Appleseed: Masamune Shirow: The Manga and the Anime

APPLESEED

MASAMUNE SHIROW

THE MANGA AND THE ANIME

by Jeremy Mark Robinson

Color Edition

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

This is a colour edition, with over 180 illustrations, most in colour.

Masamune Shirow is one of the great creators in the world of Japanese manga and animé - 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 animé 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 influence 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 flick.

Illustrated in colour with over 180 images from Ghost In the Shell, and Masamune Shirow’s output.

Hardcover - full colour laminate cover.

Bibliography, resources and notes. 296 pages.

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