Ghost In The Shell - Stand Alone Complex - SAC 1st GIG - Complete Box Set

Each episode is great with stylish animation and great characters, a definate must buy.


Unbeatable value   November 23, 2005
timlondon02
32 out of 35 found this review helpful

At last, some anime at a reasonable price. No more £20 for 3 or 4 episodes at a time! This series is unbelievable. Much better than either of the GITS movies. Quite possibly some of the best television ever made, and certainly THE best animated television programme of all time. The first disk is a bit of a slow start, but after that it's a further 6 volumes (25 episodes in total) non stop thought provoking conspiracy and high octane action all the way, especially the unmissable final 5 or so episodes. The Tachikomas are so cute as well! It's all here, this is pretty much the same as the full individual volume release, same dub, same extras, except for a couple you won't miss at all.

Bring on 2nd Gig!


Fantastic Plot, Fantastic Dialogue, Simply Fantastic! Prepare to enjoy yourself when you watch this!   March 9, 2007
TJ (South Africa)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful


Unlike Mamoru Oshii's more cerebral versions of "Ghost in the Shell"- Stand Alone complex is a more "edge-of-your-seat" kind of story.

Ghost in the Shell as a whole is one of , if not, the most intellectually stimulating story I have ever watched (and read). There are textures to this story that no hollywood movie or animated series has ever been ever to replicate.The Matrix 'tried' (yes THE MATRIX) but Ghost in the Shell still kicks butt when it comes to science fiction with a modern- day- not so- apocalyptic story.

Stand Alone Complex doesn't drop the ball on any point. Yes, you will need to have some previous knowledge of who the characters are to really get into the story but this is a MINOR issue because the story is soooo good you'll find yourself able to recite their names, blood types, and ancestry by the end of the first disc! This boxset has 7 discs- and believe me YOU WON'T GET BETTER VALUE FOR MONEY!

I personally am a great (gigantic) fan of Mamoru Oshii's work especially the Ghost in the Shell films, and have read the some of the manga (comic version) of Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow - and I still love S.A.C because it has it's own style, grammar, angle, textures and excellent overlapping plots. The "Laughing Man case" is one of the most intricate but thrilling plots ever written in personal opinion.

What I like most about Ghost in the Shell is that it has a strong technological edge but it explains things to you- without making you feel stupid or like you're been spoon-fed. You WILL want to watch it twice and you WILL enjoy it as much as the first time, if not more.

The soundtrack for S.A.C is worth buying as well. It may seem as though this boxset/story sounds too good to be true.The episodes remind me of Agatha Christie's books, Poirot especially, where there are little bits and pieces of clues that don't seem to fit together but eventually they do and it's in the most miraculous ways and it's twice as satsifying when you manage to piece things together by yourself. S.A.C makes you feel that way disc after disc.

If you like science fiction, and want to watch something intellectually challenging but don't want to have your brain fired- buy SAC.

If you like strong interesting characters, political power struggles, and detective stories (crime genre)- buy SAC.

If you want to watch some thing that will simply blow you away- ....you guessed it - Buy S.A.C

This series gets 7 stars from me- one for each disc.