Ghost in the Shell : series
 

I loved the last episode. Never before have I seen an anime that did a whole episode just talking. I loved the intellegent conversation. I wish chatrooms were really like that.

Heh, watch Eva. People hate its ending cuz the last 2 episodes are all in Shinjis head basically talking to himself. And actually, there's a lot of Animeendings that areprimarily talking, but yeah. Not gonna like, go into naming all of them. Its notthat uncommon in Anime though.

I haven't actually had the opportunity to watch the series as yet, but I'm looking forward to when I have enough money to purchase all of the DVD's. I love Shirow.

Cartoon Network finally had the infinite wisdom to replay the weekend episodes on Thursday night so that you can catch an episode that you may have missed.

I've had a weird history with certain animes. Several times, I've started watching a new show/movie, only to become uninterested, decide it sucked, and then turn it off. Then, about two weeks to a month later, it comes on the tv again, I watch, and this time I absolutely love it. I tried to watch the original Ghost in the Shell movie a long time ago, and just turned it off. Then, about a month ago, it comes on some movie network, I sit through and watch it, and I actually really like it. The same thing happened with Vampire Hunter D and I few others I can't really remember right now.

Purpose behind this whole preamble, the first time I watched the new Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, I didn't really like it that much. Didn't think it fit my tastes. Then, while I'm hanging out somewhere with my friends, it comes on again. This time, its completely excellent and I love it. Since then, I've been watching alot of the episodes and trying to catch up.

And I really did love the Chat episode. It shows how much of a kind of mystery show it is, giving you facts little by little to build up on something later on.

I had that with Anime before. It actually was when I was first getting into it and I did it for a few shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Slayers.

...Turned out those are two of my favorite shows.

But anywho, from what I've seen on GitS: SAC, its a very slow, but detailed show. Its great not because its action filled or its all futuristic, but because of how much detail is put into every little thing. My favorite thing would be 'net meetings'. like 5 guys all standing around a table arguing, but then at random times their images flicker, making you realizethey're holograms inside the main guys mind. But dispite all this futuristic cool stuff, the director doesn't focus on the mechanics of the way it works or make it look 'cool'. Oshii (the director) simply films it like it was an everyday conference between people in a room. Even when the scene ends and all the people dissapear all cool like, he's like changing the cameras view as if the guy with the camera is use to seeing holograms dissapear.

Its just, little things like that which make the show cool to me. Its like, all the things they DON'T focus on, which are the 'wow' moments, don't overtake the actual story or character interaction.

And then, in the second movie, there area TON of scenes that in many ways could have become big 10 minute fight scenes or Matrix type character battles....and instead they are simple 2 minute gun battles where everyone is doing what NEEDS to be done effeciently, rather than looking cool or jumping off walls or slowing the camera down to bullet time... The only time in the whole second movie a 'fight' scene goes over 1-2 minutes is at the end, and there's an actual reason for it.

I just find the style of Ghost in the Shell very refreshing. I don't know if it makes sense though...unless you've seen it.

too be honest episodes I like in the series is hit or miss. But I love the laughingman because it forces you to think. You know about as much as the cops and have to figure things out. I mean am I the only one listening and theorising about the laughing man as the characters are discussing it?

Yeah I thought it was really odd when the whole episode was talking, but it was funny. The last episode withthe perosn who cut out peoples skin in the shape of t-shirts was an excellent episode. It had action, some mystery and I loved the part when it kept switching form the jungle to the sewers.

I do that too! It's almost hard not to. There are going to be more disks than just the first three, correct? I want to think the laughing man is not actually a person, but my suspicions have yet to be confirmed or denied.