Ghost in the Shell - Solid State Society
2007 Bandai / Shirow Masamune / Production I.G.
I will be honest, I grew up with the original film. It was dark gritty, and sometimes filled with layers a second watching was needed because of the depth within the story. I went through my collection to find my copy. It also happens to be the limited steelbook edition. It contains the (ova) movie, bonus disc, and film OST.
At the time, GitS reawakened in the mainstream after long being asleep. As of now Arise is a reboot of the said series, but in fact its actually a chapter Shirow-sama co-wrote to compliment what the fans enjoy about the series.
SSS is a means to an end, it ties loose ends from both seasons of the tv series. And retouches on the "puppet master" that was from the original manga and film. However it takes a different spin, where the "puppeteer" is more connected than ever before. Story wise its a political thriller, but more surrounding with Section 9 themselves, as a unit they work as a crew, but are more of a family than a team.
Taking place a bit after 2nd GiG, the story revolves around an S9 team without the Major. Conspiracy theories abound, Togusa is head of the squad unit (weird huh?) I am trying to summarize since I haven't watched it in awhile. But it is totally worth finding if you have missed out on classic storytelling.
I heard Arise was so-so. But I think I know why, it has a different rhythm. Where SAC chapter was more involved with fleshed out stories, and some neat concepts that rarely get touched in animation or live action. In fact the key point about GitS like many other well known series, is the music. And Kanno-san gave her all to this series, and the film OST is on so many levels, listen to each song and it delivers a different message.
Full info data page from my friends @ ANN.
If you are a longtime fan of animation, or just getting into the genre. This is a film you gotta see.
ANN GITS SSS film info page
