Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex backdrop
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex poster
Action & Adventure
Animation
Crime

The Best Episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Every episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex!

The Best Episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

In the future when technological enhancements and robotics are a way of life, Major Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9 take care of the jobs that...

Seasons2

  1. Background image for C: Smoke of Gunpowder, Hail of Bullets; BARRAGE
    8.8/10(292 votes)

    #1 - C: Smoke of Gunpowder, Hail of Bullets; BARRAGE

    S1:E25

    Despite their best efforts, the remaining members of Section 9 are rounded up one by one by the government forces; only Batou and Motoko are left.

    0 Comments
    View all
  2. Background image for IN:  Return to Patriotism; ENDLESS∞GIG
    8.5/10(246 votes)

    #2 - IN: Return to Patriotism; ENDLESS∞GIG

    S2:E26

    The tables seem to be turning in favor of Section 9, but the nuclear missile is still being prepared for launch.

    0 Comments
    View all
  3. Background image for C:  Left-Behind Trace; ERASER
    8.4/10(283 votes)

    #3 - C: Left-Behind Trace; ERASER

    S1:E21

    After being shot, Togusa's in the hospital and about to go into surgery, but he is desperate to pass on what he's learned to the rest of Section 9. As Togusa fights for his life, the rest of Section 9 takes over the case, but others within the government have learned of the investigation and are not happy.

    0 Comments
    View all
  4. Background image for C:  Sunset in the Lonely City; ANNIHILATION
    8.3/10(252 votes)

    #4 - C: Sunset in the Lonely City; ANNIHILATION

    S1:E24

    The government orders Section 9 disbanded. Aramaki is taken away, and Togusa is arrested. Motoko assembles the remaining team members at HQ for one final mission. They prepare for a full-scale assault while Elite troopers and Armed Suits descend on Section 9 HQ.

    0 Comments
    View all
  5. Background image for IN:  Kusanagi's Labyrinth; affection
    8.3/10(228 votes)

    #5 - IN: Kusanagi's Labyrinth; affection

    S2:E11

    While field testing new recruits, the Major finds herself hacked, and an old woman tells her a story from her past.

    0 Comments
    View all
  6. Background image for C:  Public Security Section 9, Once Again; STAND ALONE COMPLEX
    8.2/10(331 votes)

    #6 - C: Public Security Section 9, Once Again; STAND ALONE COMPLEX

    S1:E26

    Togusa has been released from jail and he's given papers showing the dissolution of Section 9. Out of work and depressed, he tries to find information on the others, but there is nothing available. Thinking that he has nothing left to lose, he goes to assassinate the man responsible when he is stopped by–Batou!

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Dai Sato
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

    READ
  8. Background image for IN:  Aerial Bombing of Dejima; NUCLEAR POWER
    8.2/10(200 votes)

    #7 - IN: Aerial Bombing of Dejima; NUCLEAR POWER

    S2:E24

    The Prime Minister is taken into custody, and the military begins its strike on Dejima. The Major and part of Section 9 head to Dejima to try to hand over the nuclear device to the military there, in order to defuse the situation, while Ishikawa heads to SPring-8 to deliver the rest of the plutonium.

    0 Comments
    View all
  9. Background image for IN:  To the Other Side of Paradise; THIS SIDE OF JUSTICE
    8.2/10(195 votes)

    #8 - IN: To the Other Side of Paradise; THIS SIDE OF JUSTICE

    S2:E25

    Kuze manages to take down the jamming plane, but becomes trapped in rubble with the Major. The Tachikomas begin discussing what to do about the nuclear submarine they have spotted, and Batou manages to convince the special forces that have been sent to kill them to listen to him.

    0 Comments
    View all
  10. Background image for C:  Vanished Medication; RE-VIEW
    8.1/10(260 votes)

    #9 - C: Vanished Medication; RE-VIEW

    S1:E20

    Togusa is on the trail of the Laughing Man again, and this time, his investigations lead him towards both a leading micromachine corporation and an NGO called the Sunflower Society.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Dai Sato
  11. Background image for DI:  Beware the Left Eye; POKER FACE
    8.1/10(209 votes)

    #10 - DI: Beware the Left Eye; POKER FACE

    S2:E14

    Saito recounts his first run-in with the Major, and how he became part of the group that would eventually become Section 9.

    0 Comments
    View all
  12. Background image for IN:  Escape in Defeat; EMBARRASSMENT
    8.1/10(187 votes)

    #11 - IN: Escape in Defeat; EMBARRASSMENT

    S2:E21

    Much to the chagrin of Batou, Motoko, and the rest of the team, Kuze and the refugees manage to escape in one of the camouflaged boats. They are further hampered when an explosion causes heavy losses, leaving them unable to follow the fleeing boat.

    0 Comments
    View all
  13. Background image for SA:  A Perfect Day for a Jungle Cruise; JUNGLE CRUISE
    8.0/10(297 votes)

    #12 - SA: A Perfect Day for a Jungle Cruise; JUNGLE CRUISE

    S1:E10

    Marco Amoretti, a former Navy Petty Officer from the American Empire, has come to Japan and is committing heinous acts of brutality against women. Section 9 is assisted in this matter by the American Empire's CIA. While this doesn't sit well with Public Security's members, Batou finds the whole case particularly hard on his psyche as the nightmares from his past rear their ugly head.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Jun Matsumoto
    Writer:Dai Sato
  14. Background image for C:  The Other Side of Good and Evil; EQUINOX
    8.0/10(251 votes)

    #13 - C: The Other Side of Good and Evil; EQUINOX

    S1:E23

    The Laughing Man returns! And, just as he did six years ago, he kidnaps the president of Serano Genomics without being detected. Section 9 arrives at Serano's house too late, and sets out to find him.

    0 Comments
    View all
  15. Background image for DI:  Angel's Poem; TRANS PARENT
    8.0/10(200 votes)

    #14 - DI: Angel's Poem; TRANS PARENT

    S2:E18

    The Major and Batou are flown to Berlin in an effort to track down a terrorist called "Angel's Feathers". While there, Batou attracts the attention of a young girl in a wheelchair.

    0 Comments
    View all
  16. Background image for IN:  The Day the Bridge Falls; MARTIAL LAW
    8.0/10(198 votes)

    #15 - IN: The Day the Bridge Falls; MARTIAL LAW

    S2:E23

    The government declares martial Law in Dejima, believing that the refugees have a nuclear device and plan to use it to gain independence. When the refugees' connection to Kuze is cut off, one shot begins a bloody war.

    0 Comments
    View all
  17. Background image for SA: Tachikoma Runaway, The Movie Director's Dream; ESCAPE FROM
    7.9/10(293 votes)

    #16 - SA: Tachikoma Runaway, The Movie Director's Dream; ESCAPE FROM

    S1:E12

    One of the Tachikomas decides to take a little stroll through the city. It meets a little girl, Miki, who is searching for her lost dog and it agrees to help her. On their journey, the Tachikoma finds a strange box.

    0 Comments
    View all
  18. Background image for C:  Corporate Graft; SCANDAL
    7.9/10(249 votes)

    #17 - C: Corporate Graft; SCANDAL

    S1:E22

    Motoko is about to be fitted for her new prosthetic body. But when the doctor arrives and begins the procedure, it's clear that she has no intent of letting Motoko out alive. Meanwhile, Aramaki receives a disturbing message that his brother has been kidnapped.

    0 Comments
    View all
  19. Background image for IN:  To Those Without Even a Name...; SELECON
    7.9/10(192 votes)

    #18 - IN: To Those Without Even a Name...; SELECON

    S2:E12

    The Tachikomas, Ishikawa, and Borma locate a suspicious file believed to be the Individual Eleven virus, The Major, Batou, Saito go after Kuze, and the Individual Eleven prepare to put their plan into action.

    0 Comments
    View all
  20. Background image for C:  The Copycat will Dance; MEME
    7.8/10(301 votes)

    #19 - C: The Copycat will Dance; MEME

    S1:E6

    As Togusa and Bato track down Nanao, Motoko and Paz are attempting to protect the Superintendent-General at a press conference about the police misuse of interceptors. When the virus does hit, Motoko and Paz have to act fast to save the intended victim. Meanwhile, the road to Nanao=A hits a dead end.

    0 Comments
    View all
  21. Background image for C:  Inside the Forest of the Sub-Imagoes; PORTRAITZ
    7.8/10(284 votes)

    #20 - C: Inside the Forest of the Sub-Imagoes; PORTRAITZ

    S1:E11

    Togusa goes undercover at a hospital for patients with Closed Cyberbrain Syndrome, a hospital completely cut off from communication with the outside world.

    0 Comments
    View all
  22. Background image for IN:  Confusion at the North End;  FABRICATE FOG
    7.8/10(189 votes)

    #21 - IN: Confusion at the North End; FABRICATE FOG

    S2:E20

    Section 9 heads to Etorofu in search of Kuze. During their investigations, the Major finds an interesting floppy disk on the body of a dead addict.

    0 Comments
    View all
  23. Background image for C:  The Visual Device will Laugh; INTERCEPTER
    7.7/10(336 votes)

    #22 - C: The Visual Device will Laugh; INTERCEPTER

    S1:E4

    While working late, Togusa gets a call from one of his colleagues from his days on the police force. It seems that he's uncovered something strange happening with the investigators in the Laughing Man Unit, a special task force formed to catch the infamous cyber criminal known only as the Laughing Man. But before he can meet with Togusa, he's killed in a car accident.

    0 Comments
    View all
  24. Background image for DU:  Natural Enemy; NATURAL ENEMY
    7.7/10(206 votes)

    #23 - DU: Natural Enemy; NATURAL ENEMY

    S2:E4

    A routine live-fire exercise goes wrong, leaving a fleet of AI controlled helicopters flying above a refugee area, firing on anyone who comes near. And a mysterious and creepy man known as Gohda arrives to tell Section 9 how to handle it.

    0 Comments
    View all
  25. Background image for IN: Chain of Symmetry; CHAIN REACTION
    7.7/10(189 votes)

    #24 - IN: Chain of Symmetry; CHAIN REACTION

    S2:E19

    Despite close scrutiny by the authorities, the Dejima refugees declare their independence. Kuze is suspected to be the mastermind behind this new resistance and Section 9 is sent to detain him.

    0 Comments
    View all
  26. Background image for SA:  Proof of Recklessness; TESTATION
    7.6/10(398 votes)

    #25 - SA: Proof of Recklessness; TESTATION

    S1:E2

    Kenbishi Heavy Industries has built a state-of-the-art multiped tank. There's only one problem–it's gone haywire and started moving on its own. Section 9 is called in to stop it, as the Self Defense Force will not get involved. Now, it's up to Motoko, Batou, and the rest of Section 9 to stop the tank and figure out what made it go berserk in the first place.

    0 Comments
    View all

Best Episodes Summary

"C: Smoke of Gunpowder, Hail of Bullets; BARRAGE" is the best rated episode of "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex". It scored 8.8/10 based on 292 votes. Directed by Kazunobu Fuseki and written by Taiki Sakurai, it aired on 10/1/2003. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "IN: Return to Patriotism; ENDLESS∞GIG".