Support NeoGAF

[HAOHMARU]

I saw the previews for Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence when I lived in Japan. Visually it looked amazing...

Anyway, I heard that the US DVD release absolutely sucks balls. Subtitles are not very good...and there was no English voice over. I prefer JAP dub, ENG sub...but I guess they did it like it was for the hearing imparied making all the sounds? It was also to high on the screen?

Has anybody seen this or own it to confirm this? I heard the actual story was amazing...a lot better than the original. I love GITS so I was really looking forward to this, but if all this is true I might end up waiting for another release of the DVD.

Also, how is the Stand Alone Complex series. From what I have seen the animation isn't top notch...but is is worth watching?

 

[Kai Dracon]

Opinions on Standalone Complex:

* The animation remains top-notch through most of the episodes. Late in the series there are some very impressive high-budget combat sequences between robotic gear of various kinds.

* English dub is very good, with most of the same cast as the dub for the movies. I believe the actress for the Major has changed or her voice has shifted somewhat since the original GitS movie. (Confirm?)

* The plot is all over the place to a degree. Being a series, they do explore various facets of the GitS universe that the movies don't have time for. Several of these side trips are fascinating. But the overall series arc is a bit watered down until the late episodes. Much of it does make sense once you get there and there is some payoff, especially if you watch for subtle points. But I suspect many people will find it kinda aimless in focus. The ultimate storyline is less overtly (BEAT YOU IN HEAD) philosophical and is partly about more 'mundane' issues like real politics, corruption, and counter-culture... which I bet means some people will enjoy it more than the movies.

* Tachikomas / ThinkTanks rule and are a twisted and perverse addition to animated GitS (in terms of their AI and personality).

 

[ThirstyFly]

Anyway, I heard that the US DVD release absolutely sucks balls. Subtitles are not very good...and there was no English voice over. I prefer JAP dub, ENG sub...but I guess they did it like it was for the hearing imparied making all the sounds? It was also to high on the screen?

That's been fixed. There's a new version that has "version 2" on the spine or something. I'm half asleep and haven't actually seen it myself (or the film) so you may want to confirm about the "version 2" thing being printed on the spine.

 

[speedpop]

I have only seen Innocence raw so I wouldn't know fully - the anime distro company in Australia isn't pumping it out till later this year with their own subs so I am looking forward to it.

GITS:SAC IMO is a great series, the Laughing Man arc is one of the better written storyboards for an anime series I've ever watched, just that only 8-10 of the 26 episodes actually deal with it.

GITS 2nd Gig is great as well, a whole lot more in depth than SAC and if you think GITS:SAC required absolute concentration to understand, good luck with 2nd Gig.

And anyway, I prefer the hot Japanese voice of Motoko's over any dub.

 

[-=DoAvl=-]

I never really understood the laughing man arc, could someone explain it to me? Was it just a bunch of copycat people doing the assasinations or were they being controlled or what? hehehe

Oh, can't wait for innocence to come out in australia. Was so tempted to get the version i found in hk, but everyone was telling me it was a fake (a good quality fake they called it).

 

[Goreomedy]

Innocence is brilliant. The subtitles issue was annoying, but I mailed my disc into the studio and they replaced it with the fixed copy. You should be able to do the same, if you end up with the old version.

 

[golem]

Innocence sucked. the story was trash and boring.

 

[Danj]

I saw the previews for Ghost in the Shell 2 - Innocence when I lived in Japan. Visually it looked amazing...

Anyway, I heard that the US DVD release absolutely sucks balls. Subtitles are not very good...and there was no English voice over. I prefer JAP dub, ENG sub...but I guess they did it like it was for the hearing imparied making all the sounds? It was also to high on the screen?

Has anybody seen this or own it to confirm this?

I have not actually seen it myself, but from what I've heard the original US release of Innocence did indeed have subtitles for the hearing impaired. This problem has since been corrected, however. As for the lack of a dub, the UK region 2 release will apparently have a dub version in addition to the subtitled version, you can find out more about this on animeondvd.com.

 

[speedpop]

I never really understood the laughing man arc, could someone explain it to me? Was it just a bunch of copycat people doing the assasinations or were they being controlled or what? hehehe

Well I suppose I should use this silly spoiler tag thing...

Spoiler

It was a mixture of both copycat attempts as well as a terminal hack.

The first instance of Laughing Man shows up in episode 4 where, during the police conference scandal about them experimenting and delving into the private lives of the police officers involved in the original Laughing Man case and gives Superintendant-General Daidoh a threat over his life. This is Laughing Man hacking - as evidenced by the Laughing Man logo covering the entire head.

The very next episode begins to delve into the origins of Laughing Man, as well as the immediate media attention it gained causing popularity along with the copycats.. one of which is shown in the latter half of this episode.

Episode 6 starts off where episode 5 left off, along with the murder of the first copycat.. the entire plan for this fake Laughing Man was corrupted from within the police for certain reasons.. you'd have to watch it to make more sense. But this is also the predicted date of Daidoh's assassination and brings out more copycats but before that is another hack by Laughing Man by one of Daidoh's bodyguards (which also features one of most awesome Motoko action sequences in the series). The bodyguard seemed to be infected with a virus that spreads sporadically essentially turning normal people into Laughing Man zombies out to kill Daidoh. It also brings up the popularity of Laughing Man, which is further elaborated in episode 9 in the chat room.

After that section, out comes the "copycats" who are infected with the virus that Laughing Man implanted.. and this is where it gets shady.. the people who turned to kill were stated to not be affected by a virus whatsoever. But Motoko elaborates at the end of the episode that overall they caught 39 Laughing Man imitators all at the one time.. she also contemplates on the fact that there might not be an original Laughing Man at all.

Episode 9 is the chat room episode.. the best thing I can tell you is to pay extra attention to it and as boring as it might be without much action, it elaborates quite a lot on Laughing Man just through the fanatics side.. who he is, is it a solo job or multiple, is his hacking above the rest, etc etc. Motoko finds the person who was watching the sequences with Daidoh's assassination attempts and grills him a bit. This chat is also being monitered by Laughing Man himself, as is evidenced at the end when the chat room collapses, Motoko sees just the bottom half of him then dives out of the net.

Episode 11 shows Laughing Man who he is, Togusa right on his tail but he escapes before anything can happen. I can't remember much from this episode so you'd just have to watch it.

And to end it off.. I can't really remember much from the latter stages, but I'm pretty sure that Laughing Man shows up prominently in the last 6-8 episodes constantly with him contacting Motoko. The last few episodes especially showcase his hacking skills especially, with even

Spoiler

an invite into Section-9 that is politely refused

. If you don't understand it, just watch the episodes again and let it sink in.

 

[MattKeil]

That's been fixed. There's a new version that has "version 2" on the spine or something. I'm half asleep and haven't actually seen it myself (or the film) so you may want to confirm about the "version 2" thing being printed on the spine.

The fixed versions have "V4" after the title on the security sticker on the top of the case.

 

[Dead]

Some of the "Fixed" DVDs that you can get at Retail STILL have the problem.

If you want the best possible DVD, theres an R2 Japanese "international edition" coming out, with proper english subs and cover art that wont make you recoil in horror.

 

[Hitokage]

The fixed versions have "V4" after the title on the security sticker on the top of the case.

My copy of a V4 disc was not fixed, although the replacement Universal sent was.

 

[Drensch]

I saw the 2nd movie in the theatre, and I still think SAC is far better in very way except overall visual quality.

 

[nathkenn]

Innocence sucked. the story was trash and boring.

I was also very dissapointed

 

[XMonkey]

I was also very dissapointed

Same here. I think the decision to not include Motoko in the movie (prominently) hurt it, and the fact that the whole story was just boring and convoluted. Not to mention Batou's quoting spree throughout the movie.

Luckily, I was able to see it in theaters and the only thing that I came away real impressed with was the audio and visual. The visuals were simply stunning, especially on film.

 

[-=DoAvl=-]

wow! thanx speedpop!

i knew it was complex... but not THAT complex! must re-watch now. heheh

 

[Pellham]

While Innocence's story made very little sense and the plot was incoherent, it was an incredible visual experience and I think that alone merits at least one viewing. It's certainly not something I would watch repeatedly, but I wouldn't mind owning it some day (i've only seen a fansub).

And Stand Alone Complex is easily one of the best sci-fi/cyberpunk anime series to come out in recent years, so people who dig stuff like that should check it out. Most of my friends were bored by it because of its content.

 

[MattKeil]

Wow, lots of Innocence hate. Did people really find the story that hard to follow?

 

[Finaika]

Wow, lots of Innocence hate. Did people really find the story that hard to follow?

Yea, ppl must be familiar with Mamoru Oshii's style to truly appreciate his movies.