Two years after watching the first series, I finally got around to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - 2nd Gig, and lo and behold! Perhaps in tribute to Mamoru Oshii’s return to the creative staff, the typomatic doublefinger returns. The Major even managed to jump off a building while shooting someone in the very first episode, keeping in tight with the film version.

It’s a shame that this series also sees the full return of the godawful interminable monologue, with refugee info-dumps and a subsequent scene in which a representation of the villain sits in a chair and tells us about himself at length.

At the same time, the persistence of plot elements gives the early episodes a momentum which is really valuable, and the overall package feels a little bit tighter as a result. The Individual 11 thing is simmering while the comicbook bad guy takes centre stage. It’s got an obvious edge over the regular diet anyway, stupid fingers and all.