Ghost in the Shell

[Top_Gun]

Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex Wiki Project

Submissions and Discussion

This is something that should have been up some time ago, but with me twiddling my thumbs and verrex sadly absent, it hasn't happened yet. Now that AS_anime_watcher has joined me in HELPeR-dom and has done a great job at getting people into this folder again, it's time to get this thing rolling. So without further ado, consider this the grand opening of the GITS folder wiki project!

For anyone asking, "What the heck is Top Gun talking about?", here's a quick explanation. I'm sure most of you have noticed the individual show pages here on the site, which contain brief character descriptions and episode lists for each of [as]'s current series. When the HELPeR role was first created, we were originally supposed to act as editors of those pages themselves in a semi-wiki format. (For anyone not aware, a wiki is a website which allows for the creation and editing of content by any visitor. Wikipedia is the most famous example.) Unfortunately, due to legal and technical concerns, that role never came to pass, and so the show pages remain static. But fortunately for everyone, our awesome admin SwimHumbug came up with the idea of replicating the wiki concept via threads in the show folders themselves; the HELPeRs would act as general organizers and editors, and everyone would be able to submit content to help build and improve them. And that's where you guys come in: the more help we get, the better the wiki will be as a resource for everyone.

As of right now, we don't have the overall layout of the wiki completely planned out yet, but I can at least give you an idea of how things are going to look. We'll probably have a single floated, locked thread that contains an overview of the wiki and links to other threads that hold the actual wiki contents. Each of these other threads will be dedicated to a particular category of information; they'll all be kept locked, so that random posts don't get mixed in with the show info. This thread will remain open and floated and will serve as the place where anyone can submit new info or edits to get added into the wiki, or else just make suggestions about how to improve it. AS_anime_watcher and myself will then append/edit any new submissions into the locked info threads. By setting things up like this, we can limit the floated threads to two, but still keep everything easy to find.

As for the info threads themselves, here are the general areas we've come up with so far:

• Characters: Pretty self-explanatory.  The way I see it working, the first post or two of the thread would contain an index of every character in the series grouped by association (Section 9 members, recurring characters, season 1/2 one-off characters, etc.), maybe with a thumbnail and one-sentence description for each one.  Each of these would link to a full post on the character, which could include full details, the actor who played them, screenshots, and anything else fun.

• Episode Guides: Again, self-explanatory.  Like the characters, we'd have a post or two at the top with the names and brief descriptions of each episode.  They'd link to full posts with a much more in-depth episode summary, screenshots, and whatever else makes sense.  Oh, and definitely some Tachikomatic Days love, too.

• General Info: A grab-bag of anything of a more background sort related to the series.  Things like info about the series' staff and production, soundtrack listings, release information, and any other useful general knowledge would fit in here.

• Movies/Manga Info: Obviously, the Stand-Alone Complex series wasn't the beginning of the Ghost in the Shell franchise.  Any information about Shirow Masamune's original manga or Mamoru Oshii's two films would belong in here.  Info on the Solid State Society film is a definite must as well, since it continues the SAC storyline.

• Anything Else: Have a good idea for a new category?  Just post it!

I think that's all I have for the moment. I'll probably go back and edit this original post a bit once AS_anime_watcher and I get some of the more mechanical details worked out. In the meantime, feel free to start talking wiki!

(Oh, and as far as spoilers go, if people are going to be submitting in-depth information about the series, it's probably going to have to wind up including spoilers somewhere by default. Having the whole thread as a mass of blacked-out posts seems kind of silly, so it's probably easier to just allow them. Still, if you are posting in-depth stuff, it'd probably be a good idea to include a note at the top stating what it's about, just as a common courtesy.)

Message Edited by Top_Gun on 03-16-2010 05:11 PM

[Jingai]

 I would suggest an explanation of the episode formats be included in either the

Episode Guides section or even the General Information sections, in order to 

prevent people becoming confused watching the different types of episodes.

  The first season is broken down into Stand Alone Episodes, and Complex Episodes. The

Complex episodes are those related to the Laughing Man incident, a multi-episode storyline that

runs throughout the first season. Stand Alone episodes are self contained events with no bearing

on the Laughing Man/Complex episodes.

  The Second Season is broken down into Individual, Dividual and Dual episodes.

Individual episodes deal with the Individual Eleven group, Dividual episodes are self contained,

similar to the Stand Alone episodes of the first season, and Dual Episodes deal with the

Cabinet Intelligence Services and Gouda. Dual episodes often relate to the events

of the Individual episodes, and can be considered companion episodes.

  Feel free to tweak the language.

[Top_Gun]

Yes, we'll make sure to include some sort of explanation about the differences between episode formats, probably in the episode guides section itself. I'd never really thought about what sort of a hurdle the concept could be, but since there have been multiple people posting recently about originally being confused by it, it obviously can. I guess the difference with me is that GITS is one of the first anime series I ever caught a glimpse of on [as], and I was watching everything in absolutely-piecemeal fashion at that point, so it just seemed par for the course to be lost.

[Jingai]

 If it were me doing the episode guides, I would include the definitions at the beginning,

and then make sure that each episode is labeled according to type, i.e.

 Episode 4 Interceptor - A Complex Episode

(Episode information here)

 Episode 10 Jungle Cruise - A Stand Alone Episode

(episode information here)

  I watched it straight through on [as] the first time I saw the series, and the first three episodes

being Stand Alone Episodes, I thought the entire series would be structured that way, and was confused

when I started seeing the Complex episode storylines being unresolved. It wasn't until about episode 8 that

I noticed the left side of the title screen was defining the episode as Stand Alone or Complex.

[AS_anime_watcher]

Yeah it was probably going to end up looking like that. What I was telling T_G earlier today was that we explain the types and that we have a color code for which episodes are which type of thing it is. Like the titles of the stand alone episodes would be one color to represent stand alone episodes, another color for complex episodes, and so on with the 2nd GIG episodes

Message Edited by AS_anime_watcher on 03-10-2010 10:44 PM

[AS_anime_watcher]

So for anyone who is reading this, it would be great to get this thing started as far as submissions for either characters, episodes, or whatever else you know about GITS. It could help future people who might watch GITS understand it a little better. Your participation will be noted once the offical wikis go up! So please submit something, anything you can. Thank you.

[viperxmns]

Maybe we could add a bit about merch; there's Tachikoma model kits and toys out the wazoo out there

[AS_anime_watcher]

Thats not really necessary for the wiki. We're trying to keep it about the show in general.

[Top_Gun]

If someone wants to add that stuff themselves, though, I'd be happy to add it in. I don't know anything about the show's merchandise myself, but any additional info about the series is welcome. I know someone's planning on doing something similar for Big O.

[vaccine]

Alright, I retract the stuff I said about it being removed from the block, I see with the newest schedule they put it back on. I would love to watch GITS (again, since I just finished) and work on parts of this as it develops (If this thread/idea is ever put into action).

[AS_anime_watcher]

Well in order for it to start we'll need, you know, information to work with.

[xXxSABRINAxXx]

Character Submission:

Major Motoko Kusanagi

Voice Actors:

Japanese - Atsuko Tanaka

English - Mary Elizabeth McGlynn

Information:

- Squad leader in Public  Security Section 9

- She has a protestic body.

- Her appearance is purple hair, red eyes, high heel boots, strapless leotard, no pants, and a jacket.

- Usually the one to accompany Chief Aramaki on offical and off the record information

- During the first season, she notices that the Tachikomas are starting to show signs of individuality and eventually sends them back to the lab where they came from. But the end of the season, she thinks the individuality may actually be good for them and thinks that they might have actually gotten ghosts and being truly alive. In Season 2 she reinstates them.

- Episode "Missing Hearts" suggests that she might have gone through cyberization at an early age. She was having trouble to her new body and eventually broke her doll. This scene is also shown during the OP for the first season.

- Her sexuality could possibly be either lesbian (based on episodes as "Decoy" and "Missing Hearts") or bisexual (based on her interaction with Batou).

*Will edit in more information later*

[Jingai]

 Alright, I'll work up a pair of episode guides for Season one.

 Episode 4 - Interceptor - A Complex Episode.

  A picture is worth a thousand words, but after an accident, what is Togusa's old

friend trying to say with the ones he sent.

Spoiler

  Togusa's old friend from the force suspects something is wrong after looking at

a series of photographs. The long hours might be taking a toll on him, the squad

has been working on the Laughing Man affair for over six years. Now that they have

developed a suspect at last, why is he feeling so uneasy about the squad. He mailed

his evidence to his old friend Togusa, now in Section 9. Togusa received the mail,

containing only photographs from his old friend the day after his friend had an accident

and died. What was his friend trying to tell him, and should Section 9 become involved?

 Episode 10 - Jungle Cruise - A Stand Alone Episode

  A series of grizzly murders have been occurring, and the police are stumped. Disks of

the murders are being circulated, but what does this have to do with Batou, and the C.I.A.?

 Any comments on these are welcome. I think that color coding the episodes short descriptions

will help people identify them, and the spoiler tags are perfect for the long form episode description.

[Top_Gun]

Thanks for the submission. I was kind of envisioning making the long-form descriptions more full-fledged summaries, but this is definitely a good starting point.

For the final set-up of this, I'm picturing the first post or two in the thread containing an index of episode titles and brief descriptions, with each linking to a separate post later on with the longer-form summary. I'll make sure to have the titles designated by the episode type, but color-coding the description might be a good idea too.

[Jingai]

My concern with making the long form more descriptive is that
it will take away the desire to actually watch the episode. Those
two were just quick examples, I certainly don't mind the long form
being longer, I just want to make sure that after reading it there is
still a desire to see the episode.

 Here is a longer long form desription for episode 10. Is this more in

keeping with what you had in mind?

Spoiler

  Batou was once part of a ranger unit, during the third world war. He was in South America,

he saw things that made even a hardened soldier wince. The C.I.A. cooked up a program

to reduce the enemies will to fight, by murdering women and children in gruesome manners.

They called it Project Sunset, but the sun never set on it, and now it is in Japan, out of time

and out of place. The C.I.A. wants the soldier back, but will Batou give him back alive or in a body bag?

  The CIA has a problem, they had an operation during the third world war called Project Sunset.

It was designed to break the enemies will to fight, by killing civilians in public and gruesome ways.

Batou was with the JSDF Rangers at the time, and stumbled upon a village where the operation

had been conducted, the memories of which still haunt him.

  Marco Amareti, an American Empire naval officer is in Japan, and was part of Project Sunset.

Now Marco is again killing, this time cutting the skin from his victims in the pattern of a tee shirt,

and distributing video tapes of his crimes to instill fear and panic in the populace. The problem

is that Japan's populace no longer cares, and Marco can never succeed in his mission. The CIA

has been sent to find and reacquire Marco. Section 9 is given the task of solving the murders,

and the CIA is there ostensibly to help. The reality, discovered after Ishikawa hacks through

the CIA's files, is that the CIA chose Section 9 specifically because Batou was part of the

original JSDF Ranger group which discovered the project. The CIA clearly intended to have

Batou kill Marco, thus tying up any remaining loose ends from the original project.

  The Major is growing increasingly concerned about Batou's behavior, as Batou begins

to have an all too familiar feeling about these murders. Togusa is tasked to make sure

Batou doesn't kill Marco, but after some assistance at a crime scene from the CIA, Marco's

lair in an underground waterway is discovered. Batou and Togusa give chase, and after a brief

shoot out with Marco, Batou corners Marco. Togusa rushes in, in time to see Batou empty his

pistol into the wall next to Marco's head. Batou decided that he was a cop first, and arrested Marco,

prompting the CIA to complain about only having two return tickets.

[Top_Gun]

Yeah, that's much more along the lines of what I was thinking.

As far as the level of detail goes, I was sort of hoping that these guides could serve fans of the series who miss seeing a particular episode and want to find out what happened, or have seen the episode before but want to look up a certain detail that they've forgotten. I know I've been frustrated multiple times in the past when I go to Wikipedia to look up a fact about a show I'm watching, only to find that the "episode summaries" consist of just four-sentence blurbs that don't tell me anything useful about what happened. I sort of wanted to provide an alternative to that for our folder wiki. I don't think having the extended summaries is going to discourage someone from watching the series, since there's simply no way to replicate that experience, but I think having that information available can be a valuable resource.

[Jingai]

 Alright. I'll start working on the first season episodes then, and I'll use the longer long form descriptions.

It will have to be one episode per post however, there is a bug with the spoiler tag where it combines all

spoiler hidden text into one single spoiler tag.

[Figure09]

I've been rewatching GITS on Netflix, so I might be able to add to this.

[Jingai]

Sorry I've been so lazy about these.

 Episode 1 : Section 9 - A Stand Alone Episode.

  There has been an incident at a local geisha house. The androids there have malfunctioned

and taken hostages, including an important member of the Foreign Ministry. Section 9 has been

called in to resolve the hostage crisis. It is a race against the local police and media.

Spoiler

  The androids serving as staff at a geisha house have malfunctioned, and taken several

VIP members of the Japanese Foreign Ministry hostage. Section 9 has been called in to

try and rescue the hostages before the local police storm the building, or the local media

get wind of the situation. Chief Aramaki at the briefing notices his old friend Kubota,

who informs the Chief that one of the hostages is in fact one of his agents, investigating

the Minister.

  Section 9 manages to disable the android geisha's, rescuing the Minister and other hostages,

but the agent Kubota had informed Chief Aramaki of is found dead, with a severe head wound

outside the bathroom. During the rescue Major Kusanagi traced the hacker who had taken control

of the geisha androids, however the hacker used a device to burn out his memory before he

could be questioned.

  Kubota informs Section 9 that the Minister had been interested in the Ichinose Report, a document

that detailed the Japanese Government's plans for various emergencies. Kubota had begun an investigation,

as the Minister was scheduled to attend a trade conference in the American Empire in only a few days.

Togusa, investigating the scene, stood where Kubota's agent was found killed, and looked around,

noticing that she would have been able to see into the bathroom stalls in the mirror. After remembering

the Major's comment about the Minister liking to swap bodies, Togusa quickly comes to the conclusion

that there is an Agent of the American Empire who has switched his brain with that of the Minister,

in order to get the Ichinose Report, and using the Minister's body and planned attendance at the trade

conference, return safely to the American Empire. Chief Aramaki acts quickly, and delays the flight

of the Minister long enough to get an arrest warrant for him. After a brief standoff, the agent, in the Minister's

body, is arrested, and the Minister's brain case recovered in a briefcase the agent had carried with him,

to conceal the swapping.

[Jingai]

  Episode 2 : Testation - A Stand Alone Episode

 A new multi-ped tank has run amok, leaving a testing ground, and is heading towards

the city. Section 9 has been called in to stop the tank before it reaches the heavily populated

city.

Spoiler

Kenbushi Heavy Industries is testing a brand new multi-ped tank design for military

evaluation. During the testing, the tank suddenly goes out of control, destroying the other

identical prototype, and blasting its way out of the testing grounds. It quickly heads towards

the main highway, and begins racing towards the city.

  Section 9 is called in to stop the tank. Chief Aramaki, Ishikawa and Togusa head to the main office

of Kenbushi, to gather as much data as possible on the tank, in order to find a weakness.

Saito and Borma race ahead, setting up a sniping post with a heavy anti-tank rifle.

Batou and the Major, along with the Tachikomas, are left to try and herd the tank into Saito's

ambush, or stop it as best they can.

  Saito tries to lock on to the tank, but the tank is able to hack into the satellite data that he is using.

Saito switches to a manual sight, and takes a hit, slightly damaging the tank, but not enough to stop it.

The tank races past the sniping point, Batou and the Major chasing it in tachikomas. At the offices,

Chief Aramaki discovers that the tank's lead designer, Takeshi Kago, has passed away recently.

After questioning from Ishikawa and Togusa, the tank's lead mechanic, Toshio Ooba, reveals that

Takeshi's parents religion forbade Takeshi from getting any kind of life saving cyberization.

  Ooba confesses to hooking up Takeshi's brain to the tank's AI unit after Takeshi dies. Section 9

finds that the tank is heading towards the house of Takeshi's parents in the suburbs. After getting

some specialized anti tank weapons, a kind of hardening gel designed to immobilize the tank,

the Major physically breaks into the AI housing of the tank, after the tank nearly reaches Takeshi's parents.

The Major is forced to burn out Takeshi's brain, and in the process finds herself discovering that Takeshi

just wanted to show his parents his new steel body.

[Top_Gun]

No need at all to apologize; this is great stuff. Hell, I'm the intensely lazy one, since I still haven't gotten off my ass to actually get a thread framework set down.

[Jingai]

 Episode 3  Android and I - A Stand Alone Episode

  Across the city androids of a specific make have been committing suicide. Section 9

is called in to investigate the bizarre behavior before it becomes a danger to the public.

Spoiler

 Recently the Genesis GA07_JL model of android has begun to show signs of malfunction, the

models are committing suicide. Section 9 is called in to investigate why the andriods are

malfunctioning, if it is a virus, or corporate sabotage, and if it will spread or mutate, possibly

becoming a danger to public safety. Chief Aramaki, along with the Major and a Tachikoma,

visit the manufacturing facility where the model, called a Jeri, is still being serviced.

  While there, Chief Aramaki learns that the Jeri is no longer in production, the model is

considered obsolete, and only maintenance parts are being produced. The model has

a small but loyal following of users, the model can be easily modified by its users, allowing

for extensive customization. The Major discovers a virus in the maintenance mainframe, and

upon further investigation, it is determined that the virus is what has been causing the malfunctions

among the Jeris.

  After a quick investigation, Section 9 discovers that it is the son of the Canadian Ambassador

who has created the virus. Section 9 moves in to arrest him, but he escapes, leading Section 9

on a brief car chase. The Major hacks into the traffic control computers, guiding the young man's car

into a wooded dead end. After a brief foot chase, the Major, Batou and Togusa corner the young man.

Chief Aramaki contacts the Canadian Embassy, which revokes the man's diplomatic immunity.

In an ironic twist, the young man's Jeri repeats a line from a film they had been watching obsessively,

and wraps her arms around him, effectively restraining him and preventing him from using a small

pistol he had concealed.

[Jingai]

  For the Complex episodes I think I'll just stick to information about the Laughing Man case

that are known to Section 9 at the time of that episode.

  Episode 4 : Intercepter - A Complex Episode.

 Late at night Togusa receives a call from one of his old friends on the police force. He wants

to meet up with Togusa, to talk about suspicious internal activity within the Laughing Man task force.

Togusa waits until the next morning, when he discovers that his friend had died in a car accident blamed

on foul weather. Togusa receives a package from his widow, a set of photographs.

Spoiler

Detective Yamaguchi is one of Togusa's old buddies from the police force, and is currently assigned

to the Laughing Man investigation task force. After discovering some unsettling photographs, Yamaguchi

contacts Togusa to talk to him about what he termed "suspicious internal activity". Yamaguchi dies in

a car accident however, the accident attributed to poor visibility due to heavy rain. Togusa attends his

friend's funeral, where Mrs. Yamaguchi hands him a package containing several photographs.

  After a long and frustrating session of puzzling over the photographs trying to figure out what Yamaguchi

was trying to show him, Togusa finally discovers that nonw of the photographs have a camera visible

in them. Togusa interviews another detective on the Laughing Man task force, who reveals that the

Task Force has developed a new suspect in the infamous crime, and is waiting to get a court order

to use devices called "Interceptors" to monitor the suspect.

  Interceptors are cybernetic devices that can monitor and transmit a subjects audio and visual senses

to a third party, a kind of super spy bug. Togusa quickly puts two and two together, deducing that the Task

Force was implanted illegally with interceptors. The Major leaks word of this to the press, and the Police

Commissioner is quickly confronted with allegations. The Commissioner announces an investigation,

and the Captain of the Task Force, Nibu Kunihiko, announces that he acted alone out of desperation

and will resign immediately.

  The press continues to push the Commissioner, asking about his ties to the micro machine company

Serano-Genomix. The Commissioner denies any involvement, and at the press conference where

Nibu is announcing his resignation, one of the Deputies has his cyber brain hacked into. The deputy

denounces the "previous farce", and that because the police are covering up again, he will challenge them

again. He threatens the Commissioner's life before ending his control of the Deputy.

[Jingai]

  Episode 5 - Decoy - A Complex Episode

 Convinced that the police investigators are using their new suspect as a decoy to cover

up higher level corruption, Chief Aramaki orders Section 9 to investigate. The Major visits

a friend, using her external memory to look for clues about the Laughing Man case. The

Superindendant-General is ready to speak publicly when the Laughing Man strikes,

attempting to make good on his threat.

Spoiler

Chief Aramaki doesn't believe the official explanation that Captain Nibu acted on his own,

so he orders Batou and Togusa to begin surveillance on the the police unit and their suspect,

Nanao Ei. Ishikawa and Pazu interview and conduct a background investigation on Nanao Ei,

in which all the witnesses say the same basic description and clearly identify Nanao Ei based

upon a picture.

  The Major visits one of her friends, Kurutan, in order to access her external memory and witness

the events of the Laughing Man incident. The Major makes note of the fact that the Laughing Man's

hands were shaking as he was holding the revolver against the head of the CEO of Serano-Genomix,

and the speed with which he hacked into the camera, and those present to prevent them from identifying

him. She learns of the pattern of corporate blackmail which occurred after the fact, all the companies affected

were left with visible logos of the same image the Laughing Man had used to conceal his identity.

  Batou and Togusa are observing Nanao Ei when the Superintendent-General begins his speech.

Pazu and the Major are on hand with the Superintendent-General when one of the officers near him

is suddenly hacked, and attacks the Superintendent-General. The Major stops the assailant, but then

the rest of the bodyguards begin to exhibit symptoms of a virus.

[Jingai]

  Episode 6 Meme - A Complex Episode

 A virus has broken out and now Section 9 has to race to get the Superintendent-General

to safety. To make matters worse, several civilians have begun to spontaneously attack

the Superintendent-General as well. Section 9 will have its hands full trying to protect

the Superintendent-General and investigate this crime.

Spoiler

  The Major and Pazu rush the Superintendent-General to an underground parking lot,

where an armored ambulance is waiting. Several civilians have begun to imitate the

symptoms of the virus, turning the crowd into a hotbed of potential killers. The guards

themselves are being affected by a modular delayed action virus sent in bursts through

their cybercoms. Section 9 is already racing to develop a vaccine when they Superintendent

General is injured on the way out.

  Batou and Togusa race into Nanao Ei's apartment with the local police, but discover

only a terminal with images from the policemen's eyes, and a sex android. Nanao had

hacked into the interceptors that the Police were implanted with, and was sending false

information to the police through them. Frustrated, Batou and Togusa begin to attempt to

trace down Nanao Ei's location.

  Nanao Ei waits in the meantime for a contact from the people who have hired him to perform this trick.

Nanao Ei wants to go down as the Laughing Man, the man responsible for such a culturally

significant crime, and his contact obliges him, by shooting him in the head. Batou and Togusa

are too late to the scene, they find only the body of Nanao Ei, with no way to salvage any information

from his cyberbrain.

  Chief Aramaki is now convinced that with the murder of Nanao Ei, as well as the assassination

attempts that there is high level corruption in the police department. He orders an investigation

into the original Laughing Man affair, determined to discover the entirety of the criminal act, and

if it is an individual or an organized corrupt faction within the police itself that is responsible for

the latest criminal actions.