Tachikoma
Encyclopedia
A is a fictional artificial intelligence
, walker/roller in the Ghost in the Shell
universe; appearing in the manga
, created by Masamune Shirow
, and the Stand Alone Complex
sub-universe. Nine of them are assigned to Section 9's use originally. They are spider like multi-legged combat vehicles, equipped with artificial intelligence. The spider design appears in other places in Shirow's work, like the Appleseed manga. Shirow is noted to keep numerous spiders as pets.
Production I.G was unable to use the Fuchikoma design in the 2002 Stand Alone Complex TV anime series due to copyright conflicts. However, Masamune Shirow was able to design a legally safe equivalent to the spider-tanks for the new show, which he named the "Tachikoma". There are distinct differences in the design, most significantly in the 'eyes' and the vertically-oriented abdomen. Still, the tanks are easily recognizable as descendants of the original Fuchikoma. Their AI 'personalities' and roles in the new series are indistinguishable from their predecessors in the manga.
Tachikoma are as large as an average sedan, are painted blue
and have four "eyes" fitted on the surface of their bodies. Three are on the "head" and one is beneath the abdomen. Each eye has three pinholes, loosely resembling a bowling ball
. These eyes sometimes become expressive in the typical anime style. Tachikoma are controlled by individual AIs
, are capable of speech and generally exhibit a childish, curious, joyful and active personality, although they are consummate professionals in the field. They normally operate as independent units and receive orders from human agents, but they can also be directly piloted from a cockpit in their abdomen
. Its design is implicitly based on that of the jumping spider
in terms of bio-mechanical modelling, and system technical design was based on the Fuchikoma.
Tachikoma have four legs and two arms. They can move by walking, or they can drive at high speed by using the wheeled footpads on each of their four legs. Each wheel appears to be angled and omnidirectional
, allowing the Tachikomas to move in any direction with their drive system, which can control all degrees of freedom in its task space. Other abilities of the Tachikoma include jumping great distances, sticking to vertical or inverted surfaces, engaging a thermoptic camouflage mechanism, and grappling/rappelling using their adhesive string launchers. Tachikoma maintain control of their legs while using wheels to drive down a road, and shift their weight around turns. They can also roll briefly on to two legs while driving to avoid an obstacle or pass through a narrow space. To make balance easier, they can move their heavy abdomens with a Ball joint
.
Standard Tachikoma equipment includes a 7.62x51mm light machine gun
mounted in the right arm, a secondary weapon hardpoint
in the "snout" (a 50 mm grenade launcher, capable of launching both explosive and gas grenades which can be replaced by a six-barrelled 12.7x99mm
Gatling gun
), a universal cybernetic connector on an extensible, prehensile cable in the left arm, liquid wires that can be used for grappling, rappelling or for restraining purposes and a built-in thermoptic camouflage system.
, every night they are synchronized, so they start the next day with identical consciousnesses that are each the sum
of their total collective experience and development. This leads to identity confusion, since each Tachikoma has the same memories.
Though the Tachikoma have identical memories, their personalities and opinions are distinct. It is explained in the last episode of the first season that it is their curiosity that lets them be different from each other.
These individual personalities are distinct among Tachikoma. One considers itself Batou's personal Tachikoma, which has a personality of a hyperactive child. It is special, given that Batou
pampers it with natural oil and refuses to operate any other while on assignments. The second Tachikoma is more logical, acting as the straight man
to the first. The third Tachikoma appears somewhat slower than the others, and at times has difficulty keeping up with the other Tachikomas when discussing such in-depth topics as what it means to be "alive". There is also a fourth Tachikoma with a distinctive personality, who is a bookworm
and an intellectual. Its body was taken apart during the experimentation incident, but its AI has presumably been saved for further analysis.
During finale of the first S.A.C season, while all but three of the Tachikomas are either locked away in a lab or dismantled for study, three surviving Tachikoma units abandon their civilian posts to assist the Major and Batou.
Dr. Asuda is the government researcher who single-handedly developed the neurochip used in the Tachikoma's A.I. and is considered by the Tachikomas to be their father. In the episode "Afternoon of the Machines – PAT," Asuda tries unsuccessfully to defect from Japan because as a state-funded scientist, he is not allowed to hold patents on his inventions. Desiring to leave a record of his achievement, the good doctor inserted a trace of himself in Tachikoma's memory during their reconstruction post-season 1. To prevent another collapse in the A.I. structural integrity, it is decided that he'd delete this last bit of sentimentality.
In episode 12 of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
, one slightly-malfunctioning Tachikoma goes on a joy-ride through the city where it meets a young girl named Miki who is looking for a lost dog. The episode is mostly comedy but turns serious, with the Tachikoma attempting to understand sadness and death. In a later episode, the Tachikomas argue among themselves over which met Miki, since they all have the same memory. Yet when Batou calls for his Tachikoma only his actual Tachikoma raised its hand. As it leaves with Batou, it suddenly remarks with quiet surprise that it indeed must have been the one that met Miki.
Batou
has the most affection for the tanks, picking out one tank as his "personal unit" and spoiling it with natural oil instead of synthetic. This is what causes his to go haywire later, when the natural oil dissolves some of the proteins in the Tachikoma's AI neurochip. On the other hand, Togusa, the least cyberized of the Section 9 staff, holds a less idealist view: "they're just machines." Aside from leading to an indignant outburst from the Tachikomas (who accuse Togusa of bigotry
), it sets up something of an antagonistic relationship between Togusa and the tanks, which is revisited in an episode in season two. Major Motoko Kusanagi
holds the most pragmatic view of all. Her only regret following the Tachikomas' suicide attack is that she didn't get a chance to dive their AI, and discover whether or not what they had acquired was really a "ghost". In the manga, she expresses concern over the evolution of the Tachikomas' AI and orders it monitored to catch any undesired emotional developments or an unwanted "rise of the robots."
The Tachikomas also show a slightly mischievous side in episode 15, "Time of the Machines". They confuse a Section 9 operator
with the same self-referential logical paradox featured in the Star Trek
episode, I, Mudd, wherein Kirk and Spock confuse an android with a statement along the lines of "Everything I say is a lie, and I am lying." The Tachikomas likewise use the Epimenides paradox
to get the admin drone stuck in a logic loop. Interestingly, not only is the Tachikoma unaffected by the statement, the drone is unaffected until the Tachikoma explain why the statement is a paradox. They then steal a piece of equipment left in the drone's care and ridicule it for being fooled.
By the end of the series, the Tachikoma fleet start approaching sapience; all are sent back to the lab for dissection, amidst fears that they are no longer fit for combat duty. It is the use of natural oil in Batou's personal Tachikoma (all other units used synthetic lubricant) that acted as a catalyst for the behavioral anomalies that began to manifest as sapience. Major Kusanagi subsequently bans the use of natural oil prior to the later decision to halt deployment of Tachikomas in field ops.
Three Tachikoma survive the mandatory decommissioning, (one blue, calling itself "Batou's Personal Tachikoma", and two others, repainted yellow and silver) and prove their worth when they abandon their new civilian jobs to save their imperiled comrades, without explicit orders to do so. The silver Tachikoma is destroyed on sight when it finds Batou under attack by an Armed Suit, a bipedal power-actuated armored exoskeleton
. The blue and yellow Tachikoma combine their efforts to save him, and conduct a desperate and ultimately suicidal attack against the Umibozu, while Batou watches from a nearby terrace with a stricken look on his face. This selfless act is the last thing they ever do. Those sent to the lab for structural analysis were restored from backups, their A.I. given a slew of upgrades and loaded into a new fleet, which appears in the second season.
, the enforced synchronizations among Tachikomas are limited to essential data only. Motoko Kusanagi
allows them to maintain their own personality after the events in the first season. They can still share information and sensation via synchronization should they choose to. The Tachikomas are also outfitted to perform complex networking tasks including net-diving to aid Section 9. Several episodes featured the Tachikomas operating in the net using a representational avatar
, instead of their map symbol of a triangle in a circle. It is indicated that while operating within the net, they could not inhabit their physical units.
It is hinted that Tachikoma units developed ghosts. During the finale of 2nd GIG, while ordered to create a repository in cyberspace for the memories (and hopefully, ghosts) of all refugees of Dejima
, they secured instead their own memories within the netspace and sacrificed their AI
satellite to prevent a nuclear explosion
. A fellow AI, the bioroid Proto, saw this and announce to the viewers that Tachikomas do indeed have ghosts.
During the early portion of the film, the Uchikomas are seen being used by Section 9 in a way similar to the way the un-learned Tachikomas had been used. It was revealed that the engineers at Section 9 failed to reproduce the phenomenon whereby the A.I. develops an advanced state of self-awareness. However, the reappearance of the Major also brings the return of the Tachikomas. Initially they are seen in their cyberspace avatar forms, sporting different decals and individual names such as Max, Musashi, Loki, and Conan. Eventually they are reintroduced to physical bodies, and rejoin Section 9 as full members.
. Each short takes features the antics of the Tachikoma think tanks of Section 9 and involves plot points from the episodes. Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
also has Tachikomatic Days at the end of each episode and most of the DVD and iTunes releases of both series.
Tachikomatic Days is not aired on Cartoon Network
's Adult Swim
broadcast of Stand Alone Complex and 2nd GIG. However, they are shown on Adult Swim
's free webcast programming service Adult Swim Video. On Australia's Cartoon Network's Adult Swim
, the Tachikomatic Days shorts are broadcast with each episode. The UK's AnimeCentral
broadcasts Tachikoma Days with each episode.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, walker/roller in the Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell
is a Japanese multimedia franchise composed of manga, animated films, anime series, video games and novels. It focuses on the activities of the counter-terrorist organization Public Security Section 9 in a futuristic, cyberpunk Japan ....
universe; appearing in the manga
Ghost in the Shell
is a Japanese multimedia franchise composed of manga, animated films, anime series, video games and novels. It focuses on the activities of the counter-terrorist organization Public Security Section 9 in a futuristic, cyberpunk Japan ....
, created by Masamune Shirow
Masamune Shirow
is an internationally renowned manga artist, born on November 23, 1961.Masamune Shirow is a pen name, based on a famous swordsmith, Masamune. He is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell, which has since been turned into two theatrical anime movies, two anime TV series, an anime TV movie, and...
, and the Stand Alone Complex
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
is an anime television series produced by Production I.G and based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno...
sub-universe. Nine of them are assigned to Section 9's use originally. They are spider like multi-legged combat vehicles, equipped with artificial intelligence. The spider design appears in other places in Shirow's work, like the Appleseed manga. Shirow is noted to keep numerous spiders as pets.
Production I.G was unable to use the Fuchikoma design in the 2002 Stand Alone Complex TV anime series due to copyright conflicts. However, Masamune Shirow was able to design a legally safe equivalent to the spider-tanks for the new show, which he named the "Tachikoma". There are distinct differences in the design, most significantly in the 'eyes' and the vertically-oriented abdomen. Still, the tanks are easily recognizable as descendants of the original Fuchikoma. Their AI 'personalities' and roles in the new series are indistinguishable from their predecessors in the manga.
Design
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
and have four "eyes" fitted on the surface of their bodies. Three are on the "head" and one is beneath the abdomen. Each eye has three pinholes, loosely resembling a bowling ball
Bowling ball
A bowling ball is a spherical ball made from plastic, reactive resin, urethane or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. Ten-pin bowling balls generally have a set of three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle finger, and one for the thumb;...
. These eyes sometimes become expressive in the typical anime style. Tachikoma are controlled by individual AIs
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, are capable of speech and generally exhibit a childish, curious, joyful and active personality, although they are consummate professionals in the field. They normally operate as independent units and receive orders from human agents, but they can also be directly piloted from a cockpit in their abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
. Its design is implicitly based on that of the jumping spider
Jumping spider
The jumping spider family contains more than 500 described genera and about 5,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among invertebrates and use it in courtship, hunting and navigation...
in terms of bio-mechanical modelling, and system technical design was based on the Fuchikoma.
Tachikoma have four legs and two arms. They can move by walking, or they can drive at high speed by using the wheeled footpads on each of their four legs. Each wheel appears to be angled and omnidirectional
Omni wheel
Omni wheels or poly wheels, similar to Mecanum wheels, are wheels with small discs around the circumference which are perpendicular to the rolling direction. The effect is that the wheel will roll with full force, but will also slide laterally with great ease...
, allowing the Tachikomas to move in any direction with their drive system, which can control all degrees of freedom in its task space. Other abilities of the Tachikoma include jumping great distances, sticking to vertical or inverted surfaces, engaging a thermoptic camouflage mechanism, and grappling/rappelling using their adhesive string launchers. Tachikoma maintain control of their legs while using wheels to drive down a road, and shift their weight around turns. They can also roll briefly on to two legs while driving to avoid an obstacle or pass through a narrow space. To make balance easier, they can move their heavy abdomens with a Ball joint
Ball joint
In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles.More specifically, a ball joint is a steel bearing stud and socket enclosed in a steel casing. The bearing stud is tapered and threaded. It fits into a tapered hole in the steering knuckle. A...
.
Standard Tachikoma equipment includes a 7.62x51mm light machine gun
Light machine gun
A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...
mounted in the right arm, a secondary weapon hardpoint
Hardpoint
A hardpoint, or weapon station, is any part of an airframe designed to carry an external load. This includes a point on the wing or fuselage of military aircraft where external ordnance, countermeasures, gun pods, targeting pods or drop tanks can be mounted.-Rail launchers:Large missiles and...
in the "snout" (a 50 mm grenade launcher, capable of launching both explosive and gas grenades which can be replaced by a six-barrelled 12.7x99mm
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
), a universal cybernetic connector on an extensible, prehensile cable in the left arm, liquid wires that can be used for grappling, rappelling or for restraining purposes and a built-in thermoptic camouflage system.
Description
Though they possess individual artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, every night they are synchronized, so they start the next day with identical consciousnesses that are each the sum
SUM
SUM can refer to:* The State University of Management* Soccer United Marketing* Society for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures* StartUp-Manager* Software User’s Manual,as from DOD-STD-2 167A, and MIL-STD-498...
of their total collective experience and development. This leads to identity confusion, since each Tachikoma has the same memories.
Though the Tachikoma have identical memories, their personalities and opinions are distinct. It is explained in the last episode of the first season that it is their curiosity that lets them be different from each other.
These individual personalities are distinct among Tachikoma. One considers itself Batou's personal Tachikoma, which has a personality of a hyperactive child. It is special, given that Batou
Batou
is a main male character in the Ghost in the Shell series, the second best melee fighter in Section 9, and is the second in command under Major Motoko Kusanagi....
pampers it with natural oil and refuses to operate any other while on assignments. The second Tachikoma is more logical, acting as the straight man
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
to the first. The third Tachikoma appears somewhat slower than the others, and at times has difficulty keeping up with the other Tachikomas when discussing such in-depth topics as what it means to be "alive". There is also a fourth Tachikoma with a distinctive personality, who is a bookworm
Bookworm
Bookworm may refer to:* Bibliophile or bookworm, an avid reader and lover of books* Bookworm , a popular generalization for any insect which supposedly bores through books...
and an intellectual. Its body was taken apart during the experimentation incident, but its AI has presumably been saved for further analysis.
During finale of the first S.A.C season, while all but three of the Tachikomas are either locked away in a lab or dismantled for study, three surviving Tachikoma units abandon their civilian posts to assist the Major and Batou.
Dr. Asuda is the government researcher who single-handedly developed the neurochip used in the Tachikoma's A.I. and is considered by the Tachikomas to be their father. In the episode "Afternoon of the Machines – PAT," Asuda tries unsuccessfully to defect from Japan because as a state-funded scientist, he is not allowed to hold patents on his inventions. Desiring to leave a record of his achievement, the good doctor inserted a trace of himself in Tachikoma's memory during their reconstruction post-season 1. To prevent another collapse in the A.I. structural integrity, it is decided that he'd delete this last bit of sentimentality.
Stand Alone Complex
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
is an anime television series produced by Production I.G and based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno...
, one slightly-malfunctioning Tachikoma goes on a joy-ride through the city where it meets a young girl named Miki who is looking for a lost dog. The episode is mostly comedy but turns serious, with the Tachikoma attempting to understand sadness and death. In a later episode, the Tachikomas argue among themselves over which met Miki, since they all have the same memory. Yet when Batou calls for his Tachikoma only his actual Tachikoma raised its hand. As it leaves with Batou, it suddenly remarks with quiet surprise that it indeed must have been the one that met Miki.
Batou
Batou
is a main male character in the Ghost in the Shell series, the second best melee fighter in Section 9, and is the second in command under Major Motoko Kusanagi....
has the most affection for the tanks, picking out one tank as his "personal unit" and spoiling it with natural oil instead of synthetic. This is what causes his to go haywire later, when the natural oil dissolves some of the proteins in the Tachikoma's AI neurochip. On the other hand, Togusa, the least cyberized of the Section 9 staff, holds a less idealist view: "they're just machines." Aside from leading to an indignant outburst from the Tachikomas (who accuse Togusa of bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
), it sets up something of an antagonistic relationship between Togusa and the tanks, which is revisited in an episode in season two. Major Motoko Kusanagi
Motoko Kusanagi
is a fictional Japanese character in the Ghost in the Shell anime and manga series. She is a cyborg employed as the squad leader of Public Security Section 9, a fictional division of the real Japanese National Public Safety Commission. She is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka in the movies and the Ghost in...
holds the most pragmatic view of all. Her only regret following the Tachikomas' suicide attack is that she didn't get a chance to dive their AI, and discover whether or not what they had acquired was really a "ghost". In the manga, she expresses concern over the evolution of the Tachikomas' AI and orders it monitored to catch any undesired emotional developments or an unwanted "rise of the robots."
The Tachikomas also show a slightly mischievous side in episode 15, "Time of the Machines". They confuse a Section 9 operator
Operator (Ghost in the Shell)
An is a fictional class of robot in the Ghost in the Shell series. They are voiced by Eri Oono and Debra Jean Rogers.-Bio:The Operators are designed to handle various tasks within the government agency Public Security Section 9, such as operating computers, carrying equipment within the agency's...
with the same self-referential logical paradox featured in the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
episode, I, Mudd, wherein Kirk and Spock confuse an android with a statement along the lines of "Everything I say is a lie, and I am lying." The Tachikomas likewise use the Epimenides paradox
Epimenides paradox
The Epimenides paradox is a problem in logic. It is named after the Cretan philosopher Epimenides of Knossos , There is no single statement of the problem; a typical variation is given in the book Gödel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter:...
to get the admin drone stuck in a logic loop. Interestingly, not only is the Tachikoma unaffected by the statement, the drone is unaffected until the Tachikoma explain why the statement is a paradox. They then steal a piece of equipment left in the drone's care and ridicule it for being fooled.
By the end of the series, the Tachikoma fleet start approaching sapience; all are sent back to the lab for dissection, amidst fears that they are no longer fit for combat duty. It is the use of natural oil in Batou's personal Tachikoma (all other units used synthetic lubricant) that acted as a catalyst for the behavioral anomalies that began to manifest as sapience. Major Kusanagi subsequently bans the use of natural oil prior to the later decision to halt deployment of Tachikomas in field ops.
Three Tachikoma survive the mandatory decommissioning, (one blue, calling itself "Batou's Personal Tachikoma", and two others, repainted yellow and silver) and prove their worth when they abandon their new civilian jobs to save their imperiled comrades, without explicit orders to do so. The silver Tachikoma is destroyed on sight when it finds Batou under attack by an Armed Suit, a bipedal power-actuated armored exoskeleton
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton of, for example, a human. In popular usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as "shells". Examples of exoskeleton animals include insects such as grasshoppers...
. The blue and yellow Tachikoma combine their efforts to save him, and conduct a desperate and ultimately suicidal attack against the Umibozu, while Batou watches from a nearby terrace with a stricken look on his face. This selfless act is the last thing they ever do. Those sent to the lab for structural analysis were restored from backups, their A.I. given a slew of upgrades and loaded into a new fleet, which appears in the second season.
S.A.C. 2nd GIG
In the second season, S.A.C. 2nd GIGGhost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
is the second season of the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno...
, the enforced synchronizations among Tachikomas are limited to essential data only. Motoko Kusanagi
Motoko Kusanagi
is a fictional Japanese character in the Ghost in the Shell anime and manga series. She is a cyborg employed as the squad leader of Public Security Section 9, a fictional division of the real Japanese National Public Safety Commission. She is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka in the movies and the Ghost in...
allows them to maintain their own personality after the events in the first season. They can still share information and sensation via synchronization should they choose to. The Tachikomas are also outfitted to perform complex networking tasks including net-diving to aid Section 9. Several episodes featured the Tachikomas operating in the net using a representational avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
, instead of their map symbol of a triangle in a circle. It is indicated that while operating within the net, they could not inhabit their physical units.
It is hinted that Tachikoma units developed ghosts. During the finale of 2nd GIG, while ordered to create a repository in cyberspace for the memories (and hopefully, ghosts) of all refugees of Dejima
Dejima
was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
, they secured instead their own memories within the netspace and sacrificed their AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
satellite to prevent a nuclear explosion
Nuclear explosion
A nuclear explosion occurs as a result of the rapid release of energy from an intentionally high-speed nuclear reaction. The driving reaction may be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion or a multistage cascading combination of the two, though to date all fusion based weapons have used a fission device...
. A fellow AI, the bioroid Proto, saw this and announce to the viewers that Tachikomas do indeed have ghosts.
Solid State Society
Tachikomatic Days
Tachikomatic Days (タチコマな日々, Tachikoma na Hibi; also known as Tachikoma Specials or Tachikoma Days) are a series of shorts attached to the end of every episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone ComplexGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
is an anime television series produced by Production I.G and based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno...
. Each short takes features the antics of the Tachikoma think tanks of Section 9 and involves plot points from the episodes. Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
is the second season of the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno...
also has Tachikomatic Days at the end of each episode and most of the DVD and iTunes releases of both series.
Tachikomatic Days is not aired on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
broadcast of Stand Alone Complex and 2nd GIG. However, they are shown on Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
's free webcast programming service Adult Swim Video. On Australia's Cartoon Network's Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
, the Tachikomatic Days shorts are broadcast with each episode. The UK's AnimeCentral
AnimeCentral
Anime Central was a British television channel owned by CSC Media Group. The channel launched on 13 September 2007. It was first announced on 5 August 2007 though its licence first appeared on the Ofcom website in January...
broadcasts Tachikoma Days with each episode.