GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX

There's a large number of American anime fans who readily acknowledge Stand Alone Complex as a really confusing show that comes on Adult Swim late at night. There are others who feel as if the deeply philosophical themes present in the 1995 film are all but missing from the anime series. Still, some hail the anime as a post-cyberpunk masterpiece. The most profound fictional works can also have the most polarized critics; Stand Alone Complex is undoubtedly part of this tradition and will surely stand the test of time.

BATTLE ANGEL

4 stars out of 5

Battle Angel takes the first two books of its respective manga series, chops the stories down to their foundations and splices them together to make an arguably superior rendition of the franchise. This might not sit well with hardliners who vehemently despise alterations in what is already considered a sublime work of dystopic cyberpunk fiction, but when is change ever met without resistance? Battle Angel is as grim, disturbing, and unrelentingly violent as its manga predecessor, and our sympathy for Gally, the tragic hero, is compounded by the fact that her cries for mercy are no longer mediated through comic book speech bubbles, but have become audible and grating and visceral.

Gally, doing what she does best.