Masamune Shirow, a renowned Japanese manga artist, was born in the vibrant city of Kobe, situated in the Hyogo Prefecture. His artistic inclinations led him to pursue oil painting at Osaka University of Arts, where he initially developed a passion for manga. This fascination eventually culminated in the creation of his first complete work, Black Magic, which was published in the manga dojinshi Atlas.
The publication of Black Magic caught the attention of Seishinsha President Harumichi Aoki, who extended an offer to publish Shirow's work. This led to the creation of his most iconic and critically acclaimed manga, Appleseed. This full-volume, densely plotted drama set in an ambiguous future garnered immense popularity and earned Shirow the prestigious 1986 Seiun Award for Best Manga.
Following the success of Appleseed, Shirow released a professional reprint of Black Magic and a second volume of Appleseed. He then went on to create Dominion in 1986, with two more volumes of Appleseed preceding his work on the groundbreaking manga, Ghost in the Shell.
Shirow's collaborations with Production I.G continued in 2007, when he co-created the original concept for the anime television series Ghost Hound, celebrating Production I.G's 20th anniversary. In 2008, he collaborated with Production I.G once more, this time on the original concept for the anime series Real Drive, which premiered in April of that year.
