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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!

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...
Genres:Action & AdventureAnimationCrimeSci-Fi & Fantasy

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 8.7/10 based on 276 votes. Directed by Kazunobu Fuseki and written by Taiki Sakurai, it aired on 10/1/2003. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "IN: Return to Patriotism; ENDLESS∞GIG".

  • C: Smoke of Gunpowder, Hail of Bullets; BARRAGE
    8.7/10276 votes
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    #1 - C: Smoke of Gunpowder, Hail of Bullets; BARRAGE

    Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 10/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Kazunobu Fuseki

    Writer: Taiki Sakurai

  • IN:  Return to Patriotism; ENDLESS∞GIG
    8.5/10232 votes
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    #2 - IN: Return to Patriotism; ENDLESS∞GIG

    Season 2 Episode 26 - Aired 1/8/2005

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

    Director: Masayuki Yoshihara

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • C:  Left-Behind Trace; ERASER
    8.4/10271 votes
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    #3 - C: Left-Behind Trace; ERASER

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 8/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Kenichi Takeshita

    Writer: Dai Sato

  • C:  Sunset in the Lonely City; ANNIHILATION
    8.3/10239 votes
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    #4 - C: Sunset in the Lonely City; ANNIHILATION

    Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 9/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Yasuhiro Geshi

    Writer: Taiki Sakurai

  • IN:  Kusanagi's Labyrinth; affection
    8.3/10216 votes
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    #5 - IN: Kusanagi's Labyrinth; affection

    Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 6/5/2004

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

    Director: Jun Matsumoto

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama, Yutaka Oomatsu

  • C:  Public Security Section 9, Once Again; STAND ALONE COMPLEX
    8.2/10319 votes
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    #6 - C: Public Security Section 9, Once Again; STAND ALONE COMPLEX

    Season 1 Episode 26 - Aired 10/1/2003

    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!

    Director: Toshiyuki Kono

    Writer: Dai Sato

  • IN:  Aerial Bombing of Dejima; NUCLEAR POWER
    8.2/10189 votes
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    #7 - IN: Aerial Bombing of Dejima; NUCLEAR POWER

    Season 2 Episode 24 - Aired 12/4/2004

    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.

    Director: Masaki Tachibana

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • IN:  To the Other Side of Paradise; THIS SIDE OF JUSTICE
    8.2/10183 votes
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    #8 - IN: To the Other Side of Paradise; THIS SIDE OF JUSTICE

    Season 2 Episode 25 - Aired 1/8/2005

    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.

    Director: Jun Matsumoto

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • DI:  Beware the Left Eye; POKER FACE
    8.1/10196 votes
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    #9 - DI: Beware the Left Eye; POKER FACE

    Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 7/3/2004

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

    Director: Masayuki Yoshihara

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama, Taiki Sakurai

  • IN:  Escape in Defeat; EMBARRASSMENT
    8.1/10176 votes
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    #10 - IN: Escape in Defeat; EMBARRASSMENT

    Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 11/6/2004

    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.

    Director: Masayuki Yoshihara

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • SA:  A Perfect Day for a Jungle Cruise; JUNGLE CRUISE
    8.0/10282 votes
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    #11 - SA: A Perfect Day for a Jungle Cruise; JUNGLE CRUISE

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 2/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Jun Matsumoto

    Writer: Dai Sato

  • C:  Vanished Medication; RE-VIEW
    8.0/10248 votes
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    #12 - C: Vanished Medication; RE-VIEW

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 7/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Toshiyuki Kono

    Writer: Dai Sato

  • C:  The Other Side of Good and Evil; EQUINOX
    8.0/10238 votes
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    #13 - C: The Other Side of Good and Evil; EQUINOX

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 9/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Jun Matsumoto

    Writer: Junichi Fujisaku

  • DI:  Angel's Poem; TRANS PARENT
    8.0/10187 votes
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    #14 - DI: Angel's Poem; TRANS PARENT

    Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 9/4/2004

    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.

    Director: Toshiyuki Kono

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • IN:  The Day the Bridge Falls; MARTIAL LAW
    8.0/10187 votes
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    #15 - IN: The Day the Bridge Falls; MARTIAL LAW

    Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 12/4/2004

    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.

    Director: Toshiyuki Kono

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • SA: Tachikoma Runaway, The Movie Director's Dream; ESCAPE FROM
    7.9/10281 votes
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    #16 - SA: Tachikoma Runaway, The Movie Director's Dream; ESCAPE FROM

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 3/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Masayuki Yoshihara

    Writer: Taiki Sakurai

  • C:  Corporate Graft; SCANDAL
    7.9/10237 votes
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    #17 - C: Corporate Graft; SCANDAL

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 8/1/2003

    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.

    Director: Masaki Tachibana

    Writer: Junichi Fujisaku

  • IN:  To Those Without Even a Name...; SELECON
    7.9/10181 votes
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    #18 - IN: To Those Without Even a Name...; SELECON

    Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 6/5/2004

    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.

    Director: Masaki Tachibana

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama, Yutaka Oomatsu

  • C:  The Copycat will Dance; MEME
    7.8/10286 votes
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    #19 - C: The Copycat will Dance; MEME

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 12/1/2002

    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.

    Director: Masaki Tachibana

    Writer: Junichi Fujisaku

  • C:  Inside the Forest of the Sub-Imagoes; PORTRAITZ
    7.8/10272 votes
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    #20 - C: Inside the Forest of the Sub-Imagoes; PORTRAITZ

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 3/1/2003

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

    Director: Toshiyuki Kono

    Writer: Taiki Sakurai

  • IN:  Confusion at the North End;  FABRICATE FOG
    7.8/10179 votes
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    #21 - IN: Confusion at the North End; FABRICATE FOG

    Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 10/2/2004

    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.

    Director: Kenichi Takeshita

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • C:  The Visual Device will Laugh; INTERCEPTER
    7.7/10320 votes
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    #22 - C: The Visual Device will Laugh; INTERCEPTER

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/1/2002

    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.

    Director: Hideyo Yamamoto

    Writer: Shoutarou Suga

  • DU:  Natural Enemy; NATURAL ENEMY
    7.7/10198 votes
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    #23 - DU: Natural Enemy; NATURAL ENEMY

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 2/7/2004

    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.

    Director: Masayuki Yoshihara

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama, Junichi Fujisaku

  • IN: Chain of Symmetry; CHAIN REACTION
    7.7/10178 votes
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    #24 - IN: Chain of Symmetry; CHAIN REACTION

    Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 10/2/2004

    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.

    Director: Kazunobu Fuseki

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama

  • DU:  Abandoned City; REVERSAL PROCESS
    7.7/10173 votes
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    #25 - DU: Abandoned City; REVERSAL PROCESS

    Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 11/6/2004

    The city of Fukuoka is evacuated when a live nuclear bomb is found. With the Dejima Refugees targeted as the prime suspects, the government sends the Self-Defense Forces into the city.

    Director: Itsuro Kawasaki

    Writer: Kenji Kamiyama, Dai Sato