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is an internationally renowned manga
Manga

, , are comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War II, but they have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art....
 artist, born Masanori Ota (?? ???? Ota Masanori) on November 23, 1961.

Masamune Shirow is a pen name
Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of...
, based on a famous swordsmith, Masamune
Masamune

Masamune , also known as Goro Nyudo Masamune , is widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith. As no exact dates are known for Masamune's life, he has reached an almost legendary status....
. He is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell (manga)

is a Japanese science fiction manga created by Masamune Shirow. He followed it up by Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface and more recently by Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor....
, which has since been turned into three anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
 movies, two anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
 TV series and several video games. Shirow is also popular for creating erotic art.

Born in the Hyogo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Kinki region on Honshu island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo....
 capital city of Kobe, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts
Osaka University of Arts

is a private arts university located in Kanan, Osaka, Minamikawachi District, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The university was founded in 1945 as , changing its name to in 1957, and then to in 1964....
.






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is an internationally renowned manga
Manga

, , are comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War II, but they have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art....
 artist, born Masanori Ota (?? ???? Ota Masanori) on November 23, 1961.

Masamune Shirow is a pen name
Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of...
, based on a famous swordsmith, Masamune
Masamune

Masamune , also known as Goro Nyudo Masamune , is widely recognized as Japan's greatest swordsmith. As no exact dates are known for Masamune's life, he has reached an almost legendary status....
. He is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell (manga)

is a Japanese science fiction manga created by Masamune Shirow. He followed it up by Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface and more recently by Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor....
, which has since been turned into three anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
 movies, two anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
 TV series and several video games. Shirow is also popular for creating erotic art.

Born in the Hyogo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Kinki region on Honshu island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo....
 capital city of Kobe, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts
Osaka University of Arts

is a private arts university located in Kanan, Osaka, Minamikawachi District, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The university was founded in 1945 as , changing its name to in 1957, and then to in 1964....
. While in college, he developed an interest in manga, which led him to create his own complete work, Black Magic
Black Magic M-66

is a cyberpunk manga by Masamune Shirow. It was first published in a fanzine in 1983, and later reprinted in tankoubon format in 1985.The series was adapted as an original video animation in 1987 directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Masamune Shirow....
, which was published in the manga fanzine
Fanzine

A fanzine is a nonprofessional publication produced by fan s of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest....
 Atlas. His work caught the eye of Seishinsha President Harumichi Aoki, who offered to publish him.

The result was Appleseed, a full volume of densely-plotted drama taking place in an ambiguous future. The story was a sensation, and won the 1986 Seiun Award
Seiun Award

The Seiun Award is a famous Japan science fiction award. It is voted on by the attendees of the Japanese National Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award named from first science fiction magazine in Japan, :ja:?? .....
 for Best Manga. After a professional reprint of Black Magic
Black Magic M-66

is a cyberpunk manga by Masamune Shirow. It was first published in a fanzine in 1983, and later reprinted in tankoubon format in 1985.The series was adapted as an original video animation in 1987 directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Masamune Shirow....
 and a second volume of Appleseed, he released Dominion in 1986. Two more volumes of Appleseed followed before he began work on Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell

is a Japanese people cyberpunk manga created by Masamune Shirow, and first published in 1989 in Young Magazine. A collected edition was released in 1991; a sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface, was released in 2002; and a serialized manga, Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor, was released in 2003, which contain...
.

In 2007, he collaborated again with Production I.G to co-create the original concept for the anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
 television series Shinreigari/Ghost Hound, Production I.G's 20th year anniversary project.

A further original collaboration with Production I.G began airing in April, 2008, titled Real Drive
Real Drive

is an anime TV series, created by Production I.G and Masamune Shirow. Real Drive is produced in collaboration with Japan's largest commercial broadcaster, Nippon Television Network Corporation , and premiered in Japan on NTV on 8 April 2008....
.

Fame


Shirow is a world-famous illustrator. Indeed, for a time, he was more popular outside of Japan than inside. He was chosen as an early author to bring to the West because of many stylistic similarities between his work and traditional American comics.

Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell

is a Japanese people cyberpunk manga created by Masamune Shirow, and first published in 1989 in Young Magazine. A collected edition was released in 1991; a sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface, was released in 2002; and a serialized manga, Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor, was released in 2003, which contain...
 is a famous anime in the West based on his work, hence his popularity. Many people mistake him for the creator of the original anime movie, but he had no major role in its production. Mamoru Oshii
Mamoru Oshii

Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling. Presently, Oshii lives in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan with his dogs – a basset hound named Gabriel and a Mixed-breed dog named Daniel ....
 directed both movies, which were adaptations of several chapters of the original manga put to film. However, he did play a role in the development of the TV anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

is a Japanese anime television series based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell . It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama and produced by Production I.G, airing on Animax from 1 October 2002 to 25 March 2003 with a total of 26 episodes....
.

Heroine with a single face


Many of his works (Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell

is a Japanese people cyberpunk manga created by Masamune Shirow, and first published in 1989 in Young Magazine. A collected edition was released in 1991; a sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface, was released in 2002; and a serialized manga, Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor, was released in 2003, which contain...
, Dominion: Tank Police, Appleseed) follow a common form: a strong female law enforcement officer/warrior battles external threats while facing difficulties from internal politics, in a near-future setting with strong cyberpunk
Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low-life". The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk subculture and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983, It features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coup...
 and postcyberpunk influences.

His female lead characters (Motoko Kusanagi
Motoko Kusanagi

is a fictional character Japanese people in Masamune Shirow's 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 ....
 in Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell

is a Japanese people cyberpunk manga created by Masamune Shirow, and first published in 1989 in Young Magazine. A collected edition was released in 1991; a sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface, was released in 2002; and a serialized manga, Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor, was released in 2003, which contain...
, Leona Ozaki
Leona Ozaki

Leona Ozaki is the central character of Masamune Shirow's Dominion: Tank Police anime and manga series. She is approximately 23 years old, stands 5 ft 6 in, weighs 117 lb, has Japanese blood type theory of personality, has the astrological sign Leo , and, in the first series she sports flaming red hair with blue eyes....
 in Tank Police, Deunan Knute
Deunan Knute

is a character and the main protagonist from the science fiction manga Appleseed and its adaptations in anime. Along with her partner Briareos Hecatonchires, she is one of ESWAT's most important members....
 (or Deunan Nats) in Appleseed, and Seska in Orion
Orion (manga)

is a science fiction/fantasy manga by Masamune Shirow, first published in 1991 by Seishinsha....
) tend to look very similar to each other, with the exception of hair color.

Art


Although his work is clearly contemporary manga
Manga

, , are comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War II, but they have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art....
 in style, a substantial amount of Shirow's work has been released in artbook
Artbook

An art book is a collection of leaves of paper, parchment, or other material, bound together along one edge within covers. An artbook is not a literary piece but is a collection of and graphics....
 or poster book format focusing on female characters in provocative poses and various degrees of nudity.

Bibliography

  • Black Magic (1983)
  • Appleseed - Book 1 (1985)
  • Appleseed - Book 2 (1985)
  • Dominion
    Dominion: Tank Police

    is a tankobon manga series written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. Set in the fictional city of Newport, Japan, in a future in which bacterial air pollution has become so severe that people must wear gas masks when outdoors, the series follows a police squadron that uses tanks....
     (1986)
  • Appleseed - Book 3 (1987)
  • Appleseed - Book 4 (1989)
  • Ghost in the Shell
    Ghost in the Shell

    is a Japanese people cyberpunk manga created by Masamune Shirow, and first published in 1989 in Young Magazine. A collected edition was released in 1991; a sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface, was released in 2002; and a serialized manga, Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor, was released in 2003, which contain...
     (1991)
  • Orion
    Orion (manga)

    is a science fiction/fantasy manga by Masamune Shirow, first published in 1991 by Seishinsha....
     (1991)
  • Intron Depot 1
    Intron Depot 1

    Intron Depot 1 is a collection of Masamune Shirow's full color works. The volume itself is 148 210 mm x 285 mm pages. It encompasses 226 illustrations from 1981 to 1991, 193 of which are in full color....
     (1992) (sci fi-themed color illustration artbook collecting his work from 1981 to 1991)
  • Dominion: Conflict 1 (No More Noise) (1995)
  • Intron Depot 2 - Blades (1998) (fantasy-themed color illustration artbook featuring female characters with armor and edged weapons)
  • Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface
    Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface

    is an eleven chapter manga written and drawn by the mangaka Masamune Shirow . It was first released in Japan in a serialized format in Young Magazine by Kodansha....
     (2001) (released in collected form in America on January 19, 2005)
  • Intron Depot 3 - Ballistics (2003) (military-themed color illustration and CG artbook featuring female characters with guns)
  • Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor
    Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor

    is a set of four chapters that were left out of the Ghost in the Shell 2: Man/Machine Interface tankobon by Masamune Shirow himself. The four chapters are: "Fat Cat", "Drive Slave", "Mines of Mind" and "Lost Past"....
     (2003) (original version of Ghost in the Shell 2, scrapped when Ghost in the Shell 2 was collected in a single volume, but recently re-released in Japan)
  • Intron Depot 4 - Bullets (2004) (color illustration artbook collecting his work between 1995 to 1999)


Minor works

  • Areopagus Arther (1980), published in ATLAS (fanzine
  • Yellow Hawk (1981), published in ATLAS (fanzine)
  • Colosseum Pick (1982), published in Funya (fanzine)
  • Pursuit (Manga) (1982), published in Kintalion (fanzine)
  • Opional Orientation (1984), published in ATLAS (fanzine)
  • Battle on Mechanism (1984), published in ATLAS (fanzine)
  • Metamorphosis in Amazoness (1984), published in ATLAS (fanzine)
  • Arice in Jargon (1984), published in ATLAS (fanzine)
  • Bike Nut (1985), published in Dorothy (fanzine)
  • Gun Dancing (1986), published in Young Magazine Kaizokuban
  • Pile Up (manga) (two parts) (1987), published in Young Magazine Kaizokuban
  • Colosseum Pick (1990), published in Comic Fusion Atpas (fanzine)
  • Neuro Hard - The planet of a bee (two parts in 1992, four in 1993, four in 1994), published in Comic Dragon


main source:

Other

  • Galgrease poster series (2002), published in Uppers Magazine
  • design of the (2002, commissioned by Elecom; , )


Anime


Film


  • Ghost in the Shell
    Ghost in the Shell (film)

    is a 1995 in film anime film film director by Mamoru Oshii; an adaptation of the manga Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow, produced by Production I.G, and written by Kazunori Ito....
     (1995) by Mamoru Oshii
    Mamoru Oshii

    Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling. Presently, Oshii lives in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan with his dogs – a basset hound named Gabriel and a Mixed-breed dog named Daniel ....
  • Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
    Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

    is the 2004 in film sequel to the anime film Ghost in the Shell . Released in Japan on March 6, 2004, with a United States release on September 17, 2004, Innocence had a production budget of approximately United States dollar20 million ....
     (2004) by Mamoru Oshii
    Mamoru Oshii

    Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling. Presently, Oshii lives in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan with his dogs – a basset hound named Gabriel and a Mixed-breed dog named Daniel ....
  • Appleseed (2004)
    Appleseed (2004)

    is an anime film, directed by Shinji Aramaki and originally released in Japan on May 17, 2004. It is based on the characters created by Masamune Shirow in the original Appleseed manga series that was published in 1985....
     by Shinji Aramaki
    Shinji Aramaki

    is a Japan anime director and mechanical designer, born on October 2, 1960 in Fukuoka Prefecture. He was a member of Artmic.He is noted for work on powered exoskeletons and his mecha and CG design on several anime series....
  • Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society
    Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society

    is the 2006 in film Anime based on the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series, which is based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell....
     (2006) by Kenji Kamiyama
    Kenji Kamiyama

    , born on March 20, 1966 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, is a Japan anime director. He has worked regularly with the anime studio and production enterprise, Production I.G, such as his work on Jin-Roh, Patlabor, Blood: The Last Vampire, and for whom he has directed the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime television series, w...
  • Appleseed Ex Machina
    Appleseed Ex Machina

    Appleseed Ex Machina is an anime film and is the sequel to the 2004 Appleseed ,similarly directed by Shinji Aramaki, and was produced by Cinema of Hong Kong director and producer John Woo....
     (2007) by Shinji Aramaki
    Shinji Aramaki

    is a Japan anime director and mechanical designer, born on October 2, 1960 in Fukuoka Prefecture. He was a member of Artmic.He is noted for work on powered exoskeletons and his mecha and CG design on several anime series....
     and John Woo
    John Woo

    John Woo Yu-Sen is a critically acclaimed international China film director and film producer. Recognized for his stylized films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Mr....


OVAs


  • Black Magic M-66
    Black Magic M-66

    is a cyberpunk manga by Masamune Shirow. It was first published in a fanzine in 1983, and later reprinted in tankoubon format in 1985.The series was adapted as an original video animation in 1987 directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Masamune Shirow....
     (1987) by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Masamune Shirow (this is the only anime Shirow played a direct role in the production of)
  • Appleseed (OVA)
    Appleseed (OVA)

    is a cyberpunk-style anime OVA that takes place in the future. The anime, produced by Bandai Visual in 1988, is an adaptation of the manga, Appleseed created by Masamune Shirow....
     (1988) by Kazuyoshi Katayama
  • Dominion Tank Police (1988) by Takaaki Ishiyama and Kôichi Mashimo
  • New Dominion Tank Police (1990) by Noboru Furuse and Junichi Sakai
  • Landlock (anime) (1995) by Yasuhiro Matsumura (character and mecha designs only)
  • Gundress (1999) by Junichi Sakai (character and mecha designs only)
  • Tank S.W.A.T. 01 (2006) by Romanov Higa


Television

  • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (1st GiG) (2003) by Kenji Kamiyama
    Kenji Kamiyama

    , born on March 20, 1966 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, is a Japan anime director. He has worked regularly with the anime studio and production enterprise, Production I.G, such as his work on Jin-Roh, Patlabor, Blood: The Last Vampire, and for whom he has directed the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime television series, w...
     (26 25-minute episodes; also called     Alone on Earth or GitS:SAC)
  • 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 Ghost in the Shell manga series. It premiered on 1 January 2004 in Japan on the anime communications satellite satellite television network, Animax, on a pay-per-view basis....
     (2004) by Kenji Kamiyama
    Kenji Kamiyama

    , born on March 20, 1966 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, is a Japan anime director. He has worked regularly with the anime studio and production enterprise, Production I.G, such as his work on Jin-Roh, Patlabor, Blood: The Last Vampire, and for whom he has directed the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex anime television series, w...
     (26 25-minute episodes; second season of     GitS:SAC)
  • Shinreigari/Ghost Hound (2007); original concept in collaboration with Production I.G
  • Real Drive
    Real Drive

    is an anime TV series, created by Production I.G and Masamune Shirow. Real Drive is produced in collaboration with Japan's largest commercial broadcaster, Nippon Television Network Corporation , and premiered in Japan on NTV on 8 April 2008....
     (2008); original concept in collaboration with Production I.G


Video game adaptations

  • Super NES
    • Appleseed
      Appleseed (SNES)

      Appleseed is a video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System based on the Appleseed by Masamune Shirow....
       (Japan only release)
  • PlayStation
    PlayStation

    The PlayStation is a 32-bit history of video game consoles video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in December .The PlayStation was the first of the ubiquitous PlayStation ....
    • Ghost in the Shell
      Ghost in the Shell (video game)

      Ghost in the Shell is a 1997 video game for the PlayStation game console, and draws on both the cyberpunk film of the Ghost in the Shell and the manga by Masamune Shirow in its style, environments and characters....
    • Yarudora Series Vol. 3: Sampaguita
    • Project Horned Owl
  • PlayStation 2
    PlayStation 2

    The PlayStation 2 is a History of video game consoles video game console manufactured by Sony. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation of video game consoles....
    • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
      Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (video game)

      Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is the title of a pair of video games based on the cyberpunk anime of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a Third-person shooter Action game, released for the PlayStation 2, and a first-person shooter game, released for the PlayStation Portable....
    • Appleseed EX (Japan only release)
  • PlayStation Portable
    PlayStation Portable

    The PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Development of the console was first announced during History of E3#During the Rise of Online Gaming , and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004....
    • Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
      Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (video game)

      Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is the title of a pair of video games based on the cyberpunk anime of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a Third-person shooter Action game, released for the PlayStation 2, and a first-person shooter game, released for the PlayStation Portable....
  • Arcade
    Arcade game

    An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, typically installed in businesses such as restaurants, public houses, video arcades, and Family Entertainment Centers....
    • Horned Owl (lightgun shooting game)
  • Nintendo DS
    Nintendo DS

    The is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in video gaming in Canada, the United States, and Japan....
    • Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Strategy RPG)


External links

  • - Bio, articles, manga, interviews, links and others
  • - In Spanish