SSS Irritation - Motoko vs Togusa

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H-street
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SSS Irritation - Motoko vs Togusa

Post by H-street »

I re-watched SSS this weekend , first time in a long time..

and i just realized how irritating motoko was in the fact that when she came back to section 9 to help at the end, everyone just falls in line and follows her instead of togusa.

Here you have motoko that has left section 9, because she didn't like being tied with to the organization restrictions. Yet when she comes back to help, she is all of a sudden the leader again..

i don't know why but it just irritated me in the fact that it should have been togusa calling the shots at the end..

I know they probably did it the way they did just because of the fan base and she is the main draw for the series.. But in all honesty , it would really have been togusa giving the orders and organization and motoko would have had to operate under him.

it actually would have shown that even though motoko didn't like the restrictions of the section 9 organization, to use their help (she did need their help) she would have had to accept those restrictions ie, by having to follow instead of lead.

Togusa really was the main character of SSS and i felt he got kind of side stepped at the end. This wasn't more shown then in the choice he given between his life or his childs life, at that point he became that true leader that section 9 needed.


the show was really good upto that point, and at that point i felt it went from a great story to a "fan" pleaser..
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Saito
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Post by Saito »

This point it intended to demonstrate that, even when not there, the real leader of Section 9 is Motoko Kusanagi.

Think about it, she had Batau running around trying to find her from the get go, she saved Togusa from the SSS, and she ultimately rejoined Section 9 and everyone carried on as before she left. The reason is she is a natural leader, and everyone follows her because of it. She's the reason most of Section 9 are at Section 9. Most of the people there are people she'd known or encountered previously (interestingly apart from Togusa, but he falls under the spell all the same) and all would follow her to the end.

I think that's one thing that made SSS so interesting. She lead Section 9 from outside the operation, subtly, by laying clues and directing their investigations.

It's very interesting, I'll grant you that...
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Elmo_Redux
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Post by Elmo_Redux »

I would've liked it better if they had used it to further the tension between togusa and batou over their roles now being almost reversed, it makes sense that batou would run off and follow motoko, but not so much with togusa - it just seems a shame that the writers overlooked a great opportunity for more on a split in section 9 loyalties.
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Duct Tape Ninja
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Post by Duct Tape Ninja »

I take it like this: She has the upper hand in the investigation, she has more experience, and the rest of the team trusts her. I think that having her take over the op was just the natural flow.

Another thing to remember in the long run is even though the Major is is the highest ranking and did the work of building the team for Aramaki, there is no solid command structure in the group. She just happens to be the first member, the highest ranking, and the most experienced (not to mention the most intimidating). Everyone else follows her because she is the best person for the job when she's around.

Additionally (and I'm really just babbling now) I think Togusa feels secure enough in his job and his relationships with the other members to step aside when necessary. That's how all the members of Section 9 work so well together. The whole dynamic of Section 9 is their mutual respect and relative ability to carryout most any of the groups many tasks. To draw this tangent off even further, no one on the team is ever useless. Each person is an integral part of the machine no matter what they are doing.
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Post by stand-al0ne »

While I believe she may had left clues for the other members to pick up on, this was done from the time the movie began. I believe she had her own intentions (obviously in the span from the end of season 2 to SSS), but that she didnt have a concious consideration to rejoining section 9 until some point over the course of SSS...

I even believe she would have opted to have left said clues for members of section 9 to discover, discern, and ultimately act on, but felt she had to interviene more and more because they would not have been able to solve the situation otherwise.

Her becoming more and more involved with leaving clues and manipulating the actions of section 9 ultimately drew her back into their spotlight (and acting member of the team)....now what we dont (or at least I) know is whether she reinstated herself fully to section 9 by the end of SSS, of if she was just in open relations with her old teammates. Its easy to think she is back, but we are given no concrete evidence for this.

And even if she did, would she just simply fill her prior role, bumping togusa...who at this point was the clear leader of section 9...

While I agree she is an inherient leader, she still has her own agenda that may or may not include section 9. She has her own questions to answer...

But did anyone ever wonder if she did find Kuze in the vast regions of the net? Do you think what he said about "I will go on ahead" ended up happening or that his ghost never made it? I would like to think he did, but it seems like it is one question that will never be answered.

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stand-al0ne
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Post by stand-al0ne »

oh, and there are a ton of misspelled words up there, fyi lol
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Post by Freitag »

I just re-read this thread and I still love it for the questions it raises.

The philosophical direction that GitS takes and shakes around about what it means to be human or have a soul starts from an Eastern way of thinking. I've inherited my Western way of thinking from the Greeks via the Romans.

I think that is where the interpretation of this "restoration of normalcy" may get side tracked. Eastern thinking is a lot more about groupthink and Western thinking is al lot more about the individual. Section 9 is full of strong minded individuals, but they (and their writers) are all from Eastern thought. Maybe it is not so jarring of a change when you see it through that lens?
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