CD-Rom Information

Details Title: Masamune Shirow CD-ROM Illustration Collection 2: Intron Depot D2 Publisher: Masamune Shirow/Seishinsha, Shinkikakusha/Shogakukan ISBN4-09-906564-2 Price: 5800 Yen, Release Date: 1999 Box Dimensions: 14.5 x 25.5 cm Contents: 2 CD-ROMs, Mousepad, Instruction booklet, Feedback Card. Specifications Windows Windows 95/98 (Windows 98 Rc) Microsoft IE 3.02 Or Netscape 4.0 (IE 4.0 Rc) Pentium 133MHz (Pentium MMX 200MHz Rc) 32MB Ram (64MB Rc) 1024 x 768 Display 8-Speed CD-Rom or Higher Macintosh OS Talk7.6 or Higher Version Microsoft IE 3.02 Or Netscape 4.0 (Netscape 4.0 Rc) Power PC or Higher 48MB Ram (64MB Rc) 1024 x 768 Display 8-Speed CD-Rom or higher

Note: This CD-ROM is bilingual, and includes both Japanese and English-language text. However, the Japanese text will not display correctly unless you have installed the Japanese language extensions and font pack available for downloading from Microsoft or Netscape.

Comments & Review

27th November 1999 - This CD-Rom is Very Highly Recommended! I have the Intron Depot Blades collection book.. why should I bother forking out another 5800 Yen (double the price of the book) for the same pictures? Why is Shirow and Seishinsha taking advantage of the situation and making life so difficult (and expensive) for Shirow's fans and collectors? Trust me. Those things went through my mind as well before I reluctantly decide its worth getting a copy of this CD-Rom. I shouldn't have doubted. This CD set is definitely one of the gems in my collection. Yes, there are no new pictures in this CD collection. Its basically a duplicate of the ID2: Blades book, even the layout remains the same, with the 'Data Box' and all. It is a 2 CD set, with the first being a series of HTML format pages of the collection. The starting page is the contents area, where by clicking on the thumbnailed images it will link to the required page, and further linked to bigger, higher resolution images (some up to 3MB in size!). Nothing too complicated, works like a standard homepage in HTML format. It is interesting to note Shirow's introduction for the CD-Rom version of Blades, where Sensei addresses fan's concerns about him spending too much time on CG illustrations and not doing any more black/white mangas. Rest assured. Shirow is picking up the good ol' inking pen again! The second CD is another set of the same images, but this time in very high resolutions, up to 5MB for some pictures, and also a PC clock program (which is really irrelevant! ^_^). In total there are 121 illustrations, all properly organized and a total of around 700 MB++ worth of high quality digital art. All images in both CDs are in JPEG format, with the exception of icons which are in GIF format. All that said, why is this CD-Rom worth getting? Firstly- the price issue. At 5800 Yen for a 2-CD set, I would say this is cheap by Japanese standards. Be prepared to pay about the same amount for say, a Kosuke Fujishima Aa Megami Sama CD art collection. Most CDs (or any type of digital media) cost around 5000+ Yen in Japan anyways. Intron Depot 2: Blades is a collection of pre-dominantly CG Illustrations. There is no doubt that Sensei Shirow spends a lot of time experimenting and perfecting his CG art techniques. Since everything is done in digital, the Blades book can only display the results of Shirow's works. To see the step-by-step process, the best way is still the original form- in digital format. In IDD2, close-ups of the details in Shirow's black/white sketches and coloring is really impressive. Those familiar with CG rendering process would recognise the various stages involved in creating the pictures- background rendering, layering etc. These are the details that the printed form was unable to present. Shirow's character illustrations and sketches, isolated from the backgrounds, just looks too good. Another important fact to note is that the colors and patterns used in the illustrations is maintained in its original state. They look a lot better and vibrant than the printed versions. I think that Intron Depot Blades is more appropriate in digital form rather than book format. I would think Sensei Shirow had the idea of making this CD-Rom ever since the idea for the Blades collection was conceived. The thumbnailed images and numbering system of illustrations had the making of a homepage-style layout all along. If you have a choice, and the money to spare, I'd recommend the CD-Rom rather than the artbook. "One of the best things about computers, is that they allow lots of trial and error, which makes it easy to create different versions... at some point in the future I'd like to create some software that allows you, the viewer, to have fun changing the various elements independently" - Shirow Masamune, Intron Depot 2 Blades. We're almost there...