As anime releases go, the 1995 film adaptation of Masamune Shirow's epic Manga Ghost In The Shell has to rank among the most significant. A complex but brilliantly realised portrayal of Tokyo in a future that embraced the use of cyber-brains and prosthetic bodies, it captured the imagination with its stunning visuals and thought-provoking take on the role of artificial intelligence - posing the question that if a programme expanded and was able to think and act for itself, what consciously separated the human part of the brain and that of a robot? Aside from this, it was also sighted as being the chief inspiration for The Matrix, and watching it, it isn't difficult to see where the Wachowski brothers got their inspiration from.

Set in the year 2030 A.D. GITS: SAC is in many ways like a futuristic cop-show, with the added quirk of it all being animated. These opening 4 episodes gently reintroduce the characters who featured in the classic film, and they're quite a bunch. 'Major' Motoko Kusanagi is the leading lady with a difference; her entire body is prosthetic (and no doubt a dream for the animators as her appearance rarely changes) and she remains perhaps the most prominent character featured in the series. Then there's her partner-in-crime Batou who is the 'muscles' behind the operation but also a welcome contrast to the more-serious Kusanagi. Fans will also recognise Togusa, who in sharp contrast to the Major, remains almost entirely human in his make-up. They all work for an organisation known as 'Section 9' - set up to combat hackers and online terrorists, as in the future all brains and identities are registered and part of a mass web. As the film-version told us in its concluding phase - "The Web is vast".

Perhaps the most immediately striking element of GITS: SAC 1st GIG Vol. 1 is its visuals. The quality and consistency are absolutely superb, especially when you consider that this is the start of a lengthy series, and not a feature-film. Though CGI graphics have been combined with traditional animation, there's none of the crude one-then-the-other techniques that made the 2004 film Ghost In The Shell: Innocence look such a mess. Stand Alone Complex has a real finesse and air of ambition about it, straight from the get-go - the characters are gorgeously animated; the locations and cityscapes are remarkably detailed and believably vast, and the reflective and lighting effects among the best I've ever seen in any animation.

The DVD allows the option to view the episodes in Japanese with subtitles, or in the English-dub format. Given that each episode is either fast-paced or complicated and dialogue-heavy, it is rather difficult to enjoy the experience as much in Japanese. It's no great loss though - the English-dub is quite excellent and not overcooked, which is something of a rarity in modern anime. Voice-acting certainly appears to be something of an art - as countless Hollywood actors have seemed well out of their depth when voice serious animations. Fortunately that isn't the case here.

So, after 3 'stand alone' episodes, the best is saved until last - the 'complex' finale that forms the first part of an ongoing storyline that will develop over the next few DVD Volumes. "INTERCEPTER" pleasingly focuses on Section 9's unsung mullet-clad hero Togusa, who is urgently contacted in the early hours of the night by an old acquaintance from the police, who is desperate to meet with him to discuss the 'Laughing Man' case - already several years old - as the detective is worried about "suspicious activity" in the top-ranks. He's right to be worried; he dies before he can meet Togusa. This episode is notable for several reasons - firstly, it ends on something of a cliff-hanger, which is rather rare by anime standards; secondly, for its pulsating use of techno-styled music and finally for a stunning, Bladrunner-esque section whereby Togusa is analysing photographs belonging to the deceased detective, under a computerised zoom lense - if anything this works even better in animated form; the futuristic presentation and attention to detail is simply breathtaking.

Still, Disc 1 more than makes up for it - there is an 'Image Gallery' that shows-off the magnificent CGI-opening that is present at the beginning of each Stand Alone Complex episode. It's a real eye-opener, and when accompanied by the wonderfully haunting, operatic J-Pop song that is 'Inner Universe' by Origa, it's no exaggeration to say that the hairs on the back of your neck will stand on end. Indeed, the music is yet another incredibly strong facet of GITS: SAC 1st GIG Vol. 1 - there's such diversity - be it slow-American rock, pulsating techno, J-Pop or orchestral, it's all fantastically pitched.