Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 5

攻殻機動隊 Stand Alone Complex #5

by Yū Kinutani

16 years ago a terrorist group called the “New World Brigade” kidnapped a young girl named Eka Tokura. However, recent photos of Eka have surfaced and she appears to look exactly as she did 16 years ago. To investigate this mystery, the special unit of the Maritime Safety Agency was dispatched to a man-made island off the coast of Okinawa that has been seized by the Brigade. However, communication with the special unit has been lost, leaving this island and the Brigade in a shroud of secrets. Section 9 is tasked with the job of finding out what happened on this man-made island and discovering the truth behind Eka’s age-defying looks.

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Comics, Cyberpunk, Comics Manga, Graphic Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2013

Reviews

[osoi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Максимальное приближение к тв-эпизоду с лирическими отступлениями, расширяющими понимание сюжетных троп. Как относиться к этой новой информации?.. Склоняюсь к тому, что лучше не знать. Лучше пускай не договаривают, сохраняя мистическую завесу и заставляя шестеренки крутиться (часто в самом мрачном направлении).

Тяжелая история, с похищениями и радикалистами-сектантами. Особая жуть берет не только от всей представленной ситуации, но и от невозможности осознать/спроцессировать что конкретно произошло и как оно пришло к тому, к чему пришло… Есть показательный диалог между Кусанаги и Бато, когда второй прямо отказывается лезть в голову жертве, потому что никакое любопытство не стоит этого кошмара.

На этом все в отношении SAC. Жаль, что сосредоточились на филлерах, а не на основной линии Смеющегося человека :с Ведь чего стоит один только крипи-эпизод с Тогусой под прикрытием в учреждении для пациентов с Cyberbrain Closed Shell Syndrome. :х

lukk.svbtle

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another strong volume. This has been one of my favorite manga. Plenty of sci-fi action with fairly complex storylines, but never so complex the reader gets lost. Great art as well.

[Clodjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol. 5 faithfully adapts the story from episode 13 “Not Equal” of the anime TV series.

I am already a big fan of GITS and of cyberpunk stories, but I particularly like this manga series because it offers strong designs and art, excellent storytelling and constitute an easy read. It is quite enjoyable if you like investigative stories with lots of action (sometime quite violent), rich socio-political themes and that are set in a cyberpunk future. I must admit that it has been a long time since I took so much pleasure in the reading a manga. I highly recommend it.

Read my full comments on https://clodjee-blog.com/2020/03/26/g...

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting cyberpunk story that builds the world a little more by exploring political extremism related to cybernetics.

There are suicide attackers --not exactly bombers --that are devoted to staying fully human.
There is a child kidnapping.

Also for your reading "pleasure," a woman is so badly tortured and or raped --off page --that she literally ages like 40 years in 10 years so get ready for some really bizarre and depressing shit. Oh yeah, and she forces her daughter who looks like her exact double to work and work until she's like a super soldier through physical training to become the head of the radical organization that kidnapped her. It's out there and it's dark.

The main "antagonist" who is really more like a radicalized anti-hero has a tragic back story and at the end of the day, there are no memory wipes or plug-ins like with cybernetic themed stories. It's a far less invasive interview than what they traditionally do and you really see the human elements shine in this story. You know, in case you were curious what exactly Togusa was really for.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I bought these in a bundle I have to admit I did it as a huge fan of the SAC anime series and presuming it would be new stories in the same universe. A little disappointed initially that they're adaptations of the episodes so storywise they don't really offer me anything new, but the artwork is great and so kinetic that they're an amazingly fast read. Imagine they'd probably offer more to someone who hadn't already seen the show they're adapting, but still enjoyable.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved it - loved the series