Masamune Shirow

Masamune Shirow (士郎 正宗) is a manga artist of international renown. "Masamune Shirow" is a pen-name, based on a type of sword.

Most well known for the manga Ghost in the Shell (which was later turned into both an anime movie and a PlayStation video game).

Heroine with a single face

Many of his works ("Ghost in the shell", "Dominion: Tank Police", "Appleseed") follow the following form: a strong female law enforcement officer/warrior battles external fights while under difficulties from internal politics, in a near-future setting with strong cyberpunk influences.

Artistically, his work is beautiful, and (even in battles with an awful lot going on) can usually be followed. However, his female lead characters (Kusanagi in "Ghost in the shell", Leona in "Tank Police", Deunan in "Appleseed", and Seska in "Orion") look nearly identical, with the exception of hair color.

Bibliography

• Innocence: Ghost in the Shell (Will be released in 2004)
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (TV series, 20 25-minutes episodes, also called 'Alone on Earth').
• Ghost in the Shell (Ghost in the shell II is out in Japan, under revision/translation for release in the west).
• Dominion: Tank Police
• Dominion: Conflict 1 (No more noise)
• Appleseed (four volumes out so far, ten planned)
• Orion
• Black Magic
• Intron Depot 1 (Artbook featuring his color work from 1981-1991)
• Intron Depot 2 - Blades (Artbook mostly featuring characters with edged weapons)
• Intron Depot 3 - Ballistics (Artbook mostly featuring characters with guns)