Ghost In The Shell - S.A.C. - Vol. 3

Volume Three of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex kicks off with an entire episode in a virtual chatroom. Watching an avatar of the Major sitting around chatting for 20 minutes doesn't sound too entertaining, but it does give a quick recap of what we know about the Laughing Man so far, as well as provide a bit of new information. Hardly essential viewing, but not as dull as it could have been.

The second episode on this disc is the most disturbing of the series, dealing with a serial killer who flays his victims alive with a connection to Batou's past. This is another stand alone episode that actually stands apart from the rest and justifies its inclusion, despite diverting from the shows main plot. It is also the first episode to focus on Batou.

In the third episode, Togusa goes undercover in a home for people suffering from a rare cyberbrain condition. Whilst there he uncovers more information about The Laughing Man.

The fourth episode focuses on one of the many artificially intelligent tanks that Section 9 uses. It's possibly the dullest episode of the entire series.

One thing about this show is that for no apparent reason at all it just completely ignores the big mystery and throw you an episode that no one really cares about. This disc is a big step backwards from the improvement of Volume Two.