Ghost In The Shell - S.A.C. - Vol. 1 cover art

Ghost In The Shell - S.A.C. - Vol. 1 Reviews

1995

Rated:
70
from 2509 members

Based on the manga by Masamune Shirow and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX takes viewers to futuristic society where technology has saturated citizens' daily lives. Along with the new technology comes new types of crime that exploits it, but female cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi and her team of .. Read more

Starring	Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ã”tsuka, Akio Ôtsuka, Tamio Ôki
Genres	Animated, Anime, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Sign up Ghost In The Shell - S.A.C. - Vol. 1 DVD

Buy From: £13.93

Most helpful members' reviews (3) of Ghost In The Shell - S.A.C. - Vol. 1
View all
14 out of 14 people found this review helpful

Good anime, shame about disc 2 content

WARNING! Do not rent disc 2 in this set. You get exactly the same set of episodes, but with DTS sound. I wish the description (or a previous reviewer) had warned me of this, then I wouldn't have wasted the rental. As for the episodes they are very enjoyable and action packed, with great animation. The title sequence is gobsmacking!
- - Darryl Sloan from Portadown, Northern Ireland
  - Posted 05 Jan 2006 11:49
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

Double disc disappointment

Don't take the low rating as applying to the content of this disc - the anime is great. Beware, though, and don't make the silly mistake I made and order both discs in the set. They contain exactly the same four episodes, only with different sound systems - Dolby and DTS. Unfortunately you don't seem to be able to choose just the DTS disc (the sound is much better). So if you are happy with the (fine) Dolby sound on Disc 1 just order that one and don't waste 1.99 on a duplicate disc!!
- - Jon Dixon from Derby, England
  - Posted 05 Apr 2006 11:51
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful

Just a note

This disc contains the same 4 episodes as the first disc, but in Dolby DTS and stereo 2.0 instead of Dolby 5.1 on the original.

There is also a 10 minute short giving a little bit more storyline, but you'll need to answer 10 related questions to view it.
- - Mootech from Hertfordshire
  - Posted 25 Nov 2004 17:55
Most recent members' reviews (2) of Ghost In The Shell - S.A.C. - Vol. 1
View all
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Its good but could have been better

Just like the movie the series follows a similar format. Its a good start to a manga series but due to the format being too predictable it just gets a bit boring. I hope the episodes further in the series are more entertaining.

The side story of the robotic tanks is funny if you can understand the unnecessarily complex language being used.
- - Aamir from Cardiff
  - Posted 16 Feb 2006 22:02
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

Double disc disappointment

Don't take the low rating as applying to the content of this disc - the anime is great. Beware, though, and don't make the silly mistake I made and order both discs in the set. They contain exactly the same four episodes, only with different sound systems - Dolby and DTS. Unfortunately you don't seem to be able to choose just the DTS disc (the sound is much better). So if you are happy with the (fine) Dolby sound on Disc 1 just order that one and don't waste 1.99 on a duplicate disc!!
- - Jon Dixon from Derby, England
  - Posted 05 Apr 2006 11:51

14 out of 14 people found this review helpful

Good anime, shame about disc 2 content

WARNING! Do not rent disc 2 in this set. You get exactly the same set of episodes, but with DTS sound. I wish the description (or a previous reviewer) had warned me of this, then I wouldn't have wasted the rental. As for the episodes they are very enjoyable and action packed, with great animation. The title sequence is gobsmacking!
- - Darryl Sloan from Portadown, Northern Ireland
  - Posted 05 Jan 2006 11:49
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

Double disc disappointment

Don't take the low rating as applying to the content of this disc - the anime is great. Beware, though, and don't make the silly mistake I made and order both discs in the set. They contain exactly the same four episodes, only with different sound systems - Dolby and DTS. Unfortunately you don't seem to be able to choose just the DTS disc (the sound is much better). So if you are happy with the (fine) Dolby sound on Disc 1 just order that one and don't waste 1.99 on a duplicate disc!!
- - Jon Dixon from Derby, England
  - Posted 05 Apr 2006 11:51
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful

Just a note

This disc contains the same 4 episodes as the first disc, but in Dolby DTS and stereo 2.0 instead of Dolby 5.1 on the original.

There is also a 10 minute short giving a little bit more storyline, but you'll need to answer 10 related questions to view it.
- - Mootech from Hertfordshire
  - Posted 25 Nov 2004 17:55
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent Series

While this series cannot really hope to recapture the brilliance of the classic Ghost In The Shell, the makers have certainly put a lot of effort in to make a quality adult anime which certainly has the feel of it's illustrious forebear. The 'standalone' episodes are effectively well thought out futuristic cop shows, with great music, animation and storylines combining to make this one of the better anime series out there. Roll on the next DVD.
- - imran from London
  - Posted 10 Dec 2004 11:47
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

Great Spin-Off

Ghost in the Shell:SAC is a great idea for a spin-off, although it does need a little explaining. The action takes place in a parallel universe to the events of Ghost In The Shell, the 1995 movie, so a lot of the characters and places are similar. However, the actions of the Puppet Master have not taken place! The ability to access the networks still exist, as does Section 9, and the storylines have been opened up to a lot of new and really good ideas.

If you're a fan of the original you should really like this! If you have never seen it, and watch the standalone episodes first, you may find it hard to link the two together in retrospect. But either way, Ghost In The Shell is really classy Manga and should be seen by everyone!
- - Dave Gilman from St Helens, UK
  - Posted 11 Mar 2005 10:01
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

More of the film

I personally dont think it was as good as the film, but as a filler before its still rather good.
- - Cho Min Kan from walthamstow, london
  - Posted 05 Mar 2005 23:36
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful

Great with DTS

The episodes on this disc were exactly the same as Disc 1 but had a DTS soundtrack instead. I was disappointed as I wanted to see more of this series. I'll have to wait for other volumes.
- - Superfly from Berkshire
  - Posted 06 Jan 2005 10:26
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Its good but could have been better

Just like the movie the series follows a similar format. Its a good start to a manga series but due to the format being too predictable it just gets a bit boring. I hope the episodes further in the series are more entertaining.

The side story of the robotic tanks is funny if you can understand the unnecessarily complex language being used.
- - Aamir from Cardiff
  - Posted 16 Feb 2006 22:02
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Not What I Expected

I don't know whether I have been spoiled by the amount of quality anime that is avaliable, the greatness of the original Ghost In The Shell or the excitment I had waiting for this film ... but after watching the 4 self contained episodes, I felt rather flat.

The first episode was quite predictable and in all honesty I thought that the animation was below par but it just probally me as I tend to think that blending hand drawn animation and CGI is not as great as it has been written about.

If you want to watch quality cyber-punk anime, then rent Patlabor 1 and 2, Orgus 02 and the GITS films.
- - Adam Drage from Dagenham, ESSEX
  - Posted 16 Mar 2006 21:43
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful

Lacklustre follow-up

I was really expecting something of the same calibre as the original film but this falls short of the mark. However it does have some of its own merits. This is four distinct and individual episodes that prequel the original film. The stories are well thought out, well drawn but it just feels like a film to TV series conversion, kind of like the original Robocop movie compared to the TV series. This is almost worth seeing but not quite.
- - Rob from Essex, England
  - Posted 06 Jan 2005 13:12