Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX Kokaku Kidotai, Mobile Armoured Riot Police) is a Japanese anime TV series set in the Ghost in the Shell universe created by Masamune Shirow. It is often referred to by its acronym GitS:SAC.

Production of the show was undertaken by Production I.G. headed by director Kenji Kamiyama. The overarching series was sketched by original creator Masamune Shirow, unifying each season's 26 episodes into a larger encompassing plot. The series first premiered in Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax, which was also involved directly in the production of the series, and have also broadcast the series across its respective networks worldwide, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and other regions.

The series receives its subtitle from a theoretical mental complex attributed to the adaptation of cybernetics into the mass public. In the story, 'stand alone complex' is said to describe copies with no original and is portrayed by copycat crimes with no original criminal or, in other words, an imaginary criminal. It also refers to the structure of each first season episode: each episode can be viewed independently of each other, and there is little catch-up (if at all) given in each episode to keep the viewer up to date (unlike many anime series). The individual episodes are discreetly marked either "stand alone" or "complex" in the title screen. The "complex" episodes are more closely entwined with this encompassing plot, and the "stand alone" less so.

There is also a DVD extra of comedic shorts, Tachikomatic Days, attached to the episodes on the home video releases featuring the antics of the Tachikoma mini-tanks of Section 9, involving plot points from the episodes it accompanies.

After finishing its run in 2003, the series was continued into a second season under the title Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, which premiered in Japan on Animax, from January 2004, via a pay-per-view basis. The second season episodes are labeled "Individual", "Dividual", and "Dual", with "Individual" episodes closely intertwined with the Individual Eleven case, "Dividual" episodes stand-alone, and "Dual" episodes having to do with the Cabinet Intelligence Service and Gouda.

The series has also been continued into an anime TV film, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society, which premiered on September 1, 2006 in Japan on Animax via a pay-per-view basis.

Taking place in a fictional city of Japan called "Niihama-shi" (New Port City) in the year 2030, Stand Alone Complex tells the story of a special operations task-force called Public Security Section 9, or simply "Section 9". The series follows the exploits of Section 9's agents who range from ex-military to ex-police to even ex-mafia as they address each case and how it affects them on a personal level, eventually leading to the mysterious figure dubbed by the media as "The Laughing Man".

Public Security Section 9 is an elite domestic anti-crime unit charged with the task of preemptive prevention of technology-related acts of terrorism and crime. Their duties include response to serious cyber crimes (i.e. cyberbrain hacking, cyber-terrorism), investigation of unlawful acts of those in public office and of high profile murder cases. From time to time they also serve as protection to foreign VIPs.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex follows an alternate and separate storyline from that of Mamoru Oshii's theatrical film adaptations. The TV series expounds further on the careers of Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9, and also retains more elements from Masamune Shirow's original manga than Oshii's feature films.

Literary references within the series include Flowers for Algernon, the Nine Stories written by J. D. Salinger, and The Catcher in the Rye, also authored by Salinger.

The TV series differs from the cinema adaptation in its focus upon issues created by the advance of technology. Instead of the intensely focused and personal examination of technology, what is presented is a look at society and technology as a larger whole. The series of 52 half-hour TV episodes has a larger budget of time to explore the concepts and ideas found in the original manga. In comparison to the film version, the series is considered by many to be easier to understand. Also, in comparison, the series can be found to be closer to the manga; due to the presence of some humor, the usage of the Tachikomas ("Fuchikomas" in the manga, and referred to simply as "tanks" in the one scene in which a variant version makes an appearance), the design of the characters, and also, the usage of the characters Pazu, Boma and Saito.

Stand Alone Complex exhibits the accumulated experience and expertise of Production I.G. in their application of computer generated imagery. This is evident in their digital color grading, environmental effects, and cel-shaded computer models.

From Wikipedia