Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2045 Season 1 Episode 12 Recap – Nostalgia

New Code

Togusa stumbles on something he examines the data from Takashi’s home, causing him to go into a seizure. Ishikawa comes in and saves him from the virus.

Purin discovers another code written after Think Pol. They still don’t know if it’s a virus. Togusa awakes and tells them he felt nostalgic at first, but then it turned into a fear of death. Luckily his cyber brain seems fine.

The lab results show that the code is a program that awakens forgotten memories. Togusa remembered unwanted memories and fainted as a result. Batou wants to find out which memories they were but even Togusa can’t recall.

They all wonder what made Takashi write that code after Think Pol. Togusa thinks he may want to remember something from the past. Think Pol could be inspired by “Thought Police” which was mentioned in Orwell’s 1984. The book certainly had an influence on the boy’s life.

They are running out of leads to find the boy, but Togusa finds a place in Kyoto where Takashi stayed during his younger years. He wants to important memories from the boy’s past. Batou joins in to help him with the assistance of Tachikoma.

Memories

They go into an idyllic Kyoto country town to find Takashi’s uncle’s residence where he stayed when he was younger.

Togusa comes in to find Takashi there, but Batou can’t see him. Togusa sees the old memories from the boy.

A young girl pesters Takashi as he’s working on his game. He runs off to the woods, but the girl stops him as it gets dark. She tells him the airborne trooper lives down the hill. They go and investigate the trooper’s run-down house and his old weapons.

Inside, Takashi finds a copy of Orwell’s 1984. A truck comes in and they escape through the back. Togusa and the girl run through the darkness in the rain when a police car finds them. The officer recognizes him as Shimamura.

That night, his uncle beats him for taking her cousin out to the woods.

Togusa tracks the airborne trooper’s house. Takashi returns and finds the trooper there, looking for his book. Takashi hides but the trooper finds him. He apologizes for having taken the book.

The trooper tells him to keep it. Takashi asks him if he’s a bad person as the villagers say. The man simply says that this place is hell for those who don’t follow rules and read the book for its meaning. It describes everything that will happen in this world.

Ishikawa finds out that there’s a case in the area about a soldier who killed some cops.

Death and Rebirth

Purin reports to the major that the memories from Togusa cannot be retrieved, but the feelings of pain remain. A sense of nostalgia and heartache.

Ishikawa then tells them that Togusa might be on to something… as not only were cops killed during the incident but someone else of interest.

Togusa Takashi tries to read the book, but it proves too hard for him to understand. A group of gangsters arrives at the area assisted by police. One of them gets shot and the others bury the body. Takashi wants to run but Yuzu’s voice calls out to find him.

Takashi runs to get Yuzu, but the gangsters find them. One of the armed men confront them. As the kids try to escape, the airborne trooper arrives in his truck and saves them, killing the gangsters with his rifle.

Takashi turns to find Yuzu has been shot in the crossfire. He tells the man that he understands the book now. Takashi rides the truck and he invites Togusa to join him.

Togusa vanishes before Batou’s eyes, but the Tachikoma still see him. The robots wave Togusa goodbye as he leaves.

Our Thoughts

Okay, I was initially scared that the story will end in a cliffhanger but this is the kind of season-ending sendoff that I actually like. A heart-wrenching sci-fi mystery that strings us for the next ride. This show has been criticized for not living up to the classic film but I think it stands fine on its own. I rate this a 3.8/5.