Attack on Titan Season One Anime Review

Attack on Titan Season One
Shingeki no Kyojin
Funimation
Complete Collection - 8 discs
625 minutes - 25 episodes +
$49.98 (2014) Parts 1-2/ea. DVD/Blu-Ray
$89.98 (2014) Parts 1-2/ea. DVD Blu-Ray Limited Edition
ISBN 704400072611
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Tetsuro Araki
Studio - Wit Studio/Production I.G

Synopsis: The Titans appeared and humanity was almost wiped out.  Giant, human-like creatures with little intelligence they scoured the world and devoured humans wherever they could find them.  They were utterly relentless and nearly indestructible, pushing humans to the brink of extinction.  Only the construction of a city guarded behind a series of enormous walls could keep the Titans out.  The last remnants of humanity reside behind the safety of their walls as the Titans roam freely through the world.  It has been 100 years since the last time a Titan has been within the walls.

A massive Titan appears outside of Wall Maria, Shinganshina district

The three walls are called Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina.  Those who live in the innermost walls are more wealthy and safer from the Titans.  The army trains and defends against the Titans, but those stationed within the walls act more as police.  Only the Scout Regiment goes outside of the walls and face the Titans to secure supplies from open land.  They typically sustain heavy casualties and can be both revered and hated depending on the success of their missions.  Eren Yaeger and Mikasa Ackermann, his adopted sister, are both watching as the Scout Regiment returns from outside of Wall Maria when a massive Titan appears outside of the wall.

From left: Mikasa, Eren, and Armin

The Titan is skinless and even taller than the massive walls (while most Titans are much smaller than the walls).  It is a terrifying, abnormal Titan and manages to kick open an outer gate allowing the smaller Titans to get inside Wall Maria.  The humans are frozen in fear as they watch the Titans begin devouring people.  It is a massacre as the Titans wreak havoc within the wall and people desperately flee to the inner Wall Rose.  Eren, Mikasa, and their friend Armin somehow manage to survive, but not without witnessing the true horror of the Titans.  Both vow revenge and sign up for the army when they come of age.

The omni-directional gear gives humans the enhanced agility necessary
to battle the Titans

Now the friends are army trainees learning to use special equipment for avoiding the Titans.  These include the omni-directional mobility gear which is a special harness utilizing metal cables, grappling hooks, motors, and compressed air.  It allows soldiers to swing through cities or dense forests quickly to avoid capture by the slower Titans.  The harnesses are difficult to operate and the trainees have their work cut out for them.

Eren joins the army to get revenge on the Titans for eating his mother.  His
singular drive makes him an adept soldier

It is revealed that Titans are vulnerable in the napes of their necks.  Specially designed blades with increased hardness/sharpness are used which can pierce the Titans' thick skin.  The trainees learn to maneuver and operate the harnesses while developing pin-point accuracy with their slashes.  It's incredibly grueling training and a few star trainees rise to the top.  Eren's fervor and enthusiasm for getting revenge on the Titans drives him harder than most recruits.  Mikasa's unnatural skill and calmness make her stand out from the others.  Their greatest opponents will be the abnormal Titans who are different from the more predictable and slow regular Titans.  The Colossal Titan is an abnormal type, but many others exist with less significant differences.  They are the most deadly Titans.

Facing the Titans is truly horrific and many soldiers lose their nerve

The recruits believe themselves to be ready to fight the Titans and are assigned to various groups within the military.  Some selfish recruits want to join the military police behind the safety of the innermost walls.  Other, braver recruits like Eren choose the Scout Regiment at the front lines of this war for humanity's survival.  Will they truly be ready to confront the unbridled horror of the Titans?  How can they possibly stand up to these unnatural, unique Titans like the one that breached Wall Maria years ago?  They will be eaten alive if they fail.

Eren finally gets to confront the Colossal Titan that breached Wall Maria
five years ago, but can he defeat such an abnormal beast?

Pros: Intense story with a lot of twists and turns, Eren is a great protagonist with an indomitable will (even when he's getting chewed on by a Titan), lots of interesting characters among the army troops, Mikasa is a badass, the Titans are simultaneously ridiculous and horrifying, doesn't pull any punches with graphic and violent deaths, omni-directional gear makes for dynamic action sequences, same director as Death Note, can't wait for Season Two!

Another abnormal Titan appears which seems to be attacking the other Titans

Cons: A lot of questions left unanswered at the end of the series, art style can be a little rough (dark black outlines of shapes and feels really sketchy), the omni-directional gear is total impossible in real life, only two expensive Blu-Ray/DVD combo sets are currently available (Funimation's got to milk it), long multi-episode story arcs without much happening, can't wait for Season Two!

The army manages to capture two small Titans for study.  Don't get too close!

Mike Tells It Straight: This series was highly recommended by several friends and it lived up to the hype.  I think Attack on Titan (AoT) is the most popular manga and anime series of this decade.  The anime is based on the ongoing manga series by Hajime Isayama and this first season of the anime covers almost through the eighth volume.  Isayama's art is rough and highly stylized showing his relative inexperience as a professional manga artist (an AoT one-shot was his first official work in 2006).  He's been criticized pretty heavily for having poor artwork (although it's gotten better as the series has progressed), but there's something to be said about how creepy he can draw Titans.

Mikasa ends up being one of the most skilled soldiers against the Titans

The animation style is modeled after the manga with heavy line work, especially around the silhouettes of the figures.  It looks pretty unique among other series and gives a rougher edge to the show.  The creepy Titan faces are replicated splendidly and most of them look ridiculous while perpetrating horrific acts on the hapless humans they catch.  Some may not like the animation style due to the 'rough outlines', but it didn't bother me at all.  Let's get this straight - the omni-directional gear is pure fiction and could never function in real life.  It requires some major suspension of disbelief, but gives us interesting action sequences and some plot elements (like when the group is running low on pressurized air canisters).

The Scout Regiment finds an abnormal female Titan

It's an intense series and the end of the first episode really sets the tone.  Eren watching his mother being eaten by a Titan was utterly monstrous.  We immediately know the stakes are real and losing to the Titans means getting eaten alive.  We're introduced to a cast of characters as Eren, Mikasa, and Armin go through anti-Titan training with the omni-directional gear.  When the series hits the first major story arc (The Struggle for Trost) the stakes are high and the death toll is higher.  Talk about suspense and plot twists!  Probably the best thirteen episodes of an anime series I have seen in a long, long time (coming in second is the first season of Knights of Sidonia).

Many of the Scout Regiments' missions end up like this due to the sheer
power of the Titans and weakness of the omni-directional gear in open land

There are two opening and ending theme songs in this first season and I found the ending themes to be more enjoyable.  The opening themes tried too hard to be 'marching' or 'military' themes, but just weren't very catchy.  Knights of Sidonia does the exact same thing with infinitely better results (thanks to a great artist like Angela and a nice bass line).  The ending themes were both catchy and appropriate.  Hopefully the success of this first series will allow the producers to find better songs for the second season themes!

Eren and Mikasa meet Captain Levi, rumored to be the best anti-Titan soldier

I can't recommend this series enough to friends and anime viewers in general.  It's the anime equivalent to a page-turner novel and keeps the viewers attention throughout.  The plot twists are really good and the stakes are high - any character can die at any time it seems.  The Titans are absurd while completely deadly at the same time.  Sure, the second half of the first season is not as good as the first half, but the story still has lots of gas left to run its course.  I don't recommend this show to younger viewers due to graphic content (I'd say it's okay for teenage viewers at the earliest).  I'm really looking forward to the second season when it comes out.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section and thanks for reading my review!

Two abnormal Titans fight each other!

TO BUY and Recommendations:
   

Death Note Anime Review

Death Note
Desu Noto
Viz Video
Complete Collection - 9 discs
850 mins. - 37 episodes
$44.98 (2014)
$24.98 (2013-14) Parts 1-2/ea.
$69.98 (2008-09) Parts 1-2/ea.
$39.98 (2008-09) Vol. 6-9/ea. Limited
$24.98 (2008-09) Vol. 6-9/ea.
$49.99 (2008) Vol. 5 Limited
$34.99 (2008) Vol. 5
$39.98 (2007-08) Vol. 1-4/ea. Limited
$24.98 (2007-08) Vol. 1-4/ea.
$29.98 (2007) Vol. 1 w/graphic novel
$24.98 (2007) Vol. 1 w/calendar
ISBN 782009243595
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Tetsuro Araki
Studio - Madhouse

Synopsis: There exists a world set apart from ours.  It's filled with Shinigami - gods of death or perhaps they should be called demons.  They have lived for a very long time and they are very bored.  Each Shinigami possesses a notebook called a Death Note which has the power to kill any human whose name is written inside.  If a Shinigami accidentally drops their Death Note in the human world then whichever human picks it up will become the owner and have the power to kill humans.  The Shinigami named Ryuk manages to get his hands on a second Death Note and decides to drop it in the human world.  This is the story of what happens afterwards.

Ryuk in the Shinigami world

Light Yagami is an honor student and star tennis player.  He's the son of a high-ranking police officer and has even helped his Dad on a few cases.  Incredibly bright and terribly bored, Light is the perfect student, son, and potential boyfriend!  One day he finds a notebook on the ground with the words 'Death Note' written on the cover.  The notebook includes some additional writing which shocks Light:

Light doesn't know what to make of the notebook and considers the implications of it's 'rules'.  What if it's real and how can writing someone's name in a notebook possibly kill them?  He decides to test it out after seeing a news broadcast of a man has taken several children hostage and the police are trying to save them.  The news broadcast shows the man's name and face so Light has exactly what the Death Note specified.  

Light possesses the Death Note and begins using it

He writes the man's name...and the man dies.  The Death Note is real and suddenly a monstrous creature appears before his eyes.  The creature is a Shinigami (God of Death) named Ryuk who says he has dropped the Death Note in the human world for someone to pick up.  He is only visible to the Note's owner and not completely trustworthy.  Light takes all of this incredible information in stride and decides to use the Note as a way to cleanse the world of criminals and create a better world.  Naturally Light will be the God of this new world.

The mysterious and world-renowned detective L

Scores of criminals begin dying of heart attacks and the authorities take notice.  They call in a world-renowned and secretive detective calling himself L.  Despite being a genius savant, L has two things going for him - no one knows his real name and Light has never seen his face.  It seems Light has met his match and must deal with an intense man-hunt to find the mysterious killer who is breathing fear into the criminal underworld.  The public gets wind of the killings and people begin forming opinions.  The killer becomes known as "Kira" and crime rates drop.  It seems the killings are primarily located in Japan so L begins closing in on Light.

Ryuk is only visible to the Death Note owner and follows Light wherever he goes

Light's father gets drawn into the investigation to find Kira and even meets the mysterious L.  It becomes increasingly difficult for Light to hide the fact that he's Kira.  Things get sticky when a second Kira appears out of nowhere.  Will this second killer align with Light's plans for a new world?  The greater question is will L take down this copycat and learn the true secret of the Death Note?  With L and the investigative team (including his father) breathing down his neck, how far will Light go and who will he kill in order to achieve his 'greater world'?  The answer will surprise you.  

A second Death Note and Shinigami (Rem) appears!

Pros: Highly suspenseful and a gripping story, interesting characters (especially L), makes you seriously question your morals, nice animation and backgrounds, intense and slow buildup to final ending was masterful, L is a serious badass who can do almost anything perfectly

The hunt for Kira intensifies, from left: Light, Matsuda (standing), L,
and Light's Father

Cons: Second half of the series gets confusing and definitely not as strong as the first, it gets hard to tell which Death Note and Shinigami Eyes are at play, some very convenient plot twists in Kira or L's favor, creepy foot-rubbing scene between L and Light, L's constant eating of sweets (it gets a little pathological by the end)

Light manipulates Misa Amane who pledges her undying love for Kira

Mike Tells It Straight: Death Note is really a story about power corrupting otherwise good people and it forces the viewer to consider what they would do with the ability to become an anonymous executioner.  At first Light appears to be the perfect student and an exemplary son, but then he transforms into the vengeful god Kira who will remake society one criminal death at a time.  A fascinating premise which offers a lot of moral allegory to the information age.  Highly suspenseful with a ton of twists and turns as Light tries to stay one step ahead of the police and L.

L shows a sadistic side when he begins questioning suspects

The series is fairly long at 37 episodes while most anime series are only 26.  This allows the story to progress at its own pace and build up a lot of tension.  It follows the original manga series by Takeshi Obata very closely.  The characters develop over time and we get to know each one.  There are so many plot developments and contingencies to Light's planning that it gets confusing at times, but keeps the viewer guessing (and on their toes).  The tone of the series is very serious (people are dying after all), but we still get a few comedy relief moments (Matsuda was my favorite) which serve to lighten an otherwise dark show.

Ryuk loves apples and likens them to cigarettes and alcohol for Shinigami

It's a complex story and sometimes hard to follow.  Every eyecatch (an outro/intro scene bookending the commercial break at the middle of every episode) consists of another rule of the Death Note which adds to the complexity of the story.  The 'rules' make the story far richer to the viewers and more challenging for the writers.  Utterly fascinating was the intricate web of Death Note rules and how Light was able to work within them.  The first half of the story was brilliant as Light used his cunning intellect to stymie the police investigation while being so closely involved.

Light and L come to blows with Misa as witness after a particularly difficult day

The character of L was truly memorable and made a lasting impression.  He was built up to be uniquely intelligent and a mysterious detective with quirky personal traits.  Whatever it was it worked. He's socially awkward, sits weird, holds things weird, is constantly drinking coffee, and eats sweets non-stop (he needs the sugar to fuel his mental capacity).  Totally classic and an integral part to why the story worked.  The other two detectives we meet who are linked to L were not as impactful (these were Mello and Near).

Near is an unflinching detective with even less social skills than L

The whole Shinigami realm thing and Ryuk (plus the other Shinigami who show up like Rem) were a major stretch to the imagination, but I eventually got used to them.  Death Note was pretty darn popular and had two live-action spinoffs (plus a prequel starring L).  The portrayal of Ryuk with cheesy CGI doesn't sound very appealing.  It worked in the anime at least.

Mello is another detective, but he believes the ends justify the means
and is never without a chocolate bar

I have to say there's nothing out there like Death Note and it's a unique show.  Dark, suspenseful, and sprinkled with a few lighthearted moments.  I definitely suggest watching this series (not for young viewers or highly impressionable teenagers with access to firearms).  One thing to note is the first half of the series is pure gold, but the second half becomes a bit more questionable as the rules and Light's machinations become more cumbersome to the story.  It's still a wild ride and highly recommended.    

Light will stop at nothing and let no one stand in his way of creating a new world under Kira

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Ghost Hunt Anime Review

Ghost Hunt
Gosuto Hanto
Funimation
Complete Collection - 4 discs
600 mins. - 25 episodes
$29.98 (2010) S.A.V.E.
$59.98 (2009)
$49.98 (2008) Parts 1-2/ea.
ISBN 704400079122
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Rei Mano
Studio - J.C. Staff

Synopsis: Mai Taniyama is an ordinary high school girl who likes to tell ghost stories with her friends.  She meets a mysterious young man who turns out to have been hired to investigate a supposed haunting in an abandoned school building.   Then Mai accidentally breaks one of his video cameras and even gets his assistant injured.  Feeling guilty she ends up taking the assistant's place during the investigation and witnesses some unexplained phenomena.  The young man is Kazuya Shibuya who runs Shibuya Paranormal Research (SPR), but Mai decides to call him 'Naru' because of his lofty, narcissistic attitude.

From left: Masako, Ayako, Yasuhara, Naru (Kazuya), Hosho, Mai, and John

The apparent haunting gets more severe and more investigators are called in.  They include:

• Hosho Takigawa is a former Buddhist monk who is adept at exorcising spirits (using Buddhist mantras) and is very brave.  He appears to be very laid back and even wears stylish clothes.  Mai is put off by his appearance at first, but soon discovers he is a capable expert and very brave.
• Ayako Matsuzaki is a Shinto shrine maiden who is brash and outspoken.  She doesn't look or act the part of a holy maiden by any means.  She also has the ability to release spirits (using Shinto kuji like the 'nine cuts') although her reputation is not very good.  Mai surmises that she talks a good game, but doesn't have the spiritual power to back it up.
• John Brown is a Catholic priest hailing from Australia.  He is very soft spoken and kind.  When performing an exorcism he uses holy water and reads passages from the Holy Bible.
• Masako Hara is a famous television star who has the ability to sense and even channel spirits (a medium).  She apparently has a crush on Naru, but its unknown whether he returns her feelings.  Mai is instantly jealous of her.
• Lin Koujo is Naru's assistant and keeps to himself.  He is highly capable and even has some spiritual abilities.  Mai is convinced he hates her.  

I really hope, for Mai's sake, that's just a dream

Naru ends up hiring Mai to work with SPR to pay off the rest of the camera she busted.  The group investigates a wide variety of 'hauntings' with varying degrees of authenticity and danger.  Each member contributes in some unique and valuable way.  Mai feels a bit out of place among these seasoned hunters, especially Naru and Lin who are both very forthright in their dealings with others.  Over the course of the investigations Mai becomes a believer and she even begins to show some skill at solving cases.  When the group find a real haunting or possession is when the true danger begins.

The team have fun investigating a possible haunting in the park

Subsequent cases SPR takes on include:

• They visit a home where it's believed a poltergeist is at work.  The family includes a young girl who has a creepy doll.  Can the group uncover the tragic history of the house and the mystery of the doll before another accident happens?  
• The team is then called in to a school where many strange accidents have been happening to students.  It appears a desk is cursed, but also other places in the school.  A girl who exhibits psychokinetic abilities (spoon bending) has been blamed, but Mai is convinced she's innocent.  Is the girl lashing out at her enemies after they publicly ridiculed her?
• Something is purposefully interuppting young lovers at a local park.  Whenever someone tries to kiss they get splashed with cold water.  Is it the work of a jilted spirit?
• John brings the team to the aid of a local parrish where possessions have been happening more frequently.  A boy disappeared many years ago and it appears his spirit is becoming agitated.  Can the SPR team solve the mystery before another child goes missing?
• The team is called to another haunted high school where the principal and headmaster are both gruff unbelievers.  They meet a helpful young man named Osamu Yasuhara who explains the curses started happening after a first-year student named Sakauchi took his own life.  Add the fact the entire student body has been playing a strange game similar to a Ouija board and the school has become a hotbed of spiritual activity.  Mai has a horrible dream which spells disaster for the group.  Can Naru solve the case before anyone else gets hurt?
• Several groups of paranormal researchers are called in to solve the disappearance of a pair of young men in an old mansion owned by the former prime minister.  Not all of the investigators are what they appear to be and not all of them make it out alive.  The house has a macabre history and Mai seems particularly sensitive.  When a seance is held all hell breaks loose!  Can the group escape the horror hidden beneath the house?
• A family hires SPR to help them avert a curse which happens any time the head of the family changes.  The team faces their toughest challenge yet as they encounter possessions, malevolent spirits, and even Naru is caught unawares.  The death toll rises and Mai's dreams become increasingly dire as time runs out.  During the last change a team of ghost hunters were lost and SPR could suffer the same fate!

Keep your eyes on this creepy doll...or else!

Pros: Good cast of characters (with actual character development), nice blend of creepy horror sprinkled with a little lighthearted comedy, opening/ending sequences/music were decent and reminded me of those late night psychic/spiritual infomercials, I liked the multiple episode story arc format which allowed suspense to build up until the last episode of each case, a few genuinely scary moments, not many horror anime out there that do a good job

The SPR crew encounter this dangerous hell hound!

Cons: Some of the solutions to the cases can be far-fetched (like the first case, the one with the boy who disappeared, and the last case), the ending of the final case was too convenient for all of the story buildup, some goofy moments, not all questions are answered

What has Mai gotten herself into?

Mike Tells It Straight: I almost quit this series after the first three episodes, but am very glad to have stuck with it to the end.  The story was originally a light novel series, then a manga, then adapted into this anime series, and currently an ongoing manga again.  There are not many decent horror anime out there and I can say Ghost Hunt is one of them.  One of the best aspects of the show are the interactions of the SPR characters.  Mai is the main protagonist/narrator and she gives a good perspective on the other characters.  The characters grow over the course of the series (especially Mai's latent psychic abilities).

Performing a seance in the bowels of a haunted mansion

The series is split into multi-episode story arcs which I found to be very appropriate.  Each case takes a few episodes to solve and it allows a nice buildup of suspense before the finales.  I liked the characters which definitely grew on me over the course of the series.  There's some nice character development.  Some of the later stories were particularly scary (the Bloodstained Labyrinth and the Cursed House) and I enjoyed watching the series alone at night!  It's few and far between to find decent horror anime and Ghost Hunt does a good job.

Mai comes face to face with an unspeakable horror - is it just a dream?

Some things which bothered me about the series were the convenient ending to the final story arc.  We get a great buildup to the final episode and then it just ended with a convenient reveal of some hidden power.  Not how I would have liked it to end.  Everything up to that point was pretty good, but the ending was a letdown.  A few of the situations in the series were kinda lame and very far-fetched (even for an anime).  Okay, so it's way harder and more uncommon to have ghosts/poltergeists show up than what happened in the series (I've watched a few episodes of Ghost Hunters on SyFy network).

Some spirits can actually do harm to the living

Despite its flaws I still enjoyed the series and would recommend it if you are looking for a creepy anime to watch alone at night.  It's a good combination of humor (Mai's pining for the stoic Naru and her rivalry with Masako) and suspense while the group is confronted with difficult psychic phenomena.  The character interactions make the series along with a few scary moments.  It can be a little slow-paced at times, but I was surprised at how much I actually liked the series.  

The team visits Naru in the hospital after a particularly nasty case

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Anime Movie Review

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Inosensu
Dreamworks
Movie - 100 minutes - 1 disc
$39.98 (2009) Blu-Ray
$29.98 (2009) w/book
$19.98 (2009)
$26.98 (2005) w/Millennium Actress
$29.99 (2004)
ISBN 678149175721
Japanese Audio - English Subtitles
English Audio (Blu-Ray only)
Director - Mamoru Oshii
Studio - Production I.G/Studio Ghibli

Synopsis: The future of humankind in the year 2032 is the progression of technology and its affect on organic life.  Scientific advances have allowed complete transference of human consciousness into prosthetic, cyborg bodies.  More commonplace is the addition of cybernetic enhancements to natural bodies.  Society has leaped forward with access to boundless information over the net and crime has followed.  Special units have been developed by the governments in an attempt to control the infinitely devious forms of cyber-crime.  Can you hack a person's soul?

Your standard black market sex doll dressed up as a geisha

Public Security Section 9 investigates the most serious cyber-crimes and has access to the most advanced technology.  They were once led by Major Motoko Kusanagi, a full-body cyborg, but she went rogue after merging with a completely artificial intelligence called The Puppet Master.  The rest of the group remains intact and continues to operate.  Batou was the Major's second in command and was very close to her when she disappeared.  He's a stoic tough-guy with a soft side as seen only by his pet basset hound.  Batou continues to search for clues to the Major's activities.

Let's just say you don't want to buy a malfunctioning sex doll

Batou's is now partnered with Togusa, the most human member of Section 9 (least artificial enhancements), who is a family man and was recruited from the police force.  The two investigate a series of gruesome murders perpetrated by life-like sex dolls.  It seems the dolls have malfunctioned and killed their masters.  Now the two Section 9 detectives must unravel the mystery behind the killer dolls.  Is it possible the artificial intelligence programmed into the dolls has gained a life of its own?  Could the Major somehow be behind the evolution of the dolls?  When a faint ghost is discovered in the most recent killer doll's body all bets are off!

Batou and partner Togusa are called in to investigate the grisly murders

Pros: Great animation, exhaustively detailed CG for the time period, lush backgrounds, focuses on Batou who was a favorite of mine from the first film and the manga, more Section 9 characters show up, presents an interesting detective case in the form of the dolls' artificial sentience, a lot for action than the first film, return of the Major (sorta)

The case runs deeper as Batou and Togusa investigate the sex dolls

Cons: Original DVD versions didn't include an English dub, English subtitles include sound effects ("helicopter approaching"), CG effects don't mesh well with regular animation and are too stiff (reminded me of a 3D video game background), Batou is a less compelling main character than the Major from the first film, too many quotes in the dialogue, action for action's sake, indulgent for the director (too much basset hound)

Batou is a complete hardass until he comes home to pamper his basset hound

Mike Tells It Straight: The first Ghost in the Shell was a classic, iconic film which helped define anime for a generation.  Oshii created a cutting edge masterpiece with international appeal and cemented himself as a major director.  The movie was so good it influenced the creators of The Matrix franchise.  Although it deviated from the original manga by a great degree GitS the movie was a standalone experience with its own philosophical and haunting voice.  A sequel was welcome news for fans everywhere and especially with Oshii at the helm again.

These sex dolls bear a striking resemblance to a certain Major

Animation technology had advanced considerably by the time the sequel was in production.  Computer graphics evolved in leaps and bounds with entire backgrounds being rendered digitally.  Even figures could be rendered, but the technology still lacked an organic feel to the human eye.  Oshii went with a combination of the two processes by digitally rendering the backgrounds with seemingly hand-drawn characters.  Western animators would fully embrace the all-digital process (Toy Story, Shrek), but Japanese animators were slower to adopt all digital and make a point to keep character renderings 2D in appearance (which I personally agree).

Batou has a difficult time buying dog food at his usual store

This film is an intense mash-up of incredibly rendered digital backgrounds with traditional ('organic') characters.  The attention to detail is ridiculous and works fairly well until we get to scenes with actual movement (like cars driving down a city street) where the differences become fairly obvious.  The combination works particularly well during the scene where Batou has a shoot out in a convenience store.  The first film was on the cutting edge of animation technology and Oshii continues this trend in the sequel.  Despite the lush backgrounds I felt the CG elements awkwardly interacted with the 2D elements at times and distracted me from the story.  In a few scenes I felt like I was watching a video game with the 2D characters moving through a poorly rendered background.

The CG work in this film is incredible.  This particular parade scene is crazy!

Oshii makes a real case for animation as high level art with this film.  The story is an obvious progression of his viewpoint on society and technology's potential for change, but I felt his execution and particularly the script was a bit too much.  It's a long movie and has quite a few drawn out scenes.  The dialogue was rife with literary quotes which stifled any natural feel to the character interactions.  Try talking in quotes all day and see how long people take you seriously.

Batou and Togusa follow up a lead with an unsavory hacker

With the Major out of the way at the end of the first film, Oshii would shift focus to fan-favorite character Batou and explore deeper into the consequences of limitless advances to technology.  The stage was set for a repeat performance of the first film's success.  Even the composer returned for the sequel.  It was a no brainer, right?

Oshii has mastered the fish eye lens

Batou's personality in the movies is much different than in the manga and Standalone Complex television series where he's a bit of a clown, but Oshii makes him a stoic hardass.  He's just not as compelling or deep of an individual as the Major.  The DVD released by Dreamworks had no English dub which cut it off from a majority of fans of the first film.  Unless you're into foreign films with subtitles then the pre-2009 Innocence releases were not aimed at you.  Thank goodness someone finally added a dub to the Blu-Ray release.

Batou has commando training and he gets to use it!

Dreamworks even pissed off the hardcore anime fans who hate dubs by making the subtitles closed captioned = including sound effects.  My favorite is the very first subtitle in the movie - ("helicopter approaching").  Despite its flaws I thought GitS 2 was a beautifully rendered movie and the story was mildly compelling.  It dragged on forever with those damn quotes, but I got what Oshii was trying to say. Check out this movie if you liked the first film and want to see where Oshii's vision goes.  Definitely get the Blu-Ray version with English dub and crisper visuals.  Standalone Complex is much more interesting and I recommend watching both television series if you haven't already (they were both run on Cartoon Network several times).

Is that the Major?  Is she behind the malfunctioning sex dolls?

TO BUY and Recommendations: