Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – 1st Gig
The conceit of dividing a series up into two types of episodes is novel and intriguing, especially when the two categories neatly play on the title of the series: ‘Stand Alone’ (self-contained episodes) & ‘Complex’ (part of the over-arching Laughing Man case). However, clever though this may seem, it’s not at all uncommon for animé series to contain such a mix. The main difference with its employment in this particular instance is that the category each episode belongs to is spelled out to you after the intro, which spoils the surprise to some extent: from the beginning you know whether the episode has some bearing on the larger plot or not.
It’s easy to see such stand alone episodes as disposable and wish that the entire series dealt with the over-arching story; however, the seemingly throw-away stories in between are actually quite important. While acting as essential pacing elements in a long series, they also contain a significant amount of character development and simple context, especially if there is a re-imagined universe to explore. Having to wait for the next instalment of the grander scheme creates expectation and anticipation and heightens the satisfaction when that next episode finally arrives. I suspect it is also preferable to the authors drawing out the main plot to fill twenty-six episodes. One criticism I would offer with regard to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is that I felt the distribution of Complex episodes was not even enough, they are bunched up together. Before the climactic finale, there’s really only five Complex episodes (four, five and six, nine and eleven), and the rest of the series is largely spent waiting, hoping for some more. One or two more episodes similar to episode nine – which took place entirely in an internet chat room on the topic of the Laughing Man – would have gone down a treat as it satisfied as much as it intrigued and tantalised.