Series: Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex
Volume:  1
Writer/Artist: Yu Kinutani 
Genre: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction, Manga, Action
Publisher/Year: Kodansha/2011


Synopsis: When a high-ranking government official is kidnapped, the Prime Minister must call in his top crime fighting force known as Section 9.  Lead by the beautiful (and deadly) Major Kusanagi, the cybernetically enhanced squad must use all their skill to take down the kidnappers and rescue the hostages.  But that’s only half of the mission; can Kusanagi and company find out who’s behind the kidnapping, and, more importantly, just what they’re after?

Rating:

Review:  Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is one of my favorite animes.  It took a while for me to get into, but once I did I fell hard for it.  So of course I was excited about the manga coming to American shores.  More times with the Section 9 crew could never go wrong!

Unless all the volumes are going to be re-hashes of the episodes.

The first series is broken into two episode types--the Stand Alone episodes (meaning they were single episode only storylines) and Complex episodes (the ones that dealt almost exclusively with the 'Laughing Man' plotline of the series).  This particular volume of the manga dealt entirely with the first Stand Alone episode 'Section -9', which was your basic let's introduce everyone and their capabilities.  We see the Major (Motoko)'s high level skill set as fully cybernetic person, Togusa's ability to see beneath the surface, Batou's brute force, Saito's sniper skill, Ishikawa's research skills, and the support roles that Paz and Borma play.

Its almost scene from scene taken from the animated episode however.  Which is annoying to say the least.

Kinutani's art is decent, though nothing exceptional.  There's a certain flatness to many of the characters' expressions that was hard to get past.  When Aramaki bursts in and takes over the investigation from the police his face didn't seem intimidating and authoritative.  When Togusa realized the truth behind the hostage taking he looked blank, not like a sudden burst of inspiration struck him.  And never mind the Major--she has this blank doll look in her eyes that doesn't seem to change whether she's making a wry remark to Aramaki or ordering the team in to save the hostages.

For those who haven't seen the anime, or only have a passing knowledge of the franchise, this will be a good gateway I think.  Kinutani develops the characters a bit deeper, giving secondary characters like Paz or Borma a bit more to do then run around doing what Batou or Ishikawa tells them to do.  It also gives just enough hints of the world to intrigue--the Tachikomas or some of fancy interfacing Section 9 does.  


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