabble doesn't really bother me, it's that the characters themselves aren't showing a lot of emotion or personality. But it is still the very beginning of the show, and they aren't entirely "human," so I'm going to give it a little time.

The characterization, as far as I can tell, really doesn't take place in the first couple episodes. However, owning the first 2 DVDs, I can tell you that you do get some development for the characters. I like that they can still develop the characters without wasting entire episodes delving into their backstory and clunkily handing us a Cliff's Notes version of their life.

I kind of enjoyed the latest episode, even the technobabbly parts. Although the fact that those little blue multipeds sounded like they were being piloted by Alvin, Simon and Theodore wasn't much of a plus.

For anyone who may have seen more of the series, is there a multi-episode arc coming up anytime soon? Because these individual week to week mission episodes seem to be the only way this show works for me. I find this show doesn't have as much of the "Wow, but how?" factor as Witch Hunter Robin was literally slapping me about the face with.

Yes, there are "complex" episodes that build an arc.

And let us never mention Witch Hunter Robin ever again.

Well, it wasn't the worst TV series episode I had ever seen. But there was something about it that was rubbing me the wrong way. I'll watch it again tonight; maybe the third time will be the charm.

Ghost in the Shell meets Cherry 3000! At least Jeri (sp?) wasn't as stupid as Cherry.

I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about that CGI doll from the opening as the show goes along.

Those police mechs sound like Sherri Lynn on helium.

ETA: Because 2 is not 3...

A lot of the dialogue is still going over my head. I can get the basic plot and whatnot, at least. Think I need to start watching the reruns on Thursday nights. I do like the banter between the characters, though, especially the part where Kusangai went off about what the androids were used for.

Hello, Warren. Er, Marshall. Did I hear wrong, or did they say that Marshall had left Canada to dodge the draft? Because that would be hilarious.

The plot was kind of cliche, but I did like the twist at the end.

Yyyyyyyup!

I also love the banter. It's one of the highlights of the episode, to see everyone exchanging so casually. But like you said, the twist is what makes this a great episode. In that respect, I think it's a lot like the Cowboy Bebop episode Speak Like a Child.

ETA that a friend much more literate in movies than I pointed some things out. You know Marshall's pile of film reels? One is A Bout de Souffle which is the original title of Breathless. You can see the plot summary here to compare against the episode. Also, the Geri model is eerily similar to Jean Seburg, star of that film. Very interesting, IMO.

There was a twist? What, that she was getting her lines from the movie? I thought this whole episode was pretty random, actually.

I think the twist was that the Geri model only got some of her lines from the movie. I don't recall the movie having the "I did love you" line at the end. That's why Togusa kept rewinding, and asked his wife if anything was cut from the movie. So the Geri really might have loved Marshall, and was not just parroting lines from the movie.

I think the entire point of this episode was that androids might be able to achieve consciousness, which, IMO, is a big deal.

Wow, this thread disappeared in a hurry, didn't it?

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell the chronology of Ghost In The Shell. Because I watched the first movie recently, only to be completely lost during Innocence. And I mean totally lost. I mean Where did Motoko go? Did she lose herself fully to the Puppetmaster in the first movie? Then how was her individuality saved from complete unification with the Puppetmaster? And where did she go back to at the end of Innocence? When did she upgrade to the Stand Alone Complex cybernetic body?

Confused to the point that I sort of wish I hadn't opened up that GITS box. Can anyone shed any light on this for me?

I haven't been posting because I'm waiting for this Laughing Man arc to end. I'm not entirely clear on what's going on, so yeah. Did like the Catcher in the Rye reference, though.

bakaney, Innocence and the original GitS movie take place in one timeline. SAC takes place in a different timeline, where Sec9 never encountered the Puppetmaster.

As I understand it, after the events of the first GitS movie, Motoko essentially became some sort of major AI construct that was based on a satelite. She had various bodies (and apparently the ability to hijack other cyborgs as well) and her ultimate aim was to... I dunno. I believe all this is explained in the Man-Machine interface comic/manga series, but it's unavailable in my area.

I'm almost certain that Laughing Man is a series-long arc.

From the DVDs I looked at today, it definitely sounds like Laughing Man is a major ongoing storyline.

Cheers, snowcrash. I haven't been this flummoxed by something since The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions.

And the Laughing Man is a series long arc? But my head will have exploded by then!

I broke down and laughed at the scene where the detective was asking the dude questions while he was watching porn on the computer. LOL!

Same here. I'm confused as hell, and he's only been around for two episodes.

Question, who were those two girls with Motoko in (What I'm assuming is) her apartment? And what was with the yooge beanbag?

I'm guessing that wasn't her apartment and I'm guessing those are her fuckbuddies.

Yeah. It was like some harem/orphanage, and from the first girl's reaction at Motoko's presence, Motoko doesn't write home often.

Ah, I figured as much. I was just wondering if they had any connection to the movie, since I've never seen it before.

The Tachikomas have grown on me. The "Major, I caught the Laughing Man!" line won me over. So cute, especially for robots.

Man, the whole sequence of attempted assassinations was insane. I can't imagine what it would be like to be in such a situation. The Major kicks much ass.

Is it wrong that I want the Laughing Man's icon on a jacket, or summat, too?

Ah! They played 'Velveteen'! I love that song so much.

One of the many reasons I love this show. It has ACTUAL things happening.

Interesting episode. I caught on to the chat room in the first couple of minutes, then preceded to giggle at all the typical chat/BB/newsgroup cliches. Only no one mentioned Hitler or Nazis.

The story seemed like it was stalling, until the very end when Motoko (?) confronts the older hacker in a futuristic version of an IM, then the whole Matrix-y getting sucked out of one fake reality into another. And then the revelation that she was doing all this while driving on the freeway. :)

I still haven't figured out all this Laughing Man info, however. I feel like I need to study before watching another ep.

Kinda boring for me...only because I haven't been as focused on this show as, say, FMA. But I'm curious...where can I get the Laughing Man icon? I could have a lot of fun with that, Pixel Challenge-wise.

Yeah...chat room was cute. Wish the dubbers threw in "teh suck" for us AS fans.

ETA: Never mind...found the icon and have utilized it.

The chatroom thing was kinda interesting, I usually half watch the episode as I read the Sunday paper, as opposed to FMA where I sit and pay attention to the entire episode from start to finish. Almost felt like Wolf's Rain with the familiar voices-- and the fact that the one guy was just a little kid.

It's a decent show, it just hasn't grabbed me like FMA has.