Ghost in the Shell SAC bored me to tears – It was like watching NYPD blue sitcom anime and I hate sitcoms. Not to mention the robot characters as in “boring and lifeless characters.” The dialogue bored me to tears. Kenji Kamiyama has a habit of filling his shows with inconsequential babble, like an episode of ER or the West Wing.

Moribito also died after episode 7 and the ending action at around episode 21 was not enough to save the series. The characters didn’t relaly go anywhere either.

I also despised Le Chevalier D’Eon and IGPX – Great ideas with very bad execution.

I have heightened hopes that due to this being an original series with only an 11 episode runtime followed by a movie, that it’ll turn out as something coherent and not drown in it’s own deus ex machina and jargon, but knowing Production I.G.’s and Kenji Kamiyama’s records, I’m prepared to be disappointed.

Well, at least the characters are lively at this point. It’s a step-up from the Studio’s and Director’s previous works.

Nonetheless, Saki is adorable and Akira just seems like a great character. This anime has me excited.

More than the character designs, which are excellent, both in detail and interest, the atmosphere of Washington DC and the foreigner view point are masterfully captured. And it sure doesn’t hurt that all the backgrounds are beautifully painted with careful detail (look at the semi-dilapidated apartment…). And OMFG REAL ENGLISH. IT BLEW MY MIND.

What also was surprising were the actual popular movies referenced by Akira…

“Honey and Clover was, and still is the most influential anime I have ever watched. Umino Chika’s character designs will always be respected by me because of that, and they are a welcome addition to this show.”
Same for me.

Morimoto flashbacks… @.@

The OP was great, the fluid refilting of regular views of the cityscape really matched the lyrics which describe a redefinition of reality. The various forms of media that flower and fade out, including the jumbled letters and the cell phone, describe an effort to grasp and hold onto a role in society, all the while begging for a higher being to help him (the artist, and perhaps the main characters) get out of the mess (described by the ruined appliances in the last moments of the OP. Curious quotations appear, one from Shakespeare’s “Julius Ceaser” and the French phrase, Noblesse Oblige. Both describe the standard in which power must be within or become corrupt. Perhaps this has something to do with the mysterious agency and the bombings…

So. onto the ED. I fucking loved it. It starts with a rhythmic beating of an apple, devoured by paper, and the paper sinking to reveal a silhouette of Saki, rising and then running through the cityscape (all beautifully done, both synced to the music and capturing the frenetic sprint she apparently needs to stop the missiles maybe???) as missiles (pencils) rocket through, literally TEARING the sky and destroying the buildings. This part ends as a hole is left in the middle of the city, and the page turns to Akira’s cellphone and a hand grasps it. I presume this may allude to the start of Akira’s journey, atleast since his memory got wiped. Akira also runs frenetically through the city and catches the shell (hole) left by Saki, something I found beautiful and layed with meaning. He points to the sky destroying the missiles, and the two are shown falling into pages of a book.

It’s been a while since I really appreciated such a good OP/ED.

I’d venture to say inconsistent… the cops were looking for them, they went to the station without a hassle.. then to the airport … WHOOSH

Anyway, still great. And I agree it’ll be one of the better representations for 09. ^^

Won’t you get tired of a friend who talks about how great the iPhone is all the time? I know you would, because you have already proven yourself a very literate person Totali.