| The author of this web page counts himself among the fans of Shirow
Masamune, enthralled by the Kobe-based artist's skill in creating worlds
of technology, politics, humanity and violence. Shirow fans can't get enough
of his works, but they have to be very patient in waiting for new manga
from the reclusive artist. Toren Smith of Studio Proteus, Shirow's U.S.
publisher, said he also is waiting - and waiting - for the next Shirow
manga. It may be a long wait. |
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| According to Smith, Shirow has promised the new episode of Ghost in
the Shell (Man-Machine Interface - Minds of Man) for months, but nothing
has yet been finished. Plenty has been created , Smith said, but Shirow
has not declared it ready for publication, intending instead to rework
and rework art that apparently was finished. Maybe, just maybe, the new
Ghost in the Shell might be completed by November, perhaps as a 400 page
story, perhaps not, Smith said. |
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| Shirow has a well-earned reputation of constantly tinkering with stories
beyond conventional deadlines, to the point that "He drove one of his editors
insane, basically...now he has a new editor," said Smith. When Shirow was
finishing the most recent Appleseed manga, he created stacks of art that
looked to have been completed by any other artist, but not by Shirow's
quirky standards. However, Smith wonders if there might be a change in
the way that Shirow approaches art. |
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| "We believe that Shirow is reaching the end of the line as a comics
artist. It's too much like work," said Smith. Instead, Shirow may be drawn
more to the world of character designs for video games, feeling that "It's
quick and easy and pays well. It's a lot of fun as opposed to manga." If
that's the case, that would follow the concerns noted by others in the
Japanese industry this year, that the growth of the Japanese video game
industry is drawing away the best and the brightest from anime and manga. |
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