stand alone complex: 2nd gig – dts special edition

today the first disc-set of the dts edition of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – 2nd gig arrived.

shipping conditions aside, i slipped in the dts disc and watched the first four episodes, along with the new Tachikoma Days episodes which i was overjoyed to find.

of-course, technically the dts soundtrack is absolutely mindblowing, with the producers of SAC creating a brilliant 5.1 mix, but watching 2nd gig again just sent shivers through my soul.

just being immersed once again in the characters of stand alone complex, i’m beginning to think that it really does match the emotional maturity and depth of Haibane Renmei. i’m beginning to think that among my top-most tiered animes, there is no basis for comparison between them. all of them are deeply emotional, deeply spiritual, and evoke such a strong sense of love and intimacy that they are all magnificent as each-other, they just communicate their intimacies in different ways, even Chobits.

i absolutely love the characters of Stand Alone Complex, especially Motoko Kusanagi. i really do think i revere her equally with Reki from Haibane Renmei. Kusanagi represents so much love, so much intimacy. it’s extremely subtle, and i don’t expect all viewers to catch it or interpret it the same way i do, but i certainly experience an unimaginable level of emotion when i immerse myself in her character.

other things worth mentioning that go a long way to building Motoko Kusanagi’s character are Mamoru Oshii’s initial interpretations of her, and both Kenji Kawai’s and Yoko Kanno’s musical incarnations of her character. all of these influences have come together to build one of the most brilliant, loving and intimate characters ever in an anime, or any universe created by a series, film or work of literature.

i know most of you can’t see it. and i know most of you think i’m nuts. that’s good. because no-one will ever understand the universe of Ghost in the Shell the way i do, no-one will ever fully understand the depth to which i experience Kusanagi’s character – fictional though she may be. that’s great though – it only makes my philosophies all the more mine, the intellectual ground-work my own, something of which i am increasingly proud of, and only ever benefit more and more from.