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Intron Depot

Intron Depot, Vol. 2: Blades, A Collection of Masamune Shirow's Full Color Works (1992-1998)

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Masamune Shirow is an internationally renowned manga artis. 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.

This is a collection of Masamune Shirow's Full Color works from 1992 - 1998.

JP Oversized

First published January 1, 1998

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About the author

Masamune Shirow

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Masamune Shirow is an internationally renowned manga

Masanori Ota, better known by his pen name Masamune Shirow (Japanese: 士郎正宗), is a Japanese manga artist renowned for his influential contributions to the cyberpunk genre. Born in Kobe in 1961, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts, where he developed an interest in manga. His early work Black Magic led to the critically acclaimed Appleseed, which won the 1986 Seiun Award for Best Manga. Shirow achieved global recognition with Ghost in the Shell, a groundbreaking manga that inspired multiple anime films and series, a live-action Hollywood adaptation, and numerous video games. His stories are known for blending action with philosophical inquiries into AI, post-human existence, and the ethics of technology. He has collaborated with Production I.G on projects like Ghost Hound and Real Drive. Shirow’s distinctive style and thought-provoking narratives have left a lasting impact on manga, anime, and science fiction worldwide, influencing creators including the Wachowskis of The Matrix fame.

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Andrew.
2,573 reviews
March 25, 2017
This is really carry on from the work and material in Intron Depot 1 - more of Shirow's commissioned works, covers and set pieces. It only lightly touches on the anime and comic book work of his creations.

As hinted at before there is the tendency to over sexualise some of his work and there is always that fine line between art and exploitation. This series reminds me of the work of Boris Vallejo and Julia Bell - however they made no secret of the fact.

So yes I guess this series is for discerning readers - or should I say viewers as there is little text and the majority of it is in Japanese which sadly I am far from being able to read.

However as a show piece of his work it is amazing and I still cannot get over the creativity that went it so much influential work.
Profile Image for Parka.
797 reviews481 followers
March 11, 2009
Intron Depot 2: Blades
parkablogs.com)

Masamune Shirow (wiki) is the creator of Ghost in the Shell. But you won't find any concept art from that manga or anime here.

This is a large size art book containing full page coloured illustrations Masamune Shirow has created from 1992 to 1998. That includes commissions for game art, posters and other projects.

There are lots of female character illustrations done in strong manga style. Every piece is captioned to explain the project and concept.

The costume designs for the fantasy characters are extremely elaborate, detailed and unique to the point that I think is quite impossible to create in real life. That being said, the designs take away a little believability as a result.

If I am to summarize this book in a sentence, it would be this: Erotic girls in fantasy setting. The interpretation of fantasy is really out of the world.

Whether you like the book will depend on whether you like manga style.

This book was first published in 1998 and might be hard to find now.

This review was first published on parkablogs.com. There are more pictures and videos on my blog.
Profile Image for Burt.
296 reviews36 followers
July 4, 2017
More artwork from the creator of Appleseed and Ghost In The Shell are collected in this volume. Not much more to say other than that Shirow Masamune draws well and digital paint has only made the work better!
Profile Image for Seth.
203 reviews15 followers
January 12, 2008
Better than Intron Depot 1, less mecha which I'm not into, more cybernetics and skin, put still just a manga art book. Albeit a decent one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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