Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Episode Guide

The Foreign Minister and his delegation are kidnapped by android geishas. Motoko Kusanagi and the members of Section 9 rush to the scene and rescue the diplomats. After a continuous investigation, section chief Aramaki discovers that there was a conspiracy surrounding an important military secret file called the Ichinose Report. Could they keep the file from leaving the country?

A prototype intelligent tank built by Kenbishi Heavy Industries suddenly activates. The military, which was not entirely decided about approving the purchase, is unwilling to intervene in the incident and Section 9 is called in for assistance. Section 9 sends Tachikomas to hunt down the vehicle and he plans to fire on it where there are no residential buildings. But despite his efforts, the tank keeps rolling. It looks as though it's headed towards a specific destination. Where is it going? And for what reason?

A bizarre incident occurs: a mass suicide of androids. After an investigation, it turned out to be a deliberate crime using a certain virus. In the android factory, a strange protection code was found in the computer terminal. The suspect runs away, and Section 9 goes after the suspect. And what did they see? Do robots have souls?

One rainy evening, Togusa gets a phone call from Yamaguchi, an ex-colleague from the ministry, who detected some suspicious moves within the police department, and wanted to consult him about it. Togusa starts up an investigation using photos forwarded by Yamaguchi. When Togusa finally solves the mystery, he sets out on a hunt to reveal the illegal use of a device within the Police Department.

Aramaki suspects the Laughing Man Case to be a police hoax. In order to get evidence to back his theory, Section 9 carefully examines Nanao, who is the prime suspect of the Special Investigative Division. At the same time, Kusanagi independently reviews another Laughing Man Case that occurred 6 years earlier. She seems to be onto something, and asks Aramaki if she could guard the Police Commissioner.

It's the day of the forewarned assassination of the Police Commissioner. In the heavily guarded area, a sleeper virus sent by Nanao activates. Kusanagi, on patrol with Paz, Saito and Tachikoma, manages to stop the nightmare, but, soon after, a series of insurgencies spring up that have nothing to do with the virus. Sporadic they seem to be, but what could have triggered them?

A source had reported that a South American drug lord, Marcelo, was visiting Japan often. Section 9 was dispatched for an investigation. Marcelo makes contact with Japanese organized crime. What are his intentions? Eventually, local police forces join them in the effort to crackdown on organized crime. Now Four different factions jostle for control. And Kusanagi finally discovers Marcelo's secret, however...

A heart transplant was carried out without the donor's consent. When Section 9 is called in to investigate, they come across a group that deals in illicit sales of organs. A victim who lost his heart and the heartless culprits... As one whose entire body was transformed into a cyborg while she was young, Kusanagi seems to have especially strong feelings about this incident. What has she got against these criminals?

Back on the Net, the reappearance of the Laughing Man was the talk of the day. A dedicated chat room offers a wide range of ideas to help solve the case, and Kusanagi joins in to get to the bottom of it. She then notices someone monitoring the chat room. What caused Kusanagi's uneasiness for such a long time?

A cruel and strange series of murders has been taking place; its extreme nature and peculiar modus operandi reminding Batou of a mission carried out long ago. Batou tracks down the murderer in order to settle something from the past. What does Batou intend to do?

An extensive cyber attack on the Ministry of Health and Labor by a hacker leads to the leak of top secret information. The hacker is traced to a vocational training institute for cyber deficient children. Togusa conducts a covert investigation on his own and comes across an astonishing truth.

Two short stories comprise this omnibus episode. The Tachikoma, who restore memories from bits that remain in the body, goes into town and meet a girl who is looking for a missing dog. The Tachikoma brings back something incredible from a junkyard, which stirs up something within Section 9. How do the Tachikoma define life? And what did the Tachikoma pick up?

Kidnapped Eka was lost for more than ten years when she was found unchanged on an offshore plant. The coast guard requests Section 9 to investigate the site. Although the plant was located within the boundaries of Japan, outlaws controlled it. Non-cyber and non-cyborg guerrillas give them a hard time. Who is Eka anyway?

A Chinese assassin named Fem comes to Japan. She has a grudge against Yokose, a well-known billionaire. To achieve her mission, the fascinating killer acquires a deadly weapon, and heads for Yokose's mansion. Section 9 is dispatched to prevent the murder. Kusanagi and Fem run into each other. What did Kusanagi see after the skirmish? "There is a ghost in this country that wanders about. It's a ghost called capitalism."

The Tachikomas, noticing a slight change in Kusanagi's manners, conclude that they will be disposed of by Section 9. They have a deep discussion over topics such as life, ghosts, AIs and their own raison d'etre. After long arguing, they come up with one decisive strategy, and eventually decide to step into action...

Batou was sent to the military as an undercover agent to find a spy who was leaking top secret information. He encounters a hitherto undefeated wrestler who was famous for his unique timing and skill of "catching cyborgs off guard". This was until he finally lost a match. Seeing his hero silver medalist in disgrace, Batou explodes with his fists.

Aramaki and Kusanagi were visiting the UK to attend an international conference on terrorism. Afterwards, Aramaki heads to a bank where an old acquaintance works, and gets involved in a startling incident. Kusanagi tries to rescue Aramaki from outside. Could they predict each other's plans and actions to free Aramaki?

Aramaki receives a request for help from the daughter of an old colleague. At first he rejects the request, since he could not let personal matters get in his way. In the meantime, he intercepts some highly confidential information; someone is plotting to assassinate the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister. It became apparent that the earlier request and the plot were related. Aramaki moves to prevent the assassination, but...

Former Prime Minister Kanzaki's daughter Reiko suddenly disappears. Is this a disappearance or a kidnapping? A personal grudge or an act committed by organized crime? Section 9 is frustrated by information restrictions, leaks and confused information. Eventually, a female spy, who was involved in numerous organized crime incidents, emerges in the investigation.

Speculating from an oil painting scribble at the vocational training institution, Togusa comes up with what seemed to be the truth of the Laughing Man Case, and he volunteers to investigate files at the Health and Labor Ministry. He comes across an NGO named Himawari Group, which aims to spread an unauthorized drug for cyber-sclerosis. Just as he was visiting the group, he gets involved in an incident.

Aramaki's brother was discovered in a refugee ghetto, and Aramaki, on his own, heads for the hospital where his brother is hospitalized. Kusanagi, on the other hand, goes out to get her cyborg body remounted after a confrontation with Gail. They were both not aware that there were remnants of the drug intervention enforcement squad in town.

Aramaki's brother was discovered in a refugee ghetto, and Aramaki, on his own, heads for the hospital where his brother is hospitalized. Kusanagi, on the other hand, goes out to get her cyborg body remounted after a confrontation with Gail. They were both not aware that there were remnants of the drug intervention enforcement squad in town.

A hooded figure is standing in front of the house of Serano Genomics CEO Ernest Serano. The Police Agency is interested since this reminds them of the modus operandi used by the kidnappers six years previously in the early years of the Laughing Man Case. And Section 9 is ordered to take care of the case.

Aramaki attempts to trap the mastermind of the Laughing Man case. But unidentified arm suits enter Section 9 facilities to take control. Kusanagi abandons the facilities and orders all members to get away and go into hiding. But the hunters were already reaching their hideouts.

One by one, the members of Section 9 are hunted down and captured. Batou stops by at Motoko Kusanagi's safe house and confronts two arm suits ambush. Barely defeating the enemy, he manages to escape and joins up with Kusanagi, but...

The masterminds behind the Health and Labor Ministry's scandal that Section 9 was after are arrested. Togusa could do nothing but watch the news. He was hoping to be reunited with his comrades who had gone missing since the incident began. Meanwhile, alone in the National Library Museum, where all of the print media are collected and stored forever, the man who is thought to be the Laughing Man awaits a reunion with someone.

A terrorist organization that identifies themselves as the "Individual Eleven" seizes the Chinese Embassy. They don't have a specific leader but they demand an immediate moratorium on the acceptance of Asian refugees as well as the closure of the invited refugee quarters. After negotiations with the newly appointed Prime Minister Kayabuki, Aramaki dispatches Section 9 on condition that the indefinite standby order imposed on the Section is lifted. But they are only given 15 minutes. Will Section 9 be able to control the situation and prevent the hostages from becoming casualties?

Gino, a shabby helicopter pilot, was amputated during the war. He has delusions night after night, and believes wrong doings should be brought to light and justice be served. Hirara, a prostitute, is his only comfort. Gino targets a member of the power-elite, the CEO of one of the three broadcasting networks and also a client of Hirara's. With his gun, he plans to free Hirara and reveal the truth.

Cash Eye is a super theft ring that targets corporations. Chairman Tadokoro of Tadokoro Trading receives a warning letter, and asks Section 9 for assistance. Aramaki, for some reason, agrees to help. The warning is related to a party being held by Tadokoro. Kusanagi, clad in an attractive dress, arrives at the party and catches Tadokoro's eager gaze. What is the intention of Kusanagi and Section 9?

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter Jigabachi AV Digger Wasp goes astray. The pilot is unconscious and an independent AI rejects outside control. Unmanned helicopters gather as though they were induced, and Section 9 is dispatched. Goda, Chief of Staff of the Strategic Influence Research Council, arrives to lead the Section. What are these helicopters trying to do?

Prime Minister Kayabuki receives a threatening letter from the "Individual Eleven", that implies her possible assassination. The government requests Section 9 to guard her. Despite opposition from all quarters, she carries out an annual visit to a temple. Section 9 thoroughly prepares and waits for the attacker. Evading the heavy security, a man called Kuze, who has a full-prosthetic body, sneaks in to attack the prime minister. Kusanagi, who part of the security force, faces him.

A man who was threatening the Energy Ministry dies mysteriously. Aramaki sends Togusa to Tokyo to investigate the case. Tokyo has become an invited refugee quarter. There, Togusa meets Asagi who used to be the dead man's woman. She claims that the man was innocent, and, together with Togusa, they find one place where he used to work until he left Tokyo. It was a forbidden facility the government desperately tried to keep secret.

Someone leaks to the terrorists the shipment plan for the spent fuel rods from Shinjuku Underground Nuclear Power Plant. The government immediately requests Section 9 to provide ground transportation. Goda again arrives to lead the operation. Dismayed Section 9 members go on duty collaborating with Ground Self-Defense Force troops from the area. But the situation changes dramatically when a soldier fires at refugees.

While Section 9 independently continues investigating the "Individual Eleven", they catch a man called Kawashima Sho. Batou and Togusa keep him under surveillance 24/7 at the Taiwanese vegetarian restaurant where he works. Aramaki keeps tabs on moves by the Information Bureau of the Cabinet and learns that Section 1 is also after Kawashima. In the midst of all the conflicting information, Kawashima makes his move. Is Kawashima really one of the "Individual Eleven"?

Kusanagi dives into the gigantic computer terminal of Poseidon Industrials and confronts Goda, a virtual personality in the cyber sphere. Goda eerily proclaims, "It's too late, you can't stop the plan by any means". Meanwhile, Section 9 is busy in Niihama preventing the last of the "warned serial suicide-bomb attacks", when they are informed that a suspicious individual is being detained in a subway station. They rush to the station and find a surprisingly unusual terrorist.

An off duty Togusa had no choice but to fire at a convict in order to save the victim. He falls for a trap set by an aggressive lawyer called Ueda and is brought to court. Kusanagi smells something fishy in the lawyer's exaggerated actions and finds Goda behind the scenes. Togusa, in a precarious situation, is already standing in the witness box. In exchange for his own resignation, he makes an unexpected move.

Kusanagi is with new Section 9 recruits as an examiner, when she suddenly finds herself into an unfamiliar place. She meets two child cyborgs and an old woman. The woman promises Kusanagi that she will tell her about the cyborgs the next time Kusanagi visits her. The Section members are suspicious of Kusanagi's disappearance during the recruiting exam. After returning to the real world, at first she avoids the other members, and eventually decides to goes back to hear what the old woman has to say.

Hearing a report of a sighting of Kuze on the shores of Nagasaki Bay, Section 9 members, who were working on the Individual Eleven case, rush to the area. At the same time, Togusa is at a university library looking for the original book, but he couldn't find it. Kuze, too, is lost. Again, there is another sighting report. This time on top of the Kyushu Tower. TV cameras catch the scene. As people watch them on TV, they start something unlikely and ghostly.

Kuze escapes from the Kyushu Tower. Section 9 starts another investigation pursuing the fact that only few specialists could have actually created Kuze's unique prosthetic face. They rush to the face craftsman who might be the primary witness, but find him murdered. The face of the murderer in the security video is exactly that of Paz. The man is perplexed, but soon remembers this might be connected with an incident he was involved in years before. What ever happened in Kuze's past?

In the summer of 2020, Saito was fighting in Mexico as a mercenary with anti-government forces. The situation was going from bad to worse and the mercenaries were waiting for an opportunity to surrender. In the middle of this torment, Saito learns that an enemy special operations unit was secretly transporting nuclear material. And so he plans to seize them in hopes of correcting the situation. It was a twist of fate that brought Saito to encounter on the operation theatre the then young Kusanagi, who was in the special operations unit. Could Saito get hold of the nuclear material?

Some Tachikomas skip a maintenance protocol and initiate an investigation into the "Individual Eleven" on their own. Seeing this, Batou couldn't stop but feel uneasy. At the same time, an explosion takes place at the AI Lab. After the explosion, the only person who was supposed to be there, Prof. Asuda, could not be found. Not even his remains. While analyzing Asuda, the Tachikomas experience a deja vu, but there is no record of Asuda in the Tachikomas' memory. Then what connects Asuda to the Tachikomas?

In search of Kuze, Section 9 realizes he had spent some time in the Self-Defense Forces. Further investigations revealed his unit at the time was responsible for an incident the government had desperately tried to suppress. In 2024, the Self-Defense Forces were sent to a small country struggling with civil war under the request of the UN forces. It was the coldest day in winter, and as they marched in the mountains they inadvertently got caught up in a conflict in a refugee camp. This dreadful combat shattered the soldiers' morale and the army gradually lost its self-control.

Kusanagi, following Kuze, smuggles into Taiwan and by coincidence saves a boy who was running away from the Mafia. They had no choice but to stay together. Eventually, the hostility gradually diminished, but the boy suddenly disappears. He went alone to deal with the Mafia. Kusanagi mocked his foolishness at first, but as she could not suppress the uneasy feeling welling up in her, she gets ready for action with a bitter smile on her face.

Berlin in winter. A girl in a wheelchair longingly waits for the day her father comes to meet her once a year. She lately became aware of a big man with false eyes who is seldom seen in town. Her curiosity gradually escalates. Today was the day to meet her father. She advances to the meeting place, in a church. What she heard from the church was not her father's voice, but a big gunshot.

While the refugees' activity is closely watched, Dejima proclaims its self-governing status. Section 9 heads for Dejima to detain Kuze who seems to be the mastermind of all this. Through hacking, they locate him and rush over, but they were attacked as though the armed refugees were expecting them. In spite of suffering casualties, they get through the barricade. But Kuze was already gone. Where did he disappear to?

Section 9 is heading for Etorofu (Ostrov Iturup) to catch up with Kuze. Kusanagi rushes to see an old dopester, but finds him dead and discovers a suspicious floppy. After analyzing it, she uncovers a record of plutonium transaction information. The final buyer was a group of Asian refugees. It seemed Kuze and his group were trying to get hold of nuclear material to achieve independence. In order to stop the transaction, Section 9 heads to where the deal is to take place. There they encounter refugees and the Defense Force armed suits already in combat. What could they make of this?

A refugee boat escapes from Etorofu; Section 9 tries to follow from the air with their tilt-router, but the aircraft suddenly explodes just before Kusanagi and Batou's eyes. Without a vehicle, Section 9 starts a secret investigation of Sagawa Electronics, the company involved in the nuclear material transaction. They come across a dark shadow in the Information Bureau. Meanwhile, the refugee boat makes a smooth return trip until the coast guard vessels surround them just before arriving in Dejima. Could Kuze and his group return to Dejima safely through the blockade?

A nuclear bomb was found in Fukuoka. People suspect the refugees and the evacuation begins. In spite of Aramaki's suspicions regarding the involvement of the Information Bureau in the incident, the government decides to send the Self-Defense Forces to Dejima. Batou is determined to face Goda in person as a last resort. Looking down over the empty town, the two bluntly exchange words. Goda is arrogant as always and Batou tries to shut him up and gradually pins him down. Who will win?

After the declaration of independence, the refugees are almost at their peak with anticipation. The government decides to send in the armed forces. In this turmoil, Aramaki desperately proposes a plan to the prime minister. In order to put this into action, Section 9 hijacks a helicopter and heads for Dejima. At the Dejima Bridge, the two sides are at stand still when a single gunfire pushes the situation to the worst.

The armed forces start air-raiding Dejima. There are explosions all over. Section 9 urgently tries to get through. At the same time, Aramaki collaborates with a group of Tachikomas to find the mastermind behind the armed forces. And surprisingly enough, it was the Imperial Americana. The Self-Defense Ground Forces send down the parachute troops to take away the plutonium from Section 9. Every move Section 9 makes seems to be predicted and they are severely hit. Could they make it before the time limit?

Escalation of bombing by the army increases the casualty rate on Dejima. Kusanagi meets Kuze in the midst of confusion, but both are raided by a squad of Self-Defense Navy Aegis ships and are trapped under the rabble. After rescuing the prime minister from confinement, Aramaki tries to use a political measure to block Imperial Americana. But an American navy nuclear submarine had already started the countdown to launch the ultimate weapon. What destiny waits Section 9 and Dejima?

Kuze eagerly talks about his theory of revolution. Kusanagi seems to get the message. Now that they understand each other, they decide to collaborate. Batou runs around Dejima looking for Kusanagi. Aramaki, on the other hand, desperately tries his hand at some political maneuvering, but the tactical nuclear warhead is launched in the meantime. Is everything going to be burned to the ground? Or would Aramaki's strategy make it on time? How about Goda's ambition? While thoughts conflict each other, the final stage uncovers.

The Major is on Sabbatical again after what happened with Hideo Kuze. She investigates The Solid State Society by herself. Batou does not want to take her place at Section 9 nor does he want to accept her as the prime suspect in the investigation. Things look even worse for her as a person of interest identified her as The Puppeteer, a crime lord. The real Puppeteer was hijacked as well as the Solid State Society to falsify information so they can abduct people to do their bidding. The Elderly, who had no family ties, now all of a sudden have children placed in custody with them. The children are easily captured after they simply go to the doctor. The Elderly are protective of their new children as they are potential heirs. It becomes even worse when Togusa's daughter is next.

Recurring Element:

The Japanese Slot Machine is heard again, and involving Togusa.