Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C - Episode 05

We're now on the fifth episode, second Complex so far.


With the death threat made by the Laughing Man in previous episode ending, the police comissioner is forced to set up a press conference about both the Interceptors and the Laughing Man.

It's the time between the death threat and the conference day that the Section 9 decides to investigate Nanao Ei, who worked for Serano and is considered the L.M. main suspect.

For the great part of this episode we follow Section 9 members surveilling Nanao, while the Major decides to learn about the L.M., which first happened six years before. Here, we're taken to the events and consequences of the first Laughing Man appearence and how he/she managed not only in blackmailign Serano, but another six corporations, all of them sharing the same field of expertise, the production of medical nanomachines.

The episode is well constructed and despite not having action scenes, it manages to catch our attentions, with elements of the previous episode being continued here and leaving ground for the next one, since it finishes with a cliffhanger, right in the time that the action itself begins. 

A good episode, following current events and at the same time filling the background. It's here that the fans begin to form and more casual viewers may abandon the series.



Seen this somewhere..
Some visuals to satisfy:

External Memory Device


And something that came to attention:


Couldn't we have something like this in our current world? Something like nanomachines working on atmosphere cleansing or that manage to make rain? I'm sure I have read something about it and I promise to research it deeper.

Another thing that almost passed unnoticed here:


Hecatonchires is the name of the Appleseed protagonist, another animé originated on the mangas also written by Masamune Shirow. Could it be a small nod or a sign of things to come? As I don't remember what happens in the next episodes, let's leave it as it is.

And to finish, a summary on the Laughing Man case:


 

How I was after watching this episode (and writing this review):