Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG

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For the first series, see Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
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Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG

Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG Logo
攻殻機動隊 S.A.C. 2nd GIG
(Kōkaku Kidōtai: S.A.C. 2nd GIG)
Genre Postcyberpunk
TV anime
Director Kenji Kamiyama
Studio Production I.G
Network Flag of Japan Animax, Nippon TV
English network Flag of the United Kingdom AnimeCentral
Flag of the United States Cartoon Network
Flag of Singapore Flag of India Flag of Pakistan Flag of Indonesia Flag of the Philippines Flag of Thailand Animax Asia
Original run 1 January 2004 – 8 January 2005
Episodes 26
Anime and Manga Portal

Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG (攻殻機動隊 S.A.C. 2nd GIG Kōkaku Kidōtai: Sutando Arōn Konpurekkusu Sekando Gigu?) is the sequel to the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, based on Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell manga series. It premiered on 1 January 2004 in Japan on the anime communications satellite television network, Animax, on a pay-per-view basis.[1] The series was later aired on the terrestrial Nippon TV from 12 April 2005. Animax also later aired the series across its other networks worldwide, including its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and its other networks in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Latin America and several other regions. It was also later aired in the United States on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. Bandai Visual owns the DVD distribution rights in Japan while Manga Entertainment owns the distribution rights in North America and Europe. The show began airing daily on AnimeCentral beginning November 4, 2007 in both English (two nightly screenings) and original Japanese (one late-night screening). As with other AnimeCentral series (e.g., Wolf's Rain and .hack//SIGN) the first run of episodes was immediately followed by a re-run.

The series has an associated short series of comedic shorts involving the Tachikoma called Tachikomatic Days, which was also part of its first series.

Contents

[edit] History

Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG uncovers a significant amount of back-story that was only vaguely talked about during the first series, including information about the last world wars. Between the turn of the century and 2032, there were two major conflicts that changed world politics. The first being nuclear World War III, and the other being non-nuclear World War IV, also known as the Second Vietnam War. The increase in independent states and sovereign regions grew from the chaos of the last 30 years. The planet remains divided and several locations exist on the planet where sovereignty is in question, where no one is really sure who owns or governs what.

This fictional history matches one presented in Appleseed Databook, suggesting that both Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell may be occurring in the same fictional universe, albeit at different points of its timeline.

While originally intended to "underscore the dilemmas and concerns that people would face if they relied too heavily on the new communications infrastructure,"[2] Stand Alone Complex eventually came to represent a phenomenon where unrelated, yet very similar actions of individuals create a seemingly concerted effort.

In the first series, it usually refers to events surrounding the Laughing Man case, and to some extent, the teamwork observed in Public Security Section 9. It is presented as an emergent phenomenon catalyzed by parallelization of the human psyche through the cyberbrain networks.

For the second series, when Kenji Kamiyama discussed the theme with Mamoru Oshii, they decided that they could not avoid the issue of War: "In other words, we simply couldn't ignore the way society had evolved since the events of 9-11 : That was the approach we decided to take, and I tried to illustrate a 21st century (near-future) war. But to tell you the truth, I couldn't avoid feeding back into modern reality".[3]

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG episodes

[edit] Timeline of events

1991 Kuril Islands

2000–2015 World War III

  • World War III was a nuclear war, occurring sometime between 2000 and 2015 (in episode "DU - 33" it is suggested that the war ended sometime around 2002). While very little is still revealed about the events that occurred to cause the war, evidence shows that the war started from a series of nuclear exchanges across Eurasia.
  • Nuclear bombing of Tokyo: The seat of government was temporarily transferred to Niihama (Kobe) before permanent relocation to Fukuoka, Kyūshū. Central Tokyo was submerged under water.
  • Nuclear bombing of Okinawa
  • Nuclear bombing of Berlin, capital of Germany.

2015 Development of the "Japanese Miracle"

  • Japan remained passive while the war went on, until the city of Tokyo was destroyed by a nuclear blast, and even then, only became involved with the war in the background, never committing the Japan Self-Defense Forces to actual combat. By the end of the war, several of the world's powers had fallen. Virtually the only unaffected power left in the world was Japan, because the damage from the war was minimized by the "Japanese Miracle," a swarm of micromachines capable of removing radiation from the environment. The arrival of the Japanese Miracle is said to have contributed to America's waning power; since nuclear fallout could now be mitigated, American nuclear weapons were no longer as powerful.

Rise of the American Empire

  • After World War III ended, the American Empire had become an imperialist government, in an attempt to regain world power by conquering new areas in North and South America. Due to a battered economy and weak political position, the American Empire entered into a security pact with Japan. The pact reaffirms Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution in prohibiting Japan from both deploying its army overseas and possessing nuclear weapons.

2015–2024 World War IV (Second Vietnam War)

  • The Second Vietnam War, as its name suggests, was centered around the Siam Peninsula. However, while the conflict started in the region around Vietnam, countries around the world were still reeling in internal conflict after the last World War. By the summer of 2020, Europe and Asia were deadlocked in a futile war of attrition.
  • Japan had moved toward punitive isolationist policies while internally it found a strange political balance after World War III.
  • Recapturing of Nemuro. The Umibozu became known locally and internationally for their tactics and their skills in the successful recapture of the port city.

2020 Mexican War and South American campaign

  • The American Empire called for the deployment of UN troops, under the pretext of overthrowing the corrupt Mexican and other South American governments. Through carpet-bombing, mechanized troops, and wartime atrocities (see 1st GIG, episode jungle cruise), the combined UN forces moved through the regions to sweep up the remaining guerrillas.
  • During this time, hundreds of mercenary groups surface throughout the war-torn Central and South American regions, populated by the remnants of armies once connected to nations that no longer exist. Also during this time, there were several unofficial operations that involved Japanese UN troops.

2024 The Peninsular War (Second Korean War)

  • Civil war broke out in the peninsula leading to unification.
  • American Empire called for troop deployment under the name of the UN to stabilize fighting within the peninsula.
  • Japan deployed UN peacekeepers in the relatively safe area of Shinuiju.
  • The remaining soldiers of the People's Army surrendered to the UN forces.

2024 The Laughing Man incident

2029 Formation of Section 9

2030 SAC storyline begins[4]

2031 Section 9 officially disbanded

  • Section 9 disbanded
  • Formation of Kayabuki Cabinet after general election
  • Secretary General Yakushima arrested
  • June 9: Tachikoma AI satellite launched
  • Section 9 re-forms, never actually having been disbanded in the first place

2032 2nd GIG storyline begins[5]

  • Between the events of 2nd GIG and Solid State Society, Major Kusanagi resigns from Section 9. She most likely rejoins after SSS though.

2034 Events of Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society take place

[edit] Main characters

Plastic model of Tachikoma, featuring design improved in 2nd GIG.

[edit] Section 9 - Principal Cast

[edit] Old recurring characters

[edit] New recurring characters

[edit] Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG: Individual Eleven

On January 27, 2006, a movie version was released direct-to-DVD in Japan titled Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 2nd GIG: Individual Eleven. The film edits down the series into a 160 minute version, much like The Laughing Man DVD before it. It is composed of the essential events related to the Individual Eleven storyline, and features new scenes and a remixed soundtrack.Production I.G-English Website

[edit] Theme songs and music

[edit] Theme songs

Episode 1–25 (Original broadcast)

Episode 1–25 (Terrestrial broadcast)

Episode 4

(Note: Music also played in Episode 24 Helicopter Infiltration Scene)

Episode 26

[edit] Music

  • Composer: Yoko Kanno
  • Music Producer: Toshiaki Ota
  • Music Director: Yoshimoto Ishikawa
  • Distributed by: Victor Entertainment

[edit] Original soundtracks

[edit] Staff

[edit] Producers

[edit] Writers

  • Based on manga by: Shirow Masamune
  • Director: Kenji Kamiyama
  • Story Concept: Mamoru Oshii
  • Staff Writers: Kenji Kamiyama, Dai Sato, Yoshiki Sakurai, Junichi Fujisaku, Yutaka Omatsu, Shotaro Suga
  • Storyboard: Kazunobu Fusegi, Masayuki Yoshihara, Masaki Tachibana, Jun Matsumoto, Toshiyuki Kono, Junji Nishimura, Itsuro Kawasaki

[edit] Art Design

  • Original Character Design (series 1): Makoto Shimomura
  • Character Design (series 2): Takayuki Goto, Tetsuya Nishio
  • Mechanical Design: Kenji Teraoka, Shinobu Tsuneki
  • Background Artist: Hiroshi Kato
  • Art Director: Yusuke Takeda
  • 3D Animation Director: Makoto Endo
  • Color Coordinator: Yumiko Katayama

[edit] Animation Directors

  • Takayuki Goto
  • Satoru Nakamura
  • Kyoji Asano
  • Ryota Niino
  • Tetsuya Nishio
  • Toshiharu Murata

[edit] Post Production

  • Director of Photography: Koji Tanaka
  • Editing: Junichi Uematsu
  • Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
  • Sound Effects: Daisuke Jinbo

[edit] Distribution

This section has information on how Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG has been distributed, including both television and DVD sources.

[edit] Official Distribution

[edit] Reception

Source Reviewer Grade / Score Notes
AnimeOnDVD Chris Beveridge Content: A
Audio: A
Video: A
Packaging: A-
Menus: A-
Extras:B+		 DVD/Anime Review
SE Vol. #1 (of 7)

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Production I.G Website Into the Network: The Ghost in the Shell Universe
  2. ^ Interview with Kenji Kamiyama
  3. ^ Ibid. at Part 3 : The context of Stand Alone Complex
  4. ^ Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man Movie. Retrieved on September 5, 2008.
  5. ^ BBC's Ghost in the Shell Page. Retrieved on September 5, 2008.

[edit] External links


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