Writing

Shirow Masamune

Born November 23, 1961 · Higashinada, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan (age 64)

Masamune Shirow is an internationally renowned manga artist, born as Masanori Ota on November 23, 1961. 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.

Known For

Ghost in the ShellGhost in the Shell · 2017
Ghost in the Shell
6.12017
MovieScience FictionDrama
In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.
Ghost in the ShellGhost in the Shell · 1995
Ghost in the Shell
7.91995
MovieActionAnimation
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.
Ghost in the Shell 2: InnocenceGhost in the Shell 2: Innocence · 2004
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
7.42004
MovieAnimationDrama
Cyborg detective Batou is assigned to investigate a series of murders committed by gynoids—doll-like cyborgs, which all malfunctioned, killed, then self-destructed afterwards. The brains of the gynoids initialize in order to protect their manufacturer's software, but in one gynoid, which Batou himself neutralized, one file remains: a voice speaking the phrase "Help me."
Ghost in the Shell 2.0Ghost in the Shell 2.0 · 2008
Ghost in the Shell 2.0
7.42008
MovieActionAnimation
In the year 2029, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster'.
Ghost in the Shell: The New MovieGhost in the Shell: The New Movie · 2015
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie
6.62015
MovieScience FictionAnimation
When a ghost-infecting virus known as Fire-Starter begins spreading through the system resulting in the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, Major Motoko Kusanagi and her elite team of special operatives are called in to track down its source.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing ManGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man · 2005
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man
7.72005
MovieScience FictionAnimation
The year is 2030 and six years have passed since a criminal known only as "The Laughing Man" swept through top medical nanotechnology firms committing acts of cyber-terrorism, kidnapping, and espionage leaving no known suspects. New information is revealed, as Section 9 enters the hunt for a suspect capable of unfathomable actions in this compilation of Stand Alone Complex content.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable WarGhost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable War · 2021
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable War
6.82021
MovieAnimationAction
In the year 2045, after an economic disaster known as the Synchronized Global Default, rapid developments in AI propelled the world to enter a state of "Sustainable War". However, the public is not aware of the threat that AI has towards the human race. A compilation film with newly added footage.
AppleseedAppleseed · 2004
Appleseed
6.72004
MovieAnimationAction
In a utopian society created at the end of World War III, a female warrior who has been plucked from the badlands begins to see cracks in this new facade. And what does this community have planned for the rest of humankind?

Filmography

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Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 1: Ghost PainGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 1: Ghost Pain · 2013
Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 1: Ghost Pain
7.02013
MovieActionAnimation
The story is set in 2027, one year after the end of the fourth non-nuclear war. New Port City is still reeling from the war's aftermath when it suffers a bombing caused by a self-propelled mine. Then, a military member implicated in arms-dealing bribes is gunned down. During the investigation, Public Security Section's Daisuke Aramaki encounters Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg, wizard-level hacker assigned to the military's 501st Secret Unit. Batou, a man with the "eye that does not sleep," suspects that Kusanagi is the one behind the bombing. The Niihama Prefectural Police detective Togusa is pursuing his own dual cases of the shooting death and a prostitute's murder. Motoko herself is being watched by the 501st Secret Unit's head Kurutsu and cyborg agents.

Comic Book

Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands AloneGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone · 2014
Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone
6.92014
MovieActionAnimation
The upcoming installment's story takes place amidst signs of postwar reconstruction in the winter of 2028. Tensions are rising in New Port City as demonstrations are held concerning the interests of foreign cartels. This leads to a shooting incident involving riot police. It all started with a cyberbrain infection released by the terrorist "Fire Starter." An independent offensive unit led by Makoto Kusanagi entrusts the suppression of the situation to their ghosts and aims for their own justice. Below the surface of the incident, lies the "tin girl" Emma and the "scarecrow man" Burinda Junior. As Kusanagi deals with the incident, she draws near to what those two ghosts were seeking.

Comic Book

Real DriveReal Drive · 2008
Real Drive
7.12008
SeriesAnimationAction & Adventure
The story takes place in 2061, 50 years after humanity developed the "Net society" that depended on information networks despite their security issues. To improve security, a new network called Meta Real Network — or "Metal" for short — was developed. People's personal memories are reduced to information and placed within "protected virtual stand-alone organic cyber enclaves" called bubble shells online. The result was a virtual "explosion" of creative freedom as people felt safe enough to explore instincts and desires on Metal that they would not otherwise explore in real life. This "friction" between the Metal's alluring lack of restrictions and rules-bound reality led to trouble and incidents that investigators known as "cyber divers" must handle. Masamichi Haru is one such cyber diver.

Original Story