is a 2006 science fiction anime film and part of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was produced by Production I.G and directed by Kenji Kamiyama. The film is set in 2034, two years after the events of 2nd GIG. Togusa is now the team leader for Public Security Section 9, which has increased considerably in size. Section 9 deals with a series of complicated incidents, including the assassination of Ka Rum, a former dictator of the Siak Republic, which leads to a terrorist plot using children as vectors for a cybernetic virus. Investigations reveal that a hacker nicknamed "The Puppeteer" is behind the entire series of events. The film, which had a production budget of 360 million yen, debuted in Japan on SKY PerfecTV! on September 1, 2006, and it was released in North America in 2007. A stereoscopic 3D version of the film was released in 2011. The film received generally positive reviews, but was criticized for being dialogue-heavy and lacking in action. Plot In 2034, two years after the events of 2nd GIG, Public Security Section 9 is investigating a string of mysterious suicides by refugees from the Siak Republic. Chief Aramaki conducts a raid to arrest the refugee dictator only to find him already dead. In retaliation, a Siak operative plans a terrorist attack with a micromachine virus. Batou is sent to intercept the Siak operative and encounters Kusanagi, who is conducting her own investigation. Before they can apprehend the operative, he dies while attacking them. Kusanagi takes a case of virus ampules and warns Batou to stay away from the Solid State Society before leaving. Section 9 operatives develop a theory that a hacker known as the Puppeteer or 傀儡廻 (Kugutsumawashi, literally 'Puppet Spinner', contrasted with the original film Puppet Master who was 人形使い Ningyō-zukai, literally 'Doll Handler') is responsible for Siak agents' forced suicides and Togusa discovers sixteen kidnapped children who were intended carriers of the virus. All the children are listed as the children of Noble Rot Senior Citizens and Section 9 begins to suspect a larger conspiracy when they are part of a larger body of 20,000 children. Soon afterwards, the Puppeteer causes the disappearance of the sixteen children and Batou reveals to Togusa that he believes Kusanagi to be the Puppeteer. Section 9 next intercepts a Siak sniper