Screenshot via Amazon Prime Japan
© 士郎正宗・Production IG/講談社・攻殻機動隊製作委員会
In 2002, the anime world rejoiced in the presence of the Ghost in the Shell series on the small screen with Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (commonly known as SAC). The film takes viewers into a crime thriller as members of Police Team 9 solve a case revolving around the Man Who Laughs. And when was the first incident involving the Laughing Man revealed publicly at SAC? February 3, 2024 at 7:21 am JST.
The event will be marked by a special screening of the 2005 OVA Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex-The Laughing Man and a talk show at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya. The talk show will feature OVA director Kenji Kamiyama and author of the book Kokaku Kidotai-ron (roughly translated as Ghost in the Shell Treatises) Noyama Fujita. The screening will be held on February 3 at 4 p.m. JST and all seats will be reserved. Unfortunately, the show hasn’t started yet so the incident in the OVA happened at the same time as real life, but this is understandable since it would have to start relatively soon.
“#笑い男事件“2024年2月発生――#攻殻機動隊 GENERAL STAND BACK
The man who smiles often ????
????上映&トークショー開催決定!!☀???????????? ????
2月3日(土)16:00~
@ヒューマントラストシネマ渋谷
ゲスト:神山健治、藤田直哉????チケット
本日1 26日(金)18:00販売開始!!https://t.co/DJbdyukkHP pic.twitter.com/ExSejXmTeX— 攻殻機動隊 SAC_2045 公式 (@gitssac2045) January 26, 2024
#笑い男事件 Occurs in February 2024――
#攻殻機動隊 STAND Alone COMPLEX
The Laughing Man ????
???? movie screening and talk will be held!!☀???????????? ????
February 3 (Saturday) 16:00~
@Human Trust Cinema Shibuya Guests: Kenji Kamiyama, Naoya Fujita???? Tickets will go on sale today, January 26 (Friday) 18:00!!
https://t.co/DJbdyukkHP
Outside of a special screening of The Laughing Man OVA, SAC fans were post on Twitter how their eyes will be glued to the TV to see if it’s really happening. This is interesting, to say the least, in the same way that Kyoto University students recreated the iconic “Cancel the Olympics” sign from the 1987 movie Akira. However, unlike the sign, the The first Laughing Man was a bit more violent.
笑い男事件は2024年2月1日(木)に発生する。目が離せない。 pic.twitter.com/BJcogjcL7e
— むかいさん (@mukai_sputnik) January 17, 2024
The Laughing Man incident will happen on Thursday, February 1, 2024. I can’t bear to take my eyes off it.
In the fifth episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, we see a recording of a live broadcast on the morning of February 3, 2024, in which a man holding another person is held at gunpoint ( the kidnapping of the man at gunpoint occurred two days earlier, so this Twitter user noted that the incident would have occurred on February 1). So, it’s safe to say that the Japanese police won’t be too kind to those re-enacting scenes from SAC
Interestingly, the franchise’s official Twitter account also posted a cryptic post on Friday, with the text “Coming Soon” and a photo with the phrase “List of those who have received the Murai vaccine .”
Coming soon…#攻殻機動隊 #ghostintheshell #standalonecomplex pic.twitter.com/SmTcEa4mGo
— 攻殻機動隊[公式]GHOST IN THE SHELL official (@thegitsofficial) January 26, 2024
In the show, the Murai Vaccine is the only known effective treatment for cyberbrain sclerosis, a disease that can affect anyone using cyberbrain technology. Vaccines and the Japanese government’s refusal to approve them are linked to the Laughing Man. As of press time, it is unclear whether this Tweet is related to the upcoming screening or something else.
The first Laughing Man incident is definitely something to look forward to as it is an iconic moment in anime history. And while it will be fun to revisit the scene from the fifth episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on February 3 at 7:21 a.m. JST, that will probably cause more trouble than most people want resolution.. So instead, make a copy of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and enjoy seeing it in the fictional world. Or, if you’re in Shibuya, get tickets to a special screening of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex-The Laughing Man at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya.
Source: Ghost in the Shell SAC Twitter of the 2045 anime accountHuman Trust Shibuya Cinema, Kyoto Shimbun, Comic Natalie via Hachima Kikō