Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX, Kōkaku Kidōtai Sutando Arōn Konpurekkusu, "Mobile Armoured Riot Police: Stand Alone Complex") is a Japanese animated television series based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama and produced by Production I.G, airing on Animax from 1 October 2002 to 25 March 2003 with a total of 26 episodes. A second Stand Alone Complex series called Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG ran on Animax from 1 January 2004 to 8 January 2005. The two Stand Alone Complex anime series were followed by a movie, Solid State Society.
The anime series are set in a continuity different from Shirow's manga and Mamoru Oshii's 1995 Ghost in the Shell feature film. The events take place in the year 2030, six years after the "Laughing Man Incident". A compilation movie based on the Laughing Man episodes was released direct-to-DVD on 23 September 2005.
Plot
Stand Alone Complex takes place in the year 2030, in the fictional Japanese city of New Port. The series follows the exploits of Public Security Section 9, a special operations task-force made up of former military officers and police detectives.
The series is a "police action drama" that comprises individual cases and the underlying mystery of the Laughing Man.
