Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

[kid cue]

i'm pretty late, but this is (2 discs in) also the best anime tv series i've ever seen. better than Evangelion, Escaflowne, Lain, Bebop, Karekano, Azumanga, etc.
thank you for the rec adam.

my 3rd disc is lost in the mail ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[adam]

Ha ha! Another convert! I'm happy to say the second season is excellent, as well. Best show ever.

That episode with the runaway tank is amazing, no?

[Tom]

I'm also currently watching this. I'm about 2 discs into series 1, and I have series 2 here as well.

I like it very, very much.

[EuroZeroZero]

the music is pretty good in this.

[adam]

Yeah, for a while I was working through the discs, sampling the music and sound FX, until I got bored...

[GreenPea]

I've only seen one episode (a long time ago)...I didn't like it

[kid cue]

Originally Posted by adam

Ha ha! Another convert! I'm happy to say the second season is excellent, as well. Best show ever.

That episode with the runaway tank is amazing, no?

seriously, there is nothing bad about this series (except the CGI in the intro sequence). on one level the stories are SO tight and on-point, but you get so swept into the world that you don't even notice the effort being made to start and end a compelling narrative arc within a half hour. and the level is immersion is crazy; nothing in this world seems arbitrary, nothing makes me think of otaku sitting around a conference table trying to come up with new ways to combine sexy machinery and sexy girls. and then, this has to be the most understated and CONVINCING use of cyberpunk tropes ever. at this point cyberpunk is either a generic atmosphere good for commercials and 3rd-rate sci-fi blockbusters, or a lame 80's artifact, but the series completely reinvigorates it, and reminds us how profound and exciting it is that we're basically living in this world already.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh

[adam]

It is amazing the amount of storytelling they fit into one episode. It's similar to Arrested Development in that respect; they fit so much plot in that all the fat is trimmed by necessity. It's an interesting way to write...I'll have to think about that.