Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Season 1 [Blu-ray]

Arguably the best anime tv series of all time, it's a must watch for anyone who is a fan of the genre. Its compelling, philosophical stories hold up very well, especially considering this series is over ten years old at this point. Of this first series, very few episodes lag, and those that do feel like they are meant to, most notably the Tachikoma episode. It gives you a chance to take a breath between the dense, political episodes and ultimately expands the viewers understanding of what it is to be alive and aware. The animation is, for the most part, very strong for a televised anime, and the cell shaded cgi is used only for machines and set pieces, and is all but flawless. Nothing like Appleseed, of which I've never been a fan. The less important animation, mainly in between main scenes, for anime is usually farmed out to animation houses that do nothing but unimportant filler scenes, and while they are noticeable, there aren't any animes in which you won't find this. So complaining about it is all but pointless. That's just the way it is. It allows the studio to spend more on the spectacular shots and ultimately provide better action. Amazon's digital version looks and sounds great, but the subtitles can be lacking, which is surprising considering they were done by Turner, which is an American company. It's a small complaint but when the voice actors are American and the subtitle house is American, there's no excuse for mistaking clearly enunciated words, especially when logic could fill in any gaps(during one scene the subs read "back hat" rather than "back hack", which is an understandable mistake to make but considering this show has so much hacking in it, and the characters repeatedly say "back hack" during a scene with hacking, it's not outrageous to hope that the subber uses logic.) I wish they'd hire people who enjoyed the shows to subtitle them, as they would put more care into it. (This isn't the only show on Amazon to be subtitled with absolutely the wrong words - Top Gear (UK), which is in English as well, also has a lot of glaring mistakes that likely appear bc the person doing the subbing is not familiar with the vernacular used in the show.) I don't want to be too harsh, bc most people won't watch with the subs on, but having known people with hearing loss or total deafness, it can be annoying to get an incomplete picture of what's going on. All that being said, and ignoring the absurdly high price for the HD version as compared to thenHD version of 2nd Gig, this is a must own for any fans of future/cyber anime. Also, and I know this is a sore subject for some - bizarrely - the Tachikomatic Days shorts are left intact at the end of every episode, and that is a very good thing indeed. They are charming. As a side note, I, for one, find the Tachikoma story arc heartbreakingly beautiful, and hilarious, and touching, and truly wonderful. Some think they are campy and detract from the overall tone of the series, but I couldn't disagree more strongly. If anything, they're one of the most vital parts of the show. Their journey is, by the end, tear inducing. I still get choked up. I suspect that anyone reading this or searching for the digital version of this show has already seen or already owns it on disc, but I haven't touched my physical copies in months bc I watch these over and over and over digitally. I can't say enough good things about this series so I'll stop here and let you enjoy them for yourself.

Ghost in The Shell: SAC is probably the best example I've seen of a series that depicts the future in a way that feels, not only authentic, but deeply prescient. SAC does this so well, in fact, that the series has not aged even a little bit. Despite being nearly 25 years old, everything in it still feels futuristic. The machines, the politics, the overarching philosophy, it's all perfectly at home in a world that has yet to arrive, but which is waiting just over the horizon. What a visionary and remarkable series, one that I think anyone can enjoy, whether they like anime or not.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (SAC) Season 1 is my all time favorite anime. SAC 2 and a few other truly exceptional animes around that time period are very good (Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, etc.) but this one for me takes the cake. In my opinion the storyline in SAC 1 is the most intricately woven masterpiece of this time period. It has such a brilliant mix of specialized cop/detective/military backdrop with technology and futuristic elements wrapped together if it doesn't captivate you I am not sure the type of story that will. While every episode within SAC 1 is not directly related to the primary storyline arch of the 'Laughing Man' Incident (The primary incident investigated by Section 9 during this season), they still take some fun sidetracks to build out some interesting backstory on both the characters and world they exist in. SAC 2 is not quite as good as SAC 1 in my opinion but the storyline is still pretty good. Most of the Ghost in the Shell movies are pretty mid. They always left me wanting the awe I felt watching SAC 1 but I never got there with the movies. If there is one anime series and specific season I would recommend to someone above all the other legendary classics, it is this one right here. For the physical basics: Physical discs are flawless, play perfectly, and captions work just fine. It is strange that for this time period of anime that many of these other classics are extremely difficult if not impossible to find in such good sets as this one.

I've never seen the original anime movie this was based on. This series was very enjoyable the first time I watch it. I'm very happy that I purchased this anime series. The English voice actors did an incredible job adding life and emotions to the characters.

OK, I watched this show as it was aired in the U.S. Think it aired on Toonami, off the top of my head. I have seen people write about the Japanese dialog getting cut in with the English dub. Well, when it aired (hold onto something!) the Japanese dialog cut in while the English dialog was happening. Some of the characters orientation or what have you are Japanese. I believe the Japanese dialog use was to show characters that are native Japanese speakers. If you use two languages to communicate it can be at times to slip into your native tongue. The error people are finding I believe is meant to make in a subtle way understand part of some of the character's culture. I think it is pretty cool. Also, I dont care about kipping around in episodes. I did not factor that in. I dont care. That would be up to you. Picture image. It looks good. Real good :) Im watching on a nice Sony 4k TV. The colors and shading look great to me. The CGI if you are picky looks just a tiny, tiny, bit pixelated. Still, This was made a while ago. With that understand you are watching CGI done right for it's time. Blah, blah, blah, image quality looks great. Audio - music, tanks, gun fire, radio talk. sounds solid. At 20 bucks this is a must buy for a fan. Unless they come out with some crazy great 4k edition. This will do great for now.

How do you need a review for this. Watch it already. Better than the live action movie.

The CDs were delivered fine by Amazon, however the 4 stars are due to the fact that the clips for the CDs do not fasten AT ALL. The ENGLISH audio vs JAPANESE is quite startling. That maybe the US's issue because for whatever reason, voice even when screaming are quiet while booms and bangs are obnoxious. The Japanese audio effects are all on par with eachother. Loud where it should be, clear and distinctive conversations, but not the English audio as I said. There was minor smearing on the discs, but randomly, which doesn't bother me. Smears are easy to take care of, and I do mean they are minor smears, nothing gaudy. No scratches on any of the disc despite the clips to hold them in place wkthin the case being just for looks. Gonna have to go buy a DVD slip case, now though, so that's does bother me. Hence the 4 stars. Anyways, if you are a fan of the series, I do recommend, but you will also need to purchase or find a dvd slip for them to keep them pristine. BLU-RAYs are already finicky. Oh, to put in perspective the audio quality disparity, normally I listen to my TV (A brand called ELEMENT, idk the model but its over 7 years old now) at 3 to 5 depending on what source Im watching TV. YouTube on 3, most others on 5 as most YouTubers tend to quality edit their audio to not have to have it blast to hear anything. For the Blu-rays, I'm having to cycle between 5 and 9 to hear or not become deaf during fight scenes. When I originally watched this series on AS as a kid, I don't recall if the audio was the same back then. It was over 20 years ago, or close to it now. I'd have it low to avoid waking my dad and uncle since I had to sneak out of my room to watch it 😅🥲 so it was already low and subtitles were on so I could watch and read it. Anyways, yeah, they play, were delivered fine, just audio discrepancies and the clips. For the price, can't complain too much, but I wish the clips did actually work.

Anyone who has seen this anime back when it aired knows how good it is. It is great to have it on disc in 1080p quality.

Unfortunately, I couldn't play in England 😔

Llegó en perfectas condiciones y en el tiempo indicado. La serie en si es genial, es lo más cyberpunk que se puede ser. La calidad de imagen y sonido son buenas, aunque podrían ser mejores, se nota sobre todo en la intro de cada capítulo, pero se puede disfrutar perfectamente. El único problema es que la serie viene solo en idioma Japonés o doblaje al inglés y subtitulos al inglés, no hay doblaje latino, no hay subtitulos al español, deben tener eso en cuenta antes de comprarla.

数十年前のBDがいまだに生産されている驚くべき作品だ。内容もいい。ただ昔のアニメのため画質が悪い。新しいアニメに見慣れているとちょっと見ずらい部分がある。確か4:3の画面を上下を切って16:9にしたものだったと記憶している。この話の元ネタは丸山ワクチンであることは有名です。丸山ワクチンは民意が動きましたがこの物語は一人の青年が一つのデータをもとに周りを巻き込んで突き進んでいく話です。電脳という世界観をネットもあまり普及していなかった時代によく作り上げたものだ。しかも2026年7月7日に新しい攻殻機動隊が「うる星やつら」タッチ風のアニメになって帰ってくるみたいだ（多分ギャグアニメ）。

It does not work in India.

It came as described in great condition, thank you!