2nd gig is great. SAC was more episodic, while 2nd gig had more of a static plot. You don't necessarily see everything happening. A lot is simply inferred. It's only there if you look. There's not that sense of movement and just... things happening. It feels like you're uncovering more and more of the overall situation as you're going along. Like a big mosiac that you're examining piece by piece.
I really liked that. It's a lot like trying to look at the real world and trying to make sense of the state of things, like following the news and piecing together the puzzle of reality, you know? And as you dial in more and more, a bigger picture comes into view and previously small events take on new meaning. Kind of invites you to really think and observe as you go along. Take it slow. Beneath it all is a truth that nobody can hold. Pretty deep stuff. I prefer it over SAC, for the most part. The pacing threw me the first time through. But by the second run I loved it. And then I watched it 7 or 8 more times that year.
I guess the way to put it is that it shows you this future scenario almost as you would uncover it if you were living in that time, just looking at your surroundings, talking to people, and watching the news. Really puts you there in that way. I think that's a big part of what makes it believable. You experience it as you would if it were real.
And yeah, you're right about the atmosphere and feel of both those series and the movies. It leaves a hole in your life that nothing else fills. The manga's great, but it doesn't have the same impact on me. I enjoy them the same, just differently from the anime. Haven't read the books. Need to.
Yoko Kanno is probably my favorite soundtrack producer, period. She has this distinctive sound about her. And it's crazy... ...she has always fucking had it! I have a couple decades of her stuff and it's all distinctly hers... ...and yet it's really diverse and out there. The gits stuff is up there for me, but I think my favorite she's done is the soundtrack to Wolf's Rain. So many absolutely gorgeous passages on those. I don't even like the show that much, but that soundtrack is incredible.
The live-action... ...I never really engaged with. I made a first impression and it matched other people's final impressions of it. So I said "nah."
Incidentally I watched a little bit of Arise the other day... ...maybe just because it's the only part of the franchise I haven't run into the ground. It's really good, especially compared to other stuff coming out at the time, but something about it doesn't hit the same spot for me. I really like the new character designs, the world, the feel, etc. But it all just seems pretty "vanilla" to me. Like, if there was no hype and ghost in the shell wasn't already a huge thing, I think it'd leave a much stronger impression on me. As a standalone thing it's good. As a ghost in the shell installment it's just kind of weak and lacking a bit in that hallmark character. *Really* hard to place.
