Hello, and welcome to my review of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Episode Nineteen is starting to feel like the beginning of the end for me. However, I will discuss that in the conclusion. I have sometimes said that I feel a little late to the party as I discover more about Masamune Shirow’s work. However, I am starting to believe that now is the perfect time. I recently discussed my thoughts on Appleseed, started reading the Ghost in the Shell manga, and I am currently watching The Ghost in the Shell Committee. I’m not sure if that is the official name of the show, but I kind of like it. Incidentally, I also found this YouTube video about the World’s first Humanoid Robot. The complexities of a society like Appleseed, the information Masamune Shirow shares in the manga about the world he helped create, and the conclusion that robots have arrived have left me with a feeling that science fiction and reality are no longer disconnected. The YouTube video felt like the opening for a movie, just before everything went wrong. It somehow feels like a dream, but I know I need to get back to reality and see where it leads. As the future unfolds, I am grateful that I can use Masamune Shirow’s work to try and make sense of it all. By the way, if you do watch the video, I feel like lecturing your robot about not folding the laundry properly is definitely a way to start the uprising. Strange days are coming. Now, let’s get to the episode.
story.
It’s gloomy and raining, but the city never slows down as people migrate from one place to the next. Unfortunately, something murkier awaits a young girl who stands close to the crowd. Surveillance footage keeps eyes on the solitary figure until she vanishes. Batou arrives at the scene, but the conclusion is still the same: the girl was there one second and gone the next. The team begins to learn about the missing girl; she is the former Prime Minister’s daughter. The political figure previously denied mass kidnappings and the existence of Blindfold Ivan in an attempt to strengthen ties between Russia and Japan. Now the question remains: did his daughter run away, or is this connected to the Prime Minister’s recent operations? It can’t be an accident; it’s too close to home. However, Aramaki believes the kidnappers are unaware of the girl’s background. If that were to happen, they could kill all the hostages and go deeper underground. Section 9 must be cautious in this investigation. The return of the hostages is all that matters now. Batou and Togusa are both sent out to investigate any areas that the kidnappers would use to get the girls out of the country. Surely, the girls aren’t overseas yet! Aramaki’s assumptions are correct as the young girl is put into the back of a van with the other missing teenagers. The duo responsible for these crimes still need three more girls, and the arrangements to remove their organs and cyber devices need to be made before they leave Japan.
Meanwhile, the young girl sits down inside the vehicle; another victim recognises the former Prime Minister’s daughter and how he has denied that these crimes were happening. News of the kidnapping plot becomes nothing more than entertainment, with the main news sources responsible. Aramaki needs to make arrangements to buy his team more time. Meanwhile, Batou and Togusa discuss the case as they travel along the freeway. Togusa is angry at the former Prime Minister and the way he has disregarded the victims. Twenty-nine girls have gone missing recently, and there has been no investigation until now. Batou suggests that Togusa not let his feelings get involved, as they are on the case now. However, the duo don’t have much time to think about anything, as they walk straight into a meeting with the kidnappers. Batou observes three suspects, but one of the men is gunned down by one of the criminals, and a shootout begins. The remaining couple make a run for it, leaving Batou and Togusa to chase the suspects into an abandoned warehouse. Batou takes down the gunman while Togusa is left to capture the woman. However, Togusa finds his pursuit more difficult. A battle with the woman ends with Togusa ripping off her cybernetic arm as she flees. Batou yells at Togusa to throw away the arm, as the upper limb is still active. Seconds later, there is a huge explosion as the arm detonates, leaving the suspect to escape in her van. Thankfully, the back door of the vehicle is open as she leaves, and a couple of the young girls fall out and are saved. Batou can’t believe the old crow is still alive! The female ringleader was a special op of Russian foreign heritage, Cruzkowa. She must be pushing at least eighty now.
Aramaki has a plan. However, it means career suicide for the former Prime Minister if they leak the information about his daughter’s kidnapping on the net. Kanzaki agrees, and the story soon becomes the talk of the town. There is too much heat to help Cruzkowa, and now she is pushed into a corner, leaving her with only one place left to go. Thankfully, she has a contact within the Embassy that can help her to leave the country. Cruzkowa arrives at the Embassy gates with the former Prime Minister’s daughter, but her chance to escape quickly evaporates as the gates to freedom close before her. The Major pleads with the kidnapper to let the girl go, but Cruzkowa is not willing to give up so easily. She attacks Kusanagi using her prosthetic arm to release a gun and a large cutting knife, but the Major wins this battle, and Kanzaki’s daughter is safe at last. How did the former Prime Minister’s daughter end up with the kidnappers anyway? It turns out Cruzkawa got involved in a dispute with the Mafia. The Mafia set up the daughter as a target, knowing that Kanzaki would finally take action. Thankfully, his daughter is saved, and Aramaki sees the benefit of having the former Prime Minister in his debt.
Conclusion.
I enjoyed this episode a lot. Plus, it is the last stand-alone episode in the first season, so it feels bittersweet. Corruption, power and lies are all themes that run deep in this series, and this episode feeds that narrative so well. Cruzkowa is a decent enough character, and the set-up by the Mafia was an ending that felt satisfying. However, throughout the episode, I was left wondering what the story was really about. The involvement of the former Prime Minister and the transportation of the abductees to a different country. It was unlike any other movie I had watched before, so I wondered if this was based on a real-life incident. I found the story of North Korean abductions of Japanese Citizens in the 1970’s, and the similarities have to be connected. In the eighties, the abductions were denied and often considered a conspiracy theory, and the Japanese government took no action. It was only in 2002 that Kim Jong II admitted that North Korea had abducted at least 13 Japanese citizens. To be honest, I found this a heartbreaking story, but I feel I had to learn about it all the same. However, I will let you decide if you want to know more. I can only imagine the confusion and hurt this must have caused for the families and those who fought for the truth. I can only imagine Masamune Shirow would be one of those people. I have no idea what comes next in this series, but I am aware it will involve The Laughing Man. I hope you can join me for the last six complex episodes.
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Perhaps One Did Not Want To Be Loved So Much As To Be Understood. 