Season 1 of GitS SAC 2045 is a mixed vision, with the split almost even across the middle. A first half that is constant action in the style of the Arise movies, and a second half in the style of traditional SAC. This split harms the show immensely and is what has really ruined it for me. This split has bigger issues with how the show is paced, with both parts feeling rushed in their own ways. You end up being thrown around in location and conversation to keep the story moving forward in ways that just feel jarring. And never do you feel like it stops long enough to think about what is going on, we are just onto the next section.

With the story, this is a real mixed bag. The first section was boring action, with the group fighting constantly. Acting as an extended prologue that just lasted way too long. But once they moved into the second half things improved immensely. Suddenly you have a story looking into mob justice and right and wrong and some definitely grey moral areas.

Visually I still dislike the show immensely. The 3D CGI just wasn’t well done, it did the fluid fights and movement well but everything else fell far short. Textures end up being flat and low quality lacking any depth, character models are soft and lack in detail or emotion, and the lighting feels fake. It has been compared to a video game, and I stand by that comparison. And for a major 3D CGI anime in 2020, it should be at least matching if not going beyond what I could make in Unreal Engine. Just being fluid isn’t enough anymore when you are up against other studios doing high quality mixtures of 2D and 3D to make fluid fast paced action scenes.

We are introduced to some new characters to complement the original cast. But most don’t do anything for me at all. John Smith is the generic American Government guy who of course has to be incompetent, Standard is a comedic relief solider who doesn’t do anything, and Purin is the groups adorable little sister who fangirls on Batou. Meanwhile the original cast just doesn’t get enough screen time, with the Tachikoma units getting more dialogue than most of them. They don’t grow or change at all in this season, with the only change being Togusa just completely forgetting about his family it seems.

The OP and ED weren’t terrible, simply different. A different style than the original’s but I don’t think they were bad. And over the show they do kinda grow on you. Music during the show though didn’t do much, and I can’t actually remember anything from it.

In total, the show has potential. The second half wasn’t terrible, just harmed by bad pacing after being crammed in behind the action movie first half. Visually it will never look good and will never be as good as the originals. But if this is your first experience with GitS, I think it could be worse. It will never be the 10/10 that the original was, but I think it can manage an average score. And maybe the second season will improve it if they don’t go the action route, and just give a solid story based in politics and philosophy.