Maybe I'm doing this wrong. I would have to be. Despite months of watching many different kinds of anime and even coming to have an appreciation for some of them that goes beyond the academic, I still can't manage to see the appeal of some of the most well-regarded series in the genre. I chose Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for this week's entry because my anime advisers raved about it. I had every reason to believe them, too. The original Ghost in the Shell movie was one of the first animes I ever watched in my culturally formative high school years. I enjoyed it then for its good animation and interesting premise, even if I felt a little cheated by the thoroughly un-American concept of a movie that only lasts one hour. I had high hopes for SAC, so the disappointment was pretty deep.
I say that I must be doing this whole project wrong because I can't for the life of me see why this series is appealing. When the animation isn't struggling against the blaring seams of incongruous computer effects, it's merely competent. And I know it's a little thing, but the haircuts! So many awful haircuts! Unless the mullet is going to come back in a big way by 2030, I'd say the design team on Stand Alone Complex hasn't had work since 1983. Aside from the opening theme the music is nothing to write home about. The script is one of the most god-awful things I've had to endure over the course of this entire project. Flat characters either spout exposition or stumble over silly one-liners meant to make them seem tough or deep.
But what really broke this whole thing for me were the cutesy talking tanks. Whose idea was this and how can I most quickly and efficiently kick them in their shins? Not only is it deeply annoying and utterly tone-deaf, the idea of a robot tank with the personality of six-year-old girl doesn't even make any sense in the world of Ghost in the Shell. What idiot would program an AI to behave like that? What could possibly be the benefit?
Yet despite all of this obviously awful content, this entry opened with a veritable chorus of people telling me how awesome this show is. Exactly what is awesome about SAC? It can't be the animation, the characters or the writing. So, what's left? I've got a theory, but it may just be a stab in the dark. I believe it's something I've dubbed "The Neat-O Factor". Brain/machine interfaces? Neat-O. Computer hackers illegally taking control of dangerous robots? Neat-O. Transferring one's consciousness into different machines and bodies via a "brain case"? Neat-O.
That's it. The very concept behind Stand Alone Complex must be enough to grab fans. I need to know, readers: Is that all there really is to anime for most people? Do interesting stories, fleshed-out characters and careful scripts just not matter to viewers if the gadgets are cool?
Comprehension: 7/10- Stand Alone Complex assumes its viewers have a thorough understanding of the Ghost in the Shell world, so it doesn't go to great lengths to explain the way the various bits of technology work or what any of the new terms mean. After the initial learning curve, everything is pretty linear.
Enjoyment: 1/10- I think this is the lowest score I've ever given to an anime yet. SAC wasn't ridiculously bad, it was just uniformly lame. It doesn't have the misguided direction of more insane concepts and it does jack-all with the concepts that are there.
Improvement of Understanding: -1/10- I actually think watching this anime set me back. I'm going to have to re-think everything now that art, characters, script and story don't seem to count for as much in the appeciation of anime.
Next Week: A Return to Blue Seed
