Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Part 3 Episodes 9-12

Under the direct request of Prime Minister Tate, Section 9 has been reassembled with all of it’s original seven members.  Their new mission: track down and capture a new breed of individual dubbed “Post Humans”.  Stronger than any Cyborg and possessing little to go on in terms of motivations or ideals, the Post Human begin leaving a trail of carnage across the city.  And it’s only a matter of time before the interference of Motoko and her team gets their attention and leads Section 9 into a showdown even they aren’t prepared to face.

Well it only took about 8 or so episodes but we’ve finally brought Motoko and the Gang back home for a big ol family reunion.  Section 9 is back in action and ready to take on the Post Humans and whatever shenanigans the Sustainable War is bound to throw their way.  While it’s good to be back in familiar territory, SAC_2045’s Season One conclusion feels sometimes a bit too familiar.  Familiar plots from both Stand Alone Complex and SAC: 2^nd Gig peek in and make me wonder if Kenji Kamiyama is either trying to merge them together into one new case or is he just being lazy?  Despite this, it does feel like SAC_2045 is trying to get back to basics with Section 9 hard at work in the city, even if some of the silly visual ideas from earlier episodes refuse to go away (looking at you Purin and the giant fish…thingy).
 
As I figured in my last set, SAC_2045 isnt trying to do different category episodes like previous seasons and is instead opting for a straight forward through line of plot.  Every case is somehow linked to the Post Humans, even ones that start out as stand alone incidents.  In my opinion, that takes away part of what’s made SAC great in the past.  The central season long mystery is fine but it’s nice to have those brief distractions to see Section 9 solving other mysteries and maybe doing some digging into their personal lives.  Instead, it’s all Post Humans, all day long and two separate happened to involve Post Humans that have been put on Section 9’s radar.  I’ll talk about why both of these cases are very familiar in a bit but I’ll repeat: these two stories could be fun stand alone tales and a good way to see Section 9 getting back into their groove again.  Not everything needs to be connected to the bigger picture sometimes.
 
Anyway, there were three stories across these four episodes.  The first was about a Boxer turned Post Human who was slaughtering his way through people tied to reconstruction efforts in Tokyo(seriously what’s with this seasons and gory decapitations?).  This brought back memories of a similar case in Season One of SAC where Batou had to confront a similar fighter over being a spy though this time we had Motoko going one on one with the powerful Post Human (in her sexy Formal Military uniform, always a pleasure to see her rocking that again).  The second was about a twisted public justice system where citizens could vote on whether or not corrupt or villainous individuals deserved death.  Said death involved the person being hacked simultaneously by three million users and assaulted by millions of laughing, faceless, Slender Men which I’ll admit was one of the scariest deaths I’ve seen on Ghost in the Shell.  This case found new girl Purin taking the lead at Motoko’s suggestion.  Despite her Batou fangirlness being a bit annoying, Purin is actually a very talented hacker and investigator and it’s nice to see her acting more mature and serious.  This earned her some new respect from the team and I’m not gonna lie, I think Purin would make a nice permanent addition to the team (more so than Paz and Borma, she’s not just standing around to fill out the ranks).  Now if only she could dial back the need to impress/flirt with Batou, she’d be perfect.  Oh btw, Purin totally gives Batou a Walkman that looks exactly like Star Lords from Guardians of the Galaxy, thought that was clever.
 
The second half of this episode set was a two part origin story for a young Post Human named Takashi Shimamua and man…it’s a rough watch.  This kids been through the ringer both physically and emotionally.  He’s seen some terrible stuff in his life from his classroom crush clearly being sexually abused by a teacher to the death of his cousin, Yuzu, in a shootout.  Trauma like that back to back is bound to potentially break anyone and Takashi looks poised to be the Seasons lead antagonist as he tries to take justice into his own hands and test the society that has failed him multiple times.  But let’s pause there for a second and think.  A kid who’s trying to be a revolutionary (albeit with some seriously beefed abilities cause he’s a Post Human), who is able to connect the will of millions of Cyber Brains at once and he’s influenced by a pivotal piece of literature?  If this sounds familiar it’s because I feel like Kenji Kamiyama is trying to make Takashi a hybrid of his antagonists from Season One and Two.  Takashi’s world view has been shaped by his personal experiences and his love for the novel 1984 by George Orwell, just as The Laughing Man was inspired by Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salanger.  Meanwhile, the millions of users simultaneous attack sounds very similar to Hideo Kuze’s Hub Cyber Brain capabilities.  The only thing making Takashi stand out from them besides his age is being Post Human.  Time will tell if he can somehow measure up to those two aforementioned memorable and formidable foes for Section 9.
 
Now for the stuff that still bugs me.  Purin is still freaking out and waving her hands and gawking like she’s in a show that’s not Ghost in the Shell.  It’s not that the series doesn’t have humor from time to time but it never goes into the realm of Chibi/Shonen exaggerations.  Ok, Purin hasn’t chibified herself yet but her body motions and mannerisms when she gets caught off guard do not translate well to the series because it’s not Ghost in the Shell and the animation doesn’t represent it well at all.  Speaking of visuals from another Anime, I get that you can be anything you want on the internet when it comes to Avatars.  But seeing Purin have an ethical conversation with “The Nameless King”, who’s Avatar is a giant tadpole/fish thingy, is something I cant take seriously because she’s chatting with a giant that looks like a Boss in Persona.  But the real thing that made me a little bit mad was in the last episode of the set.  As Togusa is following Takashi’s story through his memories, Batou is just following Togusa around and just…either not caring or he’s just being totally freaking oblivious to the fact that something might be very wrong with his friend and partner.  Instead of just going “Duhhhhh why’s Togusa wandering around the woods like this?” get in his face man, lock him in one of the Tachikoma’s you brought with you, ACT CONCERNED AND NOT BEFUDDLED!!!! It was very out of character for the normally sharp and on his game Batou.  Also he got hacked so he couldn’t see Togusa disappearing just like The Laughing Man hacked him back in Season One to get away from him, are we really just going to repurpose all the popular hits this season?
 
That brings us to the end of this first half of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 and so far this is definitely a more mixed season than before and not just because of the animation style.  Sometimes it feels like proper Stand Alone Complex but then it descends into wacky visual territory before jumping back to heavy and dramatic storytelling before making a fan favorite character act like an idiot while his partner is being taken away by an unseen force.  It’s kind of all over the map, even if there are some good things about it (Purin is growing on me, it’s good to have the voice cast back and Motoko looks good no matter what).  At this point, the first half of SAC_2045 ended on a cliffhanger that wouldn’t be resolved for over two years.  Lucky for you, Dear Readers, you only have to wait a few days.  The second half of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 kicks off This Friday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.