Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex Vol 06, Episodes 21 – 23

Description

Ep 21: Left-Behind Trace – ERASER Togusa finds himself in the hospital after being shot, but is desperate to impart what he has learned to the rest of the group. By diving into Togusa’s memories, Section 9 experiences the DEA raid against the Sunflower Society firsthand, prompting anger and rage. The Chief takes it upon himself to notify the head of the DEA of Togusa’s presence at the Sunflower Society building during the raid, prompting the DEA chief to order the Narcotics Suppression Squad (NSS) to the house of Dr. Hisashi Imakurusu. Dr. Imakurusu had overseen the board that denied the Murai Vaccine; after being diagnosed with Cyberbrain Sclerosis, he began using the vaccine in secret and subsequently went into hiding. Section 9 believes Dr. Imakurusu may hold a clue to unraveling the entire Laughing Man case, and undertake a desperate search to locate him. With the aid of the American Empire and their unique surveillance satellites, Section 9 manages to find the doctor, and Batou volunteers to go after him. When both parties arrive at Dr. Imakurusu’s location, a massive gunfight breaks out between the NSS and Section 9. Though they are unable to prevent Dr. Imakurusu’s assassination, Section 9 manages to get the evidence they need to take action against the DEA. Ep 22: Corporate Graft – SCANDAL The Head of the DEA is arrested for murder in connection with the raid at the Sunflower Society building. Aramaki orders Section 9 to go through all of the facility’s records to determine who are the remaining members of the Narcotics Suppression Squad. As Aramaki leaves the building he shares an elevator ride with former prime minister Kanzaki, who privately discloses that the prime suspect ‘pulling the strings’ has a lot of friends in high places and strong connections to the navy. Elsewhere, the remaining members of the Narcotic Suppression Squad attempt to frame Aramaki with drug trafficking, concocting a story about his homeless brother to lure him to the refugee district and arrest him, but their plan fails when Batou rescues the chief before the police arrive on the scene. Meanwhile, Kusanagi seeks to repair her prosthetic body after incurring severe damage in a battle against the government’s latest prototype power armor. Her plan is to perform a simple body swap, but the doctor in charge of the procedure is in reality an NSS agent intent on killing her by erasing her ghost. However, before Kusanagi is killed, the Laughing Man arrives, ghost-hacking the assassin and completing the Major’s body swap, allowing her to subdue the assassin herself after he leaves. Ep 23: The Other Side of Good and Evil – EQUINOX The Laughing Man returns to kidnap Ernest Serano, the CEO of Serano Genomics, just as he did six years before. Returning to the café where Serano was first kidnapped, he and the Laughing Man share the story of the events leading up to the kidnapping and the events following it. During the conversation, the Laughing Man asks Serano why he never fulfilled his promise to tell the truth about the Murai Vaccine, and in response Serano informs the Laughing Man that the whole time, he was under house arrest. Meanwhile, Section 9 determines the Secretary General Yakushima to be the man behind the Laughing Man scandal, and resolve to take Serano into protective custody to obtain his testimony. When the team discovers that Serano has been kidnapped by the Laughing Man again, they mount a frantic search to find and secure him. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that the Laughing Man was actually the Major in disguise using the memories that the real Laughing Man had given her, and that the entire operation, combined with Serano’s conversation with ‘the Laughing Man’, was Section 9’s plot to confirm Serano Genomics’ dealings with Secretary General Yakushima.