Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig Part 6 Episodes 21-16

The worst case scenario is upon Japan.  The Refugees and the Japanese military are in an all out war with each other.  And at the center of it all, three key powers vie for control of the situation.  As Motoko and Section 9 head into Dejima to find Kuze, Goda scripts a grand finale for the conflict he began.  As the chaos grows, Motoko and Kuze finally meet face to face.  And Aramaki and Togusa find themselves in their own battle as the Japanese government seeks to have Kayabuki removed from office.  The epic conclusion to the Individual Eleven case has come…and nothing will ever be the same when the dust settles.

Im starting to think that making this a double coverage finale was a bit of a mistake.  So much happens in these last six episodes.  That is something that I can definitely attribute to a factor I should have brought up a ways back.  In addition to the return of most of the creative staff from season one, Kenji Kamiyama also received some story development help from on Mamoru Oshii.  Don’t know the name? No big deal, he’s just one of the most iconic Japanese directors of all time in both live action and Anime realms behind such masterpieces as Patlabor, Avalon, Jin Roh and…the original Ghost in the Shell theatrical feature and it’s sequel “Innocence”.  So if your mind feels a bit overwhelmed by political drama with a dash of existentialism and some beautiful animation…blame him lol.

Everything and I mean everything, all the little details and developments have all been building towards this monster of a finale.  I’ve gripped and gripped about Section 9 basically getting its ass kicked all season and it has.  Still I cant fault that for providing excellent set up for these episodes.  First Motoko gets cyber attacked by Kuze’s cyberbrain.  Then Kuze manages to beat the living crap out of Batou (Breaking his leg then driving a pipe into his shoulder….OWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!)  Oh and then Kuze’s youngest follower suicides the Section 9 Tiltroter and leaves Ishikawa at deaths door…that’s all like almost going down in the second to last round of a fight, how do you recover, what do you do?

You get a crazier plan in motion that’s what.  With armies building up on both sides, a set up that seems very reminiscent of Oshii’s Patlabor 2, Motoko and her team decided on a ballsy move: Taking weapons rade plutonium from a bomb placed in the city and taking it into Dejima to bring it and Kuze to the Japanese forces in hopes of ousting Goda and the CIS.  The action got rolling here and crazy is about what sums up what was happening on screen.  Well not in an eye buldging WTF kind of way but a “who knows how this will all play out” kind of way.  From missile attacks to a showdown between Section 9 and Batou’s former Ranger comrades, it was time to worry more than ever about our cast.  But hey at least they were together…for the most part.

And while not fully in on the action in Dejima, Ishikawa and especially Togusa got some juicy material.  Togusa and Aramaki were my favorite of these outside Dejima tales.  With Kayabuki forcibly removed from office in a coup, Togusa had to do some Die Hard stealth to get her back…with a handgun provided by Aramaki.  “They’d frisk you but wouldn’t dare frisking me,” Aramaki says…such a boss.  Ishikawa was mostly behind the wheel of a car but even he got a moment of cool, socking it to that armed CIS agent with his cast…hell yes it was about time Section 9 got some wins this late in the season.

 

Speaking of which, I was going to open with this but figured id try to contain myself but…

HA DEATH BY MOTOKO, GODA.  TAKE THAT YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!!

Ahem, sorry that was very unprofessional but MAN!!!! I cannot tell you how happy I was to see that smug SOB finally get his.  This entire season he’s done nothing but lurk in a shadowy state with his hands in that Bond villain kind of pose going “hehehehe…they’ll never get wind of my evil plans and are dancing right to my tune.”  All this just so he could get some recognition as the ultimate mastermind.  In a way, it’s a darker parallel to the Tachikoma creator episode from earlier this season.  But rather than that guy just quietly trying to escape the country he cant be fully recognized in, Goda would leave a sea of chaos in his wake as he departed and took credit for being such a “genius” at organizing a countrys downfall and giving them a hero to battle an overwhelming enemy.

Well…after all that crap in Dejima, losing the entire season and losing the Tachikomas (who were given a much more likeable and heroic send off…maybe) Motoko was having none of that and, in another reenactment of the opening scene from Oshii’s first Ghost in the Shell film, the Major emptied a clip into Goda’s head, blowing him straight to hell…wow what a feeling.

But sadly there was cost for this battle, from a storytelling standpoint there had to be with the scales enlarged like this.  The Tachikoma sacrifice was easily one of the two saddest moments of this finale, their catchy little tune as they sent their satellite into the Dejima bound nuke was cheerful and heartbreaking.  And, sadly, Motoko lost Kuze…who while it wasn’t totally confirmed, it was heavily implied he was her old childhood.  I wont say Goda fully got the last laugh, his ass still got MOTOKO’d but there was a price to pay this season and it was a big one.

Some other notes for the finale, the animation is the best in the show period, with many scenes looking almost movie level quality.  Motoko and Kuze’s rubble entrapment discussion of Kuze’s endgame is just pretty and Motoko has never looked better.  It also gives us some excuses for some cool imagery like Batou using a cross shaped steel bar to pry out Motoko from under the debris…symbolism at it’s finest, Batou the one Motoko sometimes doesn’t give enough credit.  Oh and we got to see Aramaki’s brother Yosuke in Dejima…well again if you caught him in Kuze’s flashback episode. He’s a cool dude and I wish we’dve seen more of him this season…though he is a bit more willy and kind of just Aramaki with longer hair.  Also, I failed to mention the appearance of the character known as Proto, who was assisting Aramaki and Togusa a lot this week…and truth be told I don’t know why he was around.  He was introduced like he’d always been there but he was given far less to do than even Pazu and Borma…just bothers me.  Oh and those CIA douchebags from last season were back to be smug and get to Kuze, killing him…sigh I wish we’d never seen them again.

 

Final thoughts:

The second season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex did everything a sequel story should: it upped the stakes, gave a larger than the original kind of story, expanded on the world and even the characters (some of them anyway SHOUT OUT TO SAITO!!!!) and definitely did things differently than its predecessor.  I do wish Section 9 hadnt been beaten down so many times, it felt like they rarely ever got a win in.  Also, I wasn’t too big a fan of every episode needing to mention the main storyline, sort of ran the risk of alienating new viewers.  But if you could keep up with every little detail and reference then you got one amazing payoff in a no holds barred finale.  The added creative power of Mamoru Oshii was definitely put to good use with deeper stories and more detailed animation, making this series more of a powerhouse than ever before.  And yeah im sorry I went all season long without mentioning Yoko Kanno’s score…but really do I need to say more than what has been said, IT ROCKS.  And this season with tracks like “Rise”, “Tourika”, “Living in the Shell” and “Christmas in the Silent Forest” it only got better.

Where Section 9 goes from here?  Well it’s actually in a much better place than Season One, save for Motoko.  But this isn’t the last of Stand Alone Complex.  Not at all, later this year Section 9 returns with the (for now) final chapter in the saga.  Keep an eye out for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex-Solid State Society, coming in August.

9/10