Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

A terrorist organization that identifies themselves as the "Individual Eleven" seizes the Chinese Embassy. They don't have a specific leader but they demand an immediate moratorium on the acceptance of Asian refugees as well as the closure of the invited refugee quarters. After negotiations with the newly appointed Prime Minister Kayabuki, Aramaki dispatches Section 9 on condition that the indefinite standby order imposed on the Section is lifted. But they are only given 15 minutes. Will Section 9 be able to control the situation and prevent the hostages from becoming casualties?

Gino, a shabby helicopter pilot, was amputated during the war. He has delusions night after night, and believes wrong doings should be brought to light and justice be served. Hirara, a prostitute, is his only comfort. Gino targets a member of the power-elite, the CEO of one of the three broadcasting networks and also a client of Hirara's. With his gun, he plans to free Hirara and reveal the truth.

Cash Eye is a super theft ring that targets corporations. Chairman Tadokoro of Tadokoro Trading receives a warning letter, and asks Section 9 for assistance. Aramaki, for some reason, agrees to help. The warning is related to a party being held by Tadokoro. Kusanagi, clad in an attractive dress, arrives at the party and catches Tadokoro's eager gaze. What is the intention of Kusanagi and Section 9?

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter Jigabachi AV Digger Wasp goes astray. The pilot is unconscious and an independent AI rejects outside control. Unmanned helicopters gather as though they were induced, and Section 9 is dispatched. Goda, Chief of Staff of the Strategic Influence Research Council, arrives to lead the Section. What are these helicopters trying to do?

Prime Minister Kayabuki receives a threatening letter from the "Individual Eleven", that implies her possible assassination. The government requests Section 9 to guard her. Despite opposition from all quarters, she carries out an annual visit to a temple. Section 9 thoroughly prepares and waits for the attacker. Evading the heavy security, a man called Kuze, who has a full-prosthetic body, sneaks in to attack the prime minister. Kusanagi, who part of the security force, faces him.

A man who was threatening the Energy Ministry dies mysteriously. Aramaki sends Togusa to Tokyo to investigate the case. Tokyo has become an invited refugee quarter. There, Togusa meets Asagi who used to be the dead man's woman. She claims that the man was innocent, and, together with Togusa, they find one place where he used to work until he left Tokyo. It was a forbidden facility the government desperately tried to keep secret.

Someone leaks to the terrorists the shipment plan for the spent fuel rods from Shinjuku Underground Nuclear Power Plant. The government immediately requests Section 9 to provide ground transportation. Goda again arrives to lead the operation. Dismayed Section 9 members go on duty collaborating with Ground Self-Defense Force troops from the area. But the situation changes dramatically when a soldier fires at refugees.

While Section 9 independently continues investigating the "Individual Eleven", they catch a man called Kawashima Sho. Batou and Togusa keep him under surveillance 24/7 at the Taiwanese vegetarian restaurant where he works. Aramaki keeps tabs on moves by the Information Bureau of the Cabinet and learns that Section 1 is also after Kawashima. In the midst of all the conflicting information, Kawashima makes his move. Is Kawashima really one of the "Individual Eleven"?

Kusanagi dives into the gigantic computer terminal of Poseidon Industrials and confronts Goda, a virtual personality in the cyber sphere. Goda eerily proclaims, "It's too late, you can't stop the plan by any means". Meanwhile, Section 9 is busy in Niihama preventing the last of the "warned serial suicide-bomb attacks", when they are informed that a suspicious individual is being detained in a subway station. They rush to the station and find a surprisingly unusual terrorist.

An off duty Togusa had no choice but to fire at a convict in order to save the victim. He falls for a trap set by an aggressive lawyer called Ueda and is brought to court. Kusanagi smells something fishy in the lawyer's exaggerated actions and finds Goda behind the scenes. Togusa, in a precarious situation, is already standing in the witness box. In exchange for his own resignation, he makes an unexpected move.

Kusanagi is with new Section 9 recruits as an examiner, when she suddenly finds herself into an unfamiliar place. She meets two child cyborgs and an old woman. The woman promises Kusanagi that she will tell her about the cyborgs the next time Kusanagi visits her. The Section members are suspicious of Kusanagi's disappearance during the recruiting exam. After returning to the real world, at first she avoids the other members, and eventually decides to goes back to hear what the old woman has to say.

Hearing a report of a sighting of Kuze on the shores of Nagasaki Bay, Section 9 members, who were working on the Individual Eleven case, rush to the area. At the same time, Togusa is at a university library looking for the original book, but he couldn't find it. Kuze, too, is lost. Again, there is another sighting report. This time on top of the Kyushu Tower. TV cameras catch the scene. As people watch them on TV, they start something unlikely and ghostly.

Kuze escapes from the Kyushu Tower. Section 9 starts another investigation pursuing the fact that only few specialists could have actually created Kuze's unique prosthetic face. They rush to the face craftsman who might be the primary witness, but find him murdered. The face of the murderer in the security video is exactly that of Paz. The man is perplexed, but soon remembers this might be connected with an incident he was involved in years before. What ever happened in Kuze's past?

In the summer of 2020, Saito was fighting in Mexico as a mercenary with anti-government forces. The situation was going from bad to worse and the mercenaries were waiting for an opportunity to surrender. In the middle of this torment, Saito learns that an enemy special operations unit was secretly transporting nuclear material. And so he plans to seize them in hopes of correcting the situation. It was a twist of fate that brought Saito to encounter on the operation theatre the then young Kusanagi, who was in the special operations unit. Could Saito get hold of the nuclear material?

Some Tachikomas skip a maintenance protocol and initiate an investigation into the "Individual Eleven" on their own. Seeing this, Batou couldn't stop but feel uneasy. At the same time, an explosion takes place at the AI Lab. After the explosion, the only person who was supposed to be there, Prof. Asuda, could not be found. Not even his remains. While analyzing Asuda, the Tachikomas experience a deja vu, but there is no record of Asuda in the Tachikomas' memory. Then what connects Asuda to the Tachikomas?

In search of Kuze, Section 9 realizes he had spent some time in the Self-Defense Forces. Further investigations revealed his unit at the time was responsible for an incident the government had desperately tried to suppress. In 2024, the Self-Defense Forces were sent to a small country struggling with civil war under the request of the UN forces. It was the coldest day in winter, and as they marched in the mountains they inadvertently got caught up in a conflict in a refugee camp. This dreadful combat shattered the soldiers' morale and the army gradually lost its self-control.

Kusanagi, following Kuze, smuggles into Taiwan and by coincidence saves a boy who was running away from the Mafia. They had no choice but to stay together. Eventually, the hostility gradually diminished, but the boy suddenly disappears. He went alone to deal with the Mafia. Kusanagi mocked his foolishness at first, but as she could not suppress the uneasy feeling welling up in her, she gets ready for action with a bitter smile on her face.

Berlin in winter. A girl in a wheelchair longingly waits for the day her father comes to meet her once a year. She lately became aware of a big man with false eyes who is seldom seen in town. Her curiosity gradually escalates. Today was the day to meet her father. She advances to the meeting place, in a church. What she heard from the church was not her father's voice, but a big gunshot.

While the refugees' activity is closely watched, Dejima proclaims its self-governing status. Section 9 heads for Dejima to detain Kuze who seems to be the mastermind of all this. Through hacking, they locate him and rush over, but they were attacked as though the armed refugees were expecting them. In spite of suffering casualties, they get through the barricade. But Kuze was already gone. Where did he disappear to?

Section 9 is heading for Etorofu (Ostrov Iturup) to catch up with Kuze. Kusanagi rushes to see an old dopester, but finds him dead and discovers a suspicious floppy. After analyzing it, she uncovers a record of plutonium transaction information. The final buyer was a group of Asian refugees. It seemed Kuze and his group were trying to get hold of nuclear material to achieve independence. In order to stop the transaction, Section 9 heads to where the deal is to take place. There they encounter refugees and the Defense Force armed suits already in combat. What could they make of this?

A refugee boat escapes from Etorofu; Section 9 tries to follow from the air with their tilt-router, but the aircraft suddenly explodes just before Kusanagi and Batou's eyes. Without a vehicle, Section 9 starts a secret investigation of Sagawa Electronics, the company involved in the nuclear material transaction. They come across a dark shadow in the Information Bureau. Meanwhile, the refugee boat makes a smooth return trip until the coast guard vessels surround them just before arriving in Dejima. Could Kuze and his group return to Dejima safely through the blockade?

A nuclear bomb was found in Fukuoka. People suspect the refugees and the evacuation begins. In spite of Aramaki's suspicions regarding the involvement of the Information Bureau in the incident, the government decides to send the Self-Defense Forces to Dejima. Batou is determined to face Goda in person as a last resort. Looking down over the empty town, the two bluntly exchange words. Goda is arrogant as always and Batou tries to shut him up and gradually pins him down. Who will win?

After the declaration of independence, the refugees are almost at their peak with anticipation. The government decides to send in the armed forces. In this turmoil, Aramaki desperately proposes a plan to the prime minister. In order to put this into action, Section 9 hijacks a helicopter and heads for Dejima. At the Dejima Bridge, the two sides are at stand still when a single gunfire pushes the situation to the worst.

The armed forces start air-raiding Dejima. There are explosions all over. Section 9 urgently tries to get through. At the same time, Aramaki collaborates with a group of Tachikomas to find the mastermind behind the armed forces. And surprisingly enough, it was the Imperial Americana. The Self-Defense Ground Forces send down the parachute troops to take away the plutonium from Section 9. Every move Section 9 makes seems to be predicted and they are severely hit. Could they make it before the time limit?

Escalation of bombing by the army increases the casualty rate on Dejima. Kusanagi meets Kuze in the midst of confusion, but both are raided by a squad of Self-Defense Navy Aegis ships and are trapped under the rabble. After rescuing the prime minister from confinement, Aramaki tries to use a political measure to block Imperial Americana. But an American navy nuclear submarine had already started the countdown to launch the ultimate weapon. What destiny waits Section 9 and Dejima?

Kuze eagerly talks about his theory of revolution. Kusanagi seems to get the message. Now that they understand each other, they decide to collaborate. Batou runs around Dejima looking for Kusanagi. Aramaki, on the other hand, desperately tries his hand at some political maneuvering, but the tactical nuclear warhead is launched in the meantime. Is everything going to be burned to the ground? Or would Aramaki's strategy make it on time? How about Goda's ambition? While thoughts conflict each other, the final stage uncovers.