Ghost in the Shell - SAC_2045 S2 - Episode 4 - 10 Second Anime

During Section 9’s confinement after an assassination attempt, the Tachikomas investigate Purin’s past to prove her innocence.

Episode 16 – “MEMORIES / Born in Heaven”

Hmm.

Purin (プリン) is how the Japanese spell “pudding.” When Purin’s character introduced herself in the first season of SAC_2045, I laughed that we had a character named after a sweet dessert. Now we know its meaning and its sign of affection for Batou. I loved how the Tachikomas discovered that Batou was in Purin’s heart for the same length of time they’ve known him. They became her genuine friends and decided to bring her back to life.

The Tachikomas’ decision proves that Artificial Intelligence is different than Human Intelligence. Purin’s conversation with 1A84 showed its inflexibility to its preset programming. The Tachikomas have distinct priorities, senses of personal space, and morality from the human characters in SAC_2045. Motoko gave them implicit permission to investigate Purin, but they didn’t know she was watching. They also decided on their own to reboot Purin from a backup. Section 9 didn’t know about that. For Tachikomas, data is life. They’re not dead unless their data become corrupted or erased. A human would have paused a moment before resurrecting Purin from her memory backups. Would her personality change? Were there gaps in her record timeline? Those questions of morality didn’t pop up for the Tachikomas. Purin was one of them. She needed to come back!

It’s still debatable whether Purin was a post-human because her behavior didn’t change after her infection. In the last SAC_2045 episode, 1A84 claimed she was used goods already, so he couldn’t use her body directly. Even Purin’s ambition to join Section 9 was innocent, and she followed all the rules. There was no hacking, forging records, or anything suspicious. Circumstantially, the fever, 1A84’s claim about Purin, and her odd living conditions at her apartment put the odds of her post-human status as high. But I don’t think we’ll have confirmation until Purin returns to the story.

Heh.

That’s enough out of John Smith in SAC_2045. Section 9 already put his name on a placard. Chill out, dude. Section 9 needs to chill out too. The government needs to rule them out of the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Tate. They worry that Purin, who studied at MIT, might have a connection to the Americans. Ishikawa confirms that Purin developed a fever when the other post-humans did. That’s the telltale sign, but is it a coincidence? Motoko adds that Purin hasn’t acted like any post-humans they’ve dealt with. Aramaki is sure Purin wasn’t an American spy, but it’s based on classified information. Aw. Purin must be dead if investigators wheel her body out of the building instead of ambulance workers.

The Tachikomas are distraught because they don’t want Section 9 to be disbanded again! Their solution – prove that Purin was a spy and Section 9 was innocent. It’s a plan, and it’s fun! Yay! It’s a Tachikoma episode for SAC_2045. Wait, no fair! The older Tachikoma models can’t go with the new ones. Is this okay? Can Section 9 bots just come and go? I wonder what they look like to people on the sidewalk. All the Tachikomas’ questions about Purin compare her to Batou. Can a 22-year-old afford her high-rise apartment? These guys have conversation skills. Purin’s neighbors never noticed her, even with “that weird hair color!” Suspicious! They couldn’t hack into Purin’s toaster!

Of course. The only solution is to break in. What the...? Where is Purin’s furniture? Is this not her primary residence? The only thing in the room is a Subzero Freezer. We just watched SAC_2045 toss Smith in a freezer. Is the real Purin Esaki inside there? Ha! These guys don’t hesitate to break into anything! Even Section 9’s secure records. I love it. The digital Tachikomas are so cute! Purin graduated top-three in engineering at MIT. Then she went to Teito University in Japan. Is that supposed to be like Toudai (University of Tokyo)? Whoa. According to those records, Purin’s birthday is July 9^th, 2022. Ooh. The Tachikomas found someone to interview.

The Section 9 bots crack me up. They brought a visit gift to talk to Purin’s guarantor in Japan. SAC_2045 gives us an info dump. Purin was an orphan whose family passed away when she was in elementary school. She wanted to go to Teito University, but it’s not clear why they would reject her. So, the prodigy went to America for college. Ah. Here’s the clue. Only graduates of Teito can work in Public Security. This is the lady Aramaki trusts and how Purin entered Section 9. I see many red herrings about the CIA, but Purin wanted to get into Section 9 before she went to America.

Purin’s college career looks like a dead end for the Tachikomas. How about her earlier days? Purin’s records only start in junior high. That’s odd. The guarantor confirmed her parents passed away in elementary school and that she was in foster care until junior high. Where are those records? There’s a coverup here. Purin’s old address is an undersea tunnel! Witness protection program? Oops. The Tachikomas forgot they were in the middle of traffic. Are they registered as cars in SAC_2045? It’s time for facial recognition! They work quickly. They found Purin’s sister. And her! They recognized her goofy smile. Wow. Purin’s family was murdered in a case that Section 9 investigated! It was from the first season of Stand Alone Complex, in a case personally involving Batou. Marco Amoretti could have killed Purin’s family, and she was placed in a witness protection program. But the Tachikomas need to prove it. Back to Purin’s apartment!

Yup! Purin’s freezer was full of hard drives. For SAC_2045, the real Purin Esaki was in there. Would a post-human need external storage? Oh, poor girl. She has the memory of finding her dead family recorded! The one who watched over her in the hospital was Batou! He gave her a pudding cup. That’s how she chose her new name! Pudding is purin (プリン) in Japanese. Her goal had been to work with Batou ever since. The end credits also reference this scene. Aw. The Tachikomas started to cry!

Good timing for SAC_2045. The independent review found malware in the bodyguard that Purin shot. Smith placed it there, so America and Japan would have “issues” moving forward. Aw, now I’m crying. Did I just “parallelize” with the Tachikomas too? Wow. Motoko had been watching the Tachikomas operate the entire time.

It’s not over for Purin yet! The Tachikomas have a plan! They will rebuild her. Better, stronger, faster! With a prosthetic body and her backup memories. SAC_2045 has always been like The Six Million Dollar Man. Ah! The Tachikomas put 1A84 inside her psychic image too! That’s convenient. The Tachikomas erased their memories of rebuilding Purin. Did Motoko watch this happen too? A section of their facility manufactures the body, so someone should know. Right? And the Tachikomas’ entire adventure is gone. Their conversation picks up exactly where it started at the beginning of the episode. That means that when they see Purin again, they’ll still be jealous rivals of Batou’s attention! But what will Purin remember?