Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd GIG, Volume 02 (Special Edition)

Product Description FEMALE CYBORG MAJOR MOTOKO KUSANAGI & HER FELLOW POLICE OFFICERS OF SECTION 9 HUNT DOWN A HOST OF CRIMINALS IN BOTH THE REAL & ONLINE WORLDS. Amazon.com As the second season of Stand Alone Complex continues, the filmmakers keep the suspense running high. Numerous subplots arise that appear to be linked, as they were in the case of the Laughing Man in the first season. Kusanagi, Batou, and even Chief Arakami chafe when they're drafted to protect the Prime Minister from would-be assassins. Behind these threats and other incidents lies the Individual Eleven, a cell that may parallel the May 15th Incident, an event well known to Japanese audiences but unfamiliar to Americans. (On May 15, 1932, a group of junior naval officers and army cadets assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi, ensuring that power would remain in the hands of the militarists.) But the devious and hideously scarred intelligence officer Kazundo Gohda may be the puppet-master behind actions of the Individual Eleven--and many others. Stand Alone Complex--2nd Gig continues the tight plotting, dynamic action sequences, and appealing character relationships that made the series a hit. The story points concerning the status of an impoverished refugee population give the show a depressing contemporary feel. The extras include a two-part interview with character designers Takayuki Goto and Tetsuya Nishio. The two-disc Special Edition contains the same episodes, but one disc features Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, the other DTS and stereo. There's also a mouse pad and a deck of playing cards with stills from the series. (Rated 13 and older: violence, violence against women, brief nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon