Line #7 Creator/MasamuneShirow


1	One of the mangaka most responsible for the prevalence of CyberPunk themes in anime and manga since the early 1980s, Masanori Ota, better known by his pen name Masamune Shirow, specializes in stories about technology-gone-berserk and [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic madness]].
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3	Born on November 23, 1961, Shirow began his career in college, with such works as ''Intron Depot'' and ''[[Manga/BlackMagicM66 Black Magic]]''. He eventually struck gold with ''Dominion'', one of the funniest [[{{Dystopia}} dystopian fantasies]] ever written -- which was later turned into the successful {{OAV}} series ''Anime/DominionTankPolice''. The more serious ''Manga/{{Appleseed}}'' manga was also successful.
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5	However, he is currently best known for his hard-SF saga ''Koukaku Kidoutai'', known overseas as ''Manga/GhostInTheShell''; not only did ''GITS'' have an extremely successful [[Manga/GhostInTheShell print run]], but it was turned into a [[Anime/GhostInTheShell film]] by Creator/MamoruOshii and adapted -- with help from Shirow himself -- into a TV series (''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex GITS: Stand-Alone Complex]]'') that has run for two seasons.
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7	In 2008 he worked on ''Anime/RealDrive'' with Creator/ProductionIG, which have been responsible for the [=GitS=] series ''Stand-Alone Complex''. Another Creator/ProductionIG work he participated in was ''VisualNovel/{{Sampaguita}}'', the 3rd game of the interactive anime VisualNovel series ''VisualNovel/{{Yarudora}}'', providing character design. He also did the cover art for the Platform/TurboGrafxCD ShootEmUp ''Lords of Thunder'', and was involved with character design for the Platform/PlayStation LightGunGame ''VideoGame/ProjectHornedOwl'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' for the Platform/NintendoDS; the true extent of his involvement with the latter game beyond drawing official artwork ([[OffModel below his normal skill level in places]]) for the game is unknown, but the in-game character designs do suggest he did have quite the influence on the general style direction.
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9	Shirow's art style is characterized by an obsessive attention to technical detail (rivaling that of his contemporary Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo), and a similarly detailed -- if unrealistic -- approach to character design that would make Creator/RobLiefeld proud.
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11	Shirow is [[ReclusiveArtist a very private and reclusive individual]], having often been called the J.D. Salinger of Japan; like many ''mangaka'', he is best known by his pen name. All that anyone knows about Masanori Ohta, the man behind the pseudonym, is that he lives in Hyogo, Japan (where he moved after losing his house in the 1995 Kobe earthquake), and that he was formerly a high school teacher. He also is a fan of FN guns and the FAMAS.
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13	He also draws a ''loooooot'' of {{Hentai}} these days - his H-work has become so exclusive that detractors wish he would go back to mainstream material.
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15	!!Notable series:
16	* ''Manga/{{Appleseed}}''
17	* ''Manga/BlackMagicM66''
18	* ''VideoGame/ProjectHornedOwl''
19	* ''Anime/DominionTankPolice''
20	* ''Manga/GhostInTheShell''
21	* ''Intron Depot''
22	* ''Orion''
23	* ''Anime/RealDrive''
24	* ''Manga/PandoraInTheCrimsonShellGhostUrn'' (in collaboration with Koshi Rikudo)
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Context Creator / MasamuneShirow