"Is a ship that has been restored by replacing every single wooden part still the same ship?"
Episode 7
Marcelo Jarti is a revolutionary leader that closely resembles the real life and mythos of Che Guevara. Jarti was instrumental in the liberation of the State of Jenoma, but instead of taking up as the nation’s leader he continued to fight for the liberation of countries across the world. Jarti is also a notorious drug lord, which he undertakes to fund his liberation movement.
We are told that his death has been reported on six separate occasions, and in each case, he has been able to appear unscathed later in time. Jarti makes regular visits to Japan, where he is a national hero, but the Department of State suspects the true motivation for his regular visits has to do with drug production.
It is widely reported that Marcelo Jarti, leader of the Jenoma Revolutionary movement, has been assassinated by the United States Empire – this time the assassination is ‘confirmed’. However, when Jarti seemingly arrives in Japan on one of his regular visits, Section 9 is called in to investigate.
Section 9 tracks Jarti to a facility, run by the Yakuza, that is using a ghost dubbing machine (memory and physical cloning) to duplicate Jarti whenever he is killed. After an excellent action sequence in which Major Kusinagi kicks serious ass, Section 9 captures the facility.
Instead of shutting it down, however, Section 9 allows the ghost dubbing to continue. The explanation given is that removing Jarti would upset the “global balance”, and also because Jarti is considered an international hero of sorts.
Once again the action sequences were riveting. Jarti is no slob, and really gave Major Kusanagi a run for her money. It’s actually the first time we see the Major tested in a one-on-one fist fight. In the end, she easily bested Jarti, but we did see an inkling of vulnerability. It’s good to know that even the Major has likely upper limits – I wonder if we will see how far she can really go?
The main Laughing Man story arc to a back seat in this episode but I didn’t mind at all. Introducing the concept of ghost dubbing was really cool, and added another layer to philosophical problems that can be brought about by rapid changes in technology. Jarti seems to have figured out an important implication brought about by the wide use of cybernetic brains – data can be easily transferred from one processor to another. I imagine that the problem of ghost dubbing is going to really take off once it is more widely used.
We also got a glimpse into what the international geo-political climate is like. Clearly, Japan and The United States Empire are not on the best terms, but I wonder what the organisation of the world’s power blocs are based on?
We are told that his death has been reported on six separate occasions, and in each case, he has been able to appear unscathed later in time. Jarti makes regular visits to Japan, where he is a national hero, but the Department of State suspects the true motivation for his regular visits has to do with drug production.
It is widely reported that Marcelo Jarti, leader of the Jenoma Revolutionary movement, has been assassinated by the United States Empire – this time the assassination is ‘confirmed’. However, when Jarti seemingly arrives in Japan on one of his regular visits, Section 9 is called in to investigate.
Section 9 tracks Jarti to a facility, run by the Yakuza, that is using a ghost dubbing machine (memory and physical cloning) to duplicate Jarti whenever he is killed. After an excellent action sequence in which Major Kusinagi kicks serious ass, Section 9 captures the facility.
Instead of shutting it down, however, Section 9 allows the ghost dubbing to continue. The explanation given is that removing Jarti would upset the “global balance”, and also because Jarti is considered an international hero of sorts.
What I liked
Once again the action sequences were riveting. Jarti is no slob, and really gave Major Kusanagi a run for her money. It’s actually the first time we see the Major tested in a one-on-one fist fight. In the end, she easily bested Jarti, but we did see an inkling of vulnerability. It’s good to know that even the Major has likely upper limits – I wonder if we will see how far she can really go?
What We learned
The main Laughing Man story arc to a back seat in this episode but I didn’t mind at all. Introducing the concept of ghost dubbing was really cool, and added another layer to philosophical problems that can be brought about by rapid changes in technology. Jarti seems to have figured out an important implication brought about by the wide use of cybernetic brains – data can be easily transferred from one processor to another. I imagine that the problem of ghost dubbing is going to really take off once it is more widely used.
We also got a glimpse into what the international geo-political climate is like. Clearly, Japan and The United States Empire are not on the best terms, but I wonder what the organisation of the world’s power blocs are based on?
Just wanted to chime in and say that some people ARE following your GITS posts, so please keep it up! Also, why skip ep6?
ReplyDeleteThanks! You've given me the motivation I needed. I might have messed up my episodes I'll take a look. I've watched the series so many times I've forget which one I'm up to.
ReplyDelete