The Art of Masamune Shirow

THE ART OF MASAMUNE SHIROW

VOLUME 3: EROTICA

by Jeremy Mark Robinson

This is a study of the erotic art of Masamune Shirow (real name Masanori Ota, born in 1961, Kobe, Japan), a Japanese artist best known for the comics Ghost In the Shell, Appleseed and Dominion: Tank Police. 

Masamune Shirow is one of the great creators in the world of Japanese manga and anim - his works have been the basis of several important franchises, with Ghost In the Shell the best-known. Shirow's art is marked by futuristic, cyber-punk settings, fabulous, often eccentric designs, elaborate mecha (such as tanks and mobile suits), attractive warrior women and detailed storytelling (accompanied by his famous, sometimes arcane notes). 

The impact of the work of Masamune Shirow has been immense in anim and manga: Ghost In the Shell alone led to not one but two classic movies, two outstanding TV series (plus a third, the Arise series), and spin-off movies. Add to that the live-action Ghost of 2017, and more Ghosties on the way. Then there's the Appleseed digital animations and Appleseed cel animation, plus Black Magic, Real Drive, Ghost Hound (Unseen World) and Dominion: Tank Police. It all adds up to a remarkable presence in TV and movies. 

In cinema, Masamune Shirow's inuence is easy to spot in the Star Wars prequels, in the Matrix movies, in Avatar, in Minority Report, in the Avengers series, and in many a superhero ick. 

This is one of the first studies of the erotic art of Masamune Shirow in the West. 

Eroticism has always been a part of Masamune Shirow's art, from his earliest works. Shirow has produced a significant amount of erotic art since the 1990s in the form of single images (his pin-ups), collections of images with a theme (his calendars and posterbooks), and groups of images with a simple plot (his erotica, published in colour books such as Gallhound, Pieces, Galgrease, Greaseberries, Wild Wet Quest, Wild West Quest, W Tails Cat and Hellhound). 

The Art of Masamune Shirow: Volume 3: Erotica includes a biography; chapters on Shirow and the Japanese manga industry; Shirow's signature works in erotic art (such as his posterbooks and pin-ups); on the Intron Depot series; on the sexual content found in his well-known works (such as Appleseed and Ghost In the Shell); and on his other manga. 

Each of Masamune Shirow's erotic publications are studied in this book, including Hellcat (pirates), Hellhound (horror/ fantasy), Galhound (sci-), Wild Wet West (cowgirls), Wild Wet Quest (action-adventure), and...