Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is een Japanse anime serie van de zender Animax. De serie ging in première op 1 oktober 2002
In the future when technological enhancements and robotics are a way of life, Major Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9 take care of the jobs that are too difficult for the police. Section 9 employs hackers, sharpshooters, detectives and cyborgs all in an effort to thwart cyber criminals and their plans to attack the innocent.
During a press conference in the previous episode, Superintedent-General Daidō had been publicly threatened by the person known as the Laughing Man. Through an intermediary, the Laughing Man had demanded that Daidō reveal "the truth" or else he would be, "removed from the stage." For six years the Special Investigations Unit, which is part of the Metropolitan Police that Daidō oversees, has been working on this case. It now seems that they have found a possible suspect in Nanao=A, a man with dubious connections. Still acting from behind the scenes, Section 9 continues their own investigation into the Laughing Man incident.