Ghost in the Shell

[Fireand'chutes77]

I've been doing some reading about the series on Wikipedia for the past week or so, and seemed pretty interesting. Problem is, it only runs on Cartoon Network at, like, 4 AM.

So I bit the bullet slightly and got the first four or so episodes off of iTunes.

So far, the Major's dialogue is a little stiff (and I realize that's because she's mostly machine), but...... hot d***, that opening fight on the roof was cool!

Her voice sounds suspiciously like Leela's from "Futurama." Hmmm....

Kusanagi kinda-sorta-ish reminds me of Kim... only with something a little more revealing than a crop-top () and a bit more powerful than a grappling gun... ()

So far, impressive. Animation has the "camera work" of a movie, and the lips are well-matched to the dialogue; there's very little "mouth flap."

Watching the second episode..... Is it just me, or does firing your tanks indoors seem like a *really* bad idea?

Goodness... the tanks on wheels looks kind weird when it moves.... like it's ice skating.

....And cute little tanks spouting out complex intellectual concepts with cute little kids' voices...... yeah, that takes some getting used to...

"Section 09" was certainly a good episode to start with; the others seem kinda slow. This is probably because I was expecting a military/paramilitary type show, while it's really more police work, with some "para-police" and SWAT-type activity thrown in. You can't have a world-shaking crisis every day of the week, I guess.

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I'm finding it fascinating how you can see the echos of today's technology in the series.... Instant communication, everyone able to see the same things, part of a hive mind that anyone can edit?

Wikipedia.

Hacking a car's GPS system to give evidence of a road construction? In high-end cars today, there's equipment that does that and suggests an alternative route.... Of course, it can't be back-hacked..... yet.

Since we now have the 'leisure" and technology to study other animals besides our own kind (that is, we're not too busy with actual survival to look around), we're examining other species to see if they have things to teach us.... Hence the reason helicopters are looking like dragonflies and wind turbine blades may soon be wavy edges like a whale's fin....

The "spider" tanks are along those same ideas... I can't see how something with legs like that could be very fast, but.... NASA is doing research on the spider concept right now. Picture of ATHLETE lunar vehicle undergoing testing.

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However, looking a little deeper into the series, I can see, from my beginner's perspective, what appear to be a few cracks in the shell. (:P) 2030 is way too early.... For this type of technological saturation to take place, it'd probably have to be at least 2060 or 2070.... Unless there was a massive war on the same technological-boosting scale as WWII (which, in a span of 5 years, gave us the plastics industry, the jet fighter, and the nuclear weapon) which relocated 2008-era technology to 1988.... since I think that's what happened, 2030 suddenly seems a bit more plausible.

I'm surprised by how quick some of the episodes seem; they feel shorter than a KP episode although they're the same length. Perhaps this is because GiTS stays mostly in one location and deals with one case while KP goes all over the world.

The dialogue still feels a little bit stilted, but I think that's simply a casualty of what happens when media is translated from one language to another.

The few episodes I've seen certainly work my brain... and bring up a few unsettling concepts. When you've got this much cybernetic enhancement, where does humanity end and robotics begin? How much living matter do you need to still be "human"? What do they do to the brain? (I did some research on the cyberbrains, and found out that the original brain is still there; it's just been put in a really fancy skull. That eleminated one question - do we still have brains, or is it just metal and wires?)

In the future, will humanity still bleed? Do we still have skin and bones, or we like the Bebes - tap our arms, and you'll hear a metal ping? How early does the cybernetic process start? Immediately after birth? Childhood? Once you've become an adult?

What's frightening is that the body has suddenly become expendable - as long as the brain remains intact.

And that wireless telepathy is a doozy of a concept. Are you really *able* to find what part of the brain is "thought," stick a few wires in it, hook those wires up to a wireless router, and start broadcasting? (They've been able to do something kinda similar with Deep Brain Stimulation for depression patients - stick wires into a special part of the brain, turn on the electricity, and you can make a sad person smile and laugh.)

Or are 'thoughts' and 'consciousness' generated by the gray matter as a whole, and there's no definite place to stick a wire? And how are "thoughts" picked out from the billions of other electrical firings in our brains?

And how do we understand "language"? The Minister in "Section 9" was trying to read a barcode paper; how do you teach the brain to understand that? Is there a "language" port in the brain that you can tap to make it understand anything?

The way I understand it with the prosthetics, you’re simply swapping out “inputs.” For example, the perp in the opening roof fight could’ve gotten his arms and legs swapped out with prosthetics so he could run faster and fight harder. And for the “swapping bodies” stuff, you’re not really swapping minds – you’re just jacking into their “inputs-” eyes, ears, nervous system. What your brain sees actually isn’t reality – it’s just the wavelengths your eyes take in, transmit to your brain, and what your brain interprets…. And if you’re able to get access to that intermediate transmit stage...

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Since I’ve read something about the Major’s questioning about her own humanity, I’ve got "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence running through my head as I watch the series...

http://www.metrolyrics.com/bring-me-...anescence.html

How can you see into my eyes,
like open doors?
Leadin' you down into my core,
where I've become so numb....
Without a soul,
My spirit sleeping somewhere cold,
Until you find it there and lead it back
Home....

(Wake me up!)
Wake me up inside!
(Can't wake up!)
Wake me up inside!
(Save me!)
Call my name and save me from the dark!
(Wake me up!)
Bid my blood to run!
(Can't wake up!)
Before I come undone!
(Save me!)
Save me from the nothing I've become.....

Now that I know what I'm without,
You can't just leave...
Breathe into me and make me real;
Bring me...
To life!

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside!

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The original techno song in the opening credits was cool for a first listen – but it’s kinda dull after repeated listening, and it’s not in English…

So using my AMV skills, I spliced a self-edited version of “Wake Me Up Inside” into the opening credits... I wasn’t able to get the transition between stanzas at 0:38 perfect, but I’m not an audio-editing expert and this was done on the quick…

My edited opener:

http://www.mediafire.com/?jxjm4tlyy2n

Original opener:

http://www.mediafire.com/?tygeb3ymvja

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Much better, IMHO.

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Ooof. Know-nothing to fan in 72 hours. That was fast.

[canuck31003]

Edit. Delete.

Some of my favourite VAs are in GitS: SAC.

[Fireand'chutes77]

If you like GiTS: SAC then you should really try to watch the first season. Personally I thought SAC was a small let down compared to the 1st.

Well, I'm in the process... Yay iTunes! (And yay BitTorrent! )

[canuck31003]

If you like GiTS: SAC then you should really try to watch the first season. Personally I thought SAC was a small let down compared to the 1st.

Well, I'm in the process... Yay iTunes! (And yay BitTorrent! )

Oops. Sorry. I'd forgotten that both seasons are labeled SAC, but then I remembered so I edited my prior post... but now your post doesn't completely make sense.... .

Anywhoo, have you seen the original movie? If you've looked at Wikipedia, then you know the movie came first and the series is based on that, but obviously different, since at the end of the movie the Major kind of "retires"....

[Fireand'chutes77]

Oops. Sorry. I'd forgotten that both seasons are labeled SAC.... but now your post doesn't completely make sense.... .

What do you mean?

Anywhoo, have you seen the original movie? If you've looked at Wikipedia, then you know the movie came first and the series is based on that, but obviously different...

I have not, although I've read the wikipedia synop. It's my understanding that the three works - manga, anime, movies - exist in three different universes. It's three different interpretations of the same idea.

(And since Spielburg is interesting in making a live-action GitS, we may soon have four.)

From what I read about the original movie, it seemed *really* high-concept; hopefully the anime will be a bit less of a mind-bend, but, as evidenced by my first post, there's still plenty of room for "brain pain."

[Mr Birthday]

Ah, Ghost In The Shell. I actually saw the first movie years ago. (Late 90's or very early in this decade, I don't remember which.) I also watched the first season (here and there) when it was on Adult Swim. I much preferred it to the movie. (By the way, 'chutes, the name for the series, Standalone Complex, is apparently derived from episodes falling into two categories; Standalone episodes (exactly what the name implies), and Complex episodes. (Which involve the Laughing Man Incident.) Now, I've only seen the first season, so I don't know what the Complex story arc is in The Second Gig. (AKA Season Two.)

By the way, 'chutes, if you have any questions about the first movie, go ahead and ask me. My memory isn't perfect, but I think I can answer most of them.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Ah, Ghost In The Shell. I actually saw the first movie years ago. (Late 90's or very early in this decade, I don't remember which.) I also watched the first season (here and there) when it was on Adult Swim. I much preferred it to the movie. (By the way, 'chutes, the name for the series, Standalone Complex, is apparently derived from episodes falling into two categories; Standalone episodes (exactly what the name implies), and Complex episodes. (Which involve the Laughing Man Incident.) Now, I've only seen the first season, so I don't know what the Complex story arc is in The Second Gig. (AKA Season Two.)

By the way, 'chutes, if you have any questions about the first movie, go ahead and ask me. My memory isn't perfect, but I think I can answer most of them.

I think the first movie came out in 1995, IIRC. (Dang, that seems like a long time ago!)

Just reading the movie synopsis on Wikipedia was a mind-warp.... Even so, the series is a bit hard to keep track of... They go fast. Wikipedia helps, but it's like a Bourne film when you're actually watching the episodes - you're either clicking, or you're going "wait... what?"

Searching around Google, I'm surprised I haven't found a site that gives detailed breakdowns of the episodes' major plot points for the "huh?" people... I get the gist, but some things in "Section 09," "Interceptor," and "Decoy" are head-scratchers... "Wait, how'd we get here?"

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On an unrelated (somewhat preening ) note, I think my song remix of the opening credits makes the surgical lights at 0:30 seem much more haunting... (they did for me, at least.)

[Mr Birthday]

I think the first movie came out in 1995, IIRC. (Dang, that seems like a long time ago!)

Yeah, I know. I was just saying when I saw it. I once rented the second movie, but when I found out that it didn't have an English language track, I ejected it and never watched it. I was not in the mood to read subtitles.

[canuck31003]

SAC has one of the better soundtracks. If I had to choose, I'd say Inner Universe and Lithium Flower are my favourites from this series.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Starz LLC seems to be especially tightwad about the use of their media, though - YouTube is apparently in cahoots with Starz, and they've put a copyright block on my credits-remix videos both times I've tried to upload them.

"Broadcast Yourself" my ***.

And Starz seems to be specifically pegging the West....

Starz Media LLC has claimed some or all visual content in your video GiTS: SAC - opening credits remix. This claim was made as part of the YouTube Content Identification program.

Your video is no longer visible in some locations, because Starz Media LLC has chosen to block it.

Claim Details:

Copyright owner: Starz Media LLC

Content claimed: Some or all of the visual content

Policy: Block this content.

Applies to these locations: Canada, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, United States Virgin Islands

Starz Media LLC claimed this content as a part of the YouTube Content Identification program. YouTube allows partners to review YouTube videos for content to which they own the rights. Partners may use our automated video / audio matching system to identify their content, or they may manually review videos.

I guess there aren't that many "Ghost in the Shell" fanvideos....

It would have really been a problem for the KP fandom if Disney was this Draconian....