User:Lucia Black/sandbox

Stand Alone Complex Reception
Chris Beveridge of Mania praised the series stating, "The straightforward serious nature of the characters and the "can-do" attitude gives it a great edge and simply plays out exactly how I want to see it. Solid and engaging stories mixed with technology, human nature and more all wrapped up in gorgeous animation and intriguing characters and settings." Derrick L Tucker of THEM gave positive statements about the main storyline known as "complex" episodes but criticized the one-shot storylines known as "stand-alone" episodes stating, "During the Laughing Man arc this show embodies much of the intrigue and intelligence of its theatrical predecessor (the plotlines of GITS: SAC and the GITS film are unrelated). However, during the self-contained arcs, the results range from fair to just plain boring." Tucker also praised the CG design stating that it even surpasses of the original film adaptation. Dominic Laeno however expands on Tucker's review and criticized the voice acting of the series stating, "My main problem with the acting can probably be found in the general female performances; not only does it seem like they're unmotivated, but they don't have a whole lot of range in their voices that distinguishes them from each other. The casting and directing on this end of things feels like it was haphazardly done as there were little to no memorable female performances in the series"

Carlo Santos of Anime News Network praised the series for its animation and soundtrack. Rob Lineberger of DVDverdict praised the series' violence and mature tone of the series stating, "Considering that this is a television series, which usually indicates dumbed-down plots, the intricacy and darkness are both welcome and surprising." He continued to praise the animation of the series stating, "Stand Alone Complex weaves 3D and 2D animation together cleanly, although some of the driving scenes are a bit too smooth to be convincing. Colors and black levels are rock solid and deep, creating lush backdrops. There are few artifacts to mar the presentation, resulting in a gorgeous transfer."