Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045 Season 1 Episode 1 Recap – No Noise No Life

Sustainable War

The year is 2045, and the world is in dire straits with the Great countries vying for political and economic power. The world has fallen into the era of Sustainable War.

Major Motoko Kusanagi drives through a barren ghost town. She likes the quiet out here and wishes it would last forever. She then sees Batou’s truck and rushes in to join them.

He’s happy to have gotten some beer. The others can’t believe she’s the squad leader. Her body is almost fully cybernetic, and she’s able to hack one of the operatives, who they jokingly call Clown.

Batou asks for their plan. Looks like their barbecue in Palm Springs is canceled. Suddenly they find a convoy of armed men behind them. Batou complains that the beer is gonna go cold now.

The squad goes into cyberspace. The Major briefs them that they prefer to catch their quarry alive as much as possible. The police are interested in questioning them. Their targets are probably getting ready for a raid.

The enemy starts to shoot. Batou celebrates as he joins the Major’s jeep. Alongside them are three Tachikoma – spider-like robot operatives that assist them on missions. The three are excited to join in, but Motoko reminds them that their main objective is to protect.

One Tachikoma jumps from the jeep and shoots at the enemy from behind. An enemy pickup truck rushes forward, and they go into a chase with the Major through the desert. On the other car, Ishikawa is fighting against a heavily armored truck.

One of the operatives shoots the enemy turret, and a Tachikoma finishes it with a rocket launch.

Game of Chickens

Batou fire on their enemy. One of the Tachikomas goes into stealth mode and hops onto a wind turbine. It snipes the enemy pickup truck and throws away its passengers.

Batou approaches them to talk trash, but one of the guys manages to hide on a windmill. He ambushes Batou, but Motoko shoots him first.

She tells Batou and the men that the sustainable war is a game of chickens orchestrated by politicians. They musn’t get stuck inside their game.

Back in a crowded city, former detective Togusa is investigating a place with a reported cyber attack. He asks his computer to warn the inhabitant of his arrival. When he enters the room, the man is already panicking from his warning.

The man attacks him with a knife. Togusa subdues him and stuns him with a device.

After the operation, Chief Aramaki calls him and asks him how he’s been.

The Chief is now the Public Security Bureau after the disbandment of Section 9. He asks him if he still feels a grudge against the Major, but Togusa says it’s all in the past. The Chief requests him. It’s something to do with the Prime Minister. He asks to meet him the next morning. The chief suspects that this could be his final job.

Further Down

Major Kusanagi feels worried about the raids going on in the American west. She’s tired of battling amateurs and scum. They head into a shabby market street to buy supplies. The prices are getting high, but the people bordering the war area seem to get by fine.

At night they wait from a tall building overlooking their new targets. There are seventeen men and a tank inside, including an anti-tank missile. The men are armed and are vying for revenge from the previous confrontation.

Major Kusanagi commences operation. They head inside using stealth and find their informant. Some of the members are just college students trying to pay their loans. The problem is they still don’t know the patron who supplied them with weapons. Further inside, they’re surprised by a guard dog about to attack them.

Our Thoughts

I had high hopes for this since I’m a big fan of Ghost in the Shell, but I don’t think the visuals are up to par for a 2020 production. Still, I enjoy the mature themes of this world. I rate this 2.5/5.