The year is 2030 and in Japan trouble is brewing between the nation's "Individualists" and the three million or so refugees who have been invited into the country to fill the ongoing labour shortage. The conflict leads to a series of terrorist incidents, the most notable of which is a suicide attack carried out by a group known as the Individual Eleven...

It is six months since the members of Section 9 solved the case of The Laughing Man only to discover that on completion of the investigation they had been placed under a government enforced Indefinite Standby Order that effectively rendered the unit inoperable.

Called in to investigate the Individual Eleven suicide attack, the members of Section 9 learn there is more to the actions of the terror group than meets the eye. A surviving member of the Individual Eleven, a prosthetic bodied man named Kuze, emerges as the charismatic leader of the refugees and leads an intensified confrontation against the government. As Section 9 becomes more involved in the ongoing conflict, Motoko begins to feel a strange sense of fate connecting her to Kuze.

For fans of Ghost in the Shell who purchased the 2nd GIG DVD releases, Individual Eleven will come as something of a surprise. This release doesn't remain 100% faithful to the original storyline, and has gone through a bold editing phase that serves to highlight the story's key relationship between Kuze and Motoko. Add in a selection of new scenes and a remixed soundtrack and the result is a never-before-seen, reborn version of the 2nd GIG.

Extras include 2nd GIG: Individual Eleven Archive (30 min, 46 sec behind the scenes featurette which sees Japanese voice artist Atsuko Tanaka interview the director); Tachikomatic Days (3 min, 49 sec animated short which sees the cute AI walker/roller tankettes involved in a spot of detective work. When an AI machine is destroyed the race is on to find out who the killer is); and Trailers for other anime shows.

For those that don't already own 2nd GIG this is an essential purchase. And if you already own the original series then you might like to pick this up to compare the differences.

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Ray Thompson