| Masamune Shirow | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 23, 1961 Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Area(s) | manga Artist |
| Notable works | Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell |
| Awards | Seiun Award (for Appleseed) |
| Official website | |
Masamune Shirow (士郎 正宗 Shirō Masamune) is an internationally renowned manga artist, born on November 23, 1961[1].
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 several video games. Shirow is also known for creating erotic art.
Born in the Hyōgo Prefecture capital city of Kobe, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts. While in college, he developed an interest in manga, which led him to create his own complete work, Black Magic, which was published in the manga fanzine 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 for Best Manga. After a professional reprint of Black Magic 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.
In 2007, he collaborated again with Production I.G to co-create the original concept for the anime 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.
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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 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 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.
A substantial amount of Shirow's work has been released in artbook or poster book format. The following is an incomplete list.
Galgrease (published in Uppers Magazine, 2002) is the collected name of several erotic manga and poster books by manga artist Masamune Shirow. The name comes from the fact that the women depicted often look "greased".
The first series of Galgrease booklets included four issues each in the following settings:
The second series included another run of 12 booklets in the following worlds:
After each regular series, there were one or more bonus poster books that revisited the existing characters and settings.
main source: shirowledge