031005.
I am aware that I am slowly making my through this series, but in a world of binge television, this slow pace is proving to be very fruitful. Before we get started, I would like to talk about the title. Maybe one of the best in the series until this point, and it says so much about the episode, especially the Imagoes. In biology, the imago is the last stage of an insect that attains before metamorphosis. The insect enters its final, adult and sexually mature winged stage of creation. Effective for the characters in the story and for the viewer who slowly begins to put the pieces together, realising this story will never be the same again. That’s how it was for me anyway, but I will save that for the conclusion.
“You know what I’d like to be? I mean if I had the goddam choice, I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all”
The Cather in the Rye is hated by some and loved by others. However, the novel by J. D. Salinger is known by many and is still making an impact on popular culture today. I admit I have read the book once before, but it personally did not make much of an impact on me. However, I think I will go back and give it another try if only to help me enjoy this series a little more and try to understand what all the controversy is all about. Anyway, let’s get on with the show.
Story.
Inside Section 9, Togusa learns from his superiors that he is going undercover. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfares database has been hacked, which leads the stolen information and Section 9 to a social welfare facility that helps people with Cyberbrain Closed Shell Syndrome. Aramaki and the Major want Togusa to visit the facility and try to learn how the security breach could have happened. Upon his arrival, Togusa immediately walks into suspicious and distasteful behaviour from the facility’s supervisor. Inside the facility, a young boy hides under a desk, pleading to return to the virtual city alpha. No time for care and consideration for these patients, as two burly guards come for the child. However, as Togusa tries to help the young boy, the guards lose concentration, with their cyberbrains transformed into nothing more than plumes of smoke. As the boy tries to flee, he is apprehended by a cyborg, who has a cold stance on these patients.
Togusa goes for a walk with the supervisor and is informed about the patients within the facility. The patients are addicted to the net, but they are also highly intelligent and useful. Inside the danger zone, rows of patients break, create and go deep into the virtual world, creating security barriers that the government can use to protect their databases. Togusa looks closely at the patients. Cut off from reality, with no joy or happiness on their faces. After speaking to some of the children for himself, Togusa learns about someone called the Chief, who visited the facility during the week of the attack. Togusa manages to contact the Major and asks her about the Chief. Later, Togusa finds a moment to look deeper into the supervisors’ records. However, he is discovered by the supervisor and her cyborg. A battle begins with the large metallic beast, but Togusa manages to blast the cyborg and escape its clutches. The victory is short-lived as Togusa is soon left unconscious by the supervisor after she hits him around the head with a table leg. The supervisor then begins to access Togusa’s cyberbrain, leaving Section 9 open to the facility. Section 9 is hacked and open to an attack, leaving the Major and Togusa with the immediate task of retrieving Togusa.
So many questions remain unanswered for Section 9, but calmness resides in the facility again. The Chief is the alter-ego of a boy named Aoi, who says goodbye to one of the patients before vanishing. However, he does promise to leave a reminder to his friends once the memories of all the patients have been wiped clean. However, Togusa remembers the boy and draws a description of Aoi. Unfortunately, the drawing Togusa created is nothing more than the logo of the laughing man. It must be a bad case of memories in weird places or something like that.
Conclusion.
The human condition and the advancements in technology becoming symbiotic is something that appeals to me in the Ghost in the Shell. Add a bit of teenage angst and alienation mixed with some innocence and identity, as discussed in The Cather in the Rye, and you get a complex situation. Suddenly, everything begins to make sense with the Laughing Man case, but it was not what I expected. It was more than I expected, and Yoshiki Sakurai’s writing is a masterful demonstration of delivery and substance in abundance. I say I was surprised, but the story is nothing new. Of course, there is something far more sinister happening in the government and corporations of this story, because we see enough of it in our world. However, I still expect more twists and turns along the way.
I find it significant that Togusa goes undercover at the facility. He is the one who is the most human, after all. He can see the humanity in these patients, whereas others only see tools for use. I know it is only animation, but it is easy to get angry at the way those patients are treated. It’s a natural reaction for humans, well, most of us. Each person is individually manipulated to produce something of use. Maybe it didn’t start that way, but corruption is always lurking when so much power and control is available. The episode reminded me of the film Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick. The facility looked cold and uninviting, as symmetrical scenery gave a sense of wealth and power. Togusa is reminiscent of Dr William Harfords journey into an unnamed secret society. I should talk about the Aoi. However, I still don’t know enough about this story to make a statement. Is he the Laughing Man or another cog in the machine? Metaphorically speaking, I feel like I have just checked the heat of the water of in the bath, it’s a little bit too hot for my liking, but I am ready to climb in.
Thank you for visiting today. I’m not sure why it took me so long to find this series but the pleasure is knowing that I have found it now. As usual, if you enjoy reading this, please leave a comment or a like, or if you would like to follow this series, please subscribe for more in the future. Again, many thanks and see you soon. Adios.
Who’s more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him? 