Masamune Shirow Hyperpage

I would say this is a great post to end the year 2006, as we look forward to more Masamune Shirow books from Dark Horse Comics next year. These are the Trade Paperbacks we can expect for the first half of next year (of course during this time the GITS 1.5 direct editions is expected to continue). While it might be "reprints" to some extent, I think the original right-left reading format is quite a significant difference and there will be new material namely Appleseed Hypernotes and ID.

Dominion 4th Edition
Publication Date: Jan 24, 2007
Format: b&w, 224 pages, TPB, 8 1/4" x 5 3/4"
Price: $14.95
Age range: 18+
ISBN-10: 1-59307-697-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-697-9

Dominion 4th Edition TPB

Welcome to the future, where the norms are vast bio-constructed cities, air toxic enough to force citizens to wear oxygen masks, and crime so severe that the cops drive tanks! When a mysterious winged girl with the power to cleanse the poisoned air is kidnapped by the villainous Buaku, police mini-tank commander Leona Ozaki, her tank Bonaparte, and her lovesick partner Al must confront the arch-criminal and his catgirl molls-the beautiful and deadly Annapuma and Unipuma-before Buaku's master plan kicks into gear. Buaku has more than money on his mind, and the future fate of humanity hangs in the balance!

Produced by international comics superstar Shirow Masamune, creator of Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell, Dominion is an ecological-dystopian-police procedural adventure/comedy as only Shirow can create! This new edition is published for the first time in America in right-to-left reading format, as originally published in Japan.

• Shirow is well-known and critically acclaimed internationally.

• 2007 will see new non-westernized editions of Dominion, Dominion Conflict 1, Appleseed, and Black Magic; interest in Shirow's work will be high.

• Produced in the authentic right-to-left reading format, as originally published in Japan.

Appleseed ID TPB
Publication Date: Feb 04, 2007
Format: b&w and Full color, 144 pages, 8 1/4" x 5 3/4"
Price: $14.95
Age range: 16+
ISBN-10: 1-59307-690-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-690-0

Appleseed ID TPB

A collection of sketches, studies, and schematics, Appleseed ID is a must-have companion book for fans of the cyberpunk saga Appleseed and its legendary creator, Shirow Masamune, the manga mastermind behind such classics as Appleseed, Dominion, and Ghost in the Shell. Sit back and relax as Shirow takes you on a guided tour of one of his most beloved worlds, exploring the people, places, organizations and, of course, technology that make the universe of Appleseed the sci-fi hotspot that it is. Feel like taking a break from Shirow’s examination and explanation of his creations, and of his own creative process? Then take a browse through this book's beautiful color galleries, or follow Deunan and Briareos on a high-stakes adventure with the short story "Called Game."

• Shirow is well-known and critically acclaimed internationally, and is responsible for numerous classic anime/manga titles, such as Appleseed, Dominion, Ghost in the Shell, Orion, and Black Magic.

• Produced in the authentic right-to-left reading format, as originally published in Japan.

Appleseed Hypernotes TPB
Publication Date: Feb 14, 2007
Format: b & w w/Full color, 160 pages, TPB, 5 3/4" x 8 1/4"
Price: $14.95
Age range: 14+
ISBN-10: 1-59307-446-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-446-3

Appleseed Hypernotes

World War Three is over, but for nomad soldier Deunan Knute and her cyborg lover, Briareos, the greatest challenge lies ahead, not in the abandoned cities and DMZs of a post-war battlefield, but on the streets of a new "utopia." Shirow Masamune's visionary Appleseed is widely regarded not only as one of the linchpin works of graphic fiction, but one of the most influential science-fiction stories in recent memory, culminating in the astonishing 2005 animated adaptation. Appleseed Hypernotes, never before collected in America, features an over 80-plus-page Appleseed tale, plus reams of detailed information and art of the characters, machines, and weapons of Appleseed, presented in a non-Westernized, right-to-left reading format, as originally published in Japan.

• Contains Appleseed stories from Super Manga Blast! #25-39.

Orion 3rd Edition
Publication Date: Feb 15, 2007
Format: B&W, 280 pages, TPB, 8 1/4" x 5 3/4"
Price: $17.95
Age range: 16+
ISBN-10: 1-59307-695-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-695-5

Orion 3rd Edition

In the mighty Yamata Empire, magic and technology are one and the same. Now, the Empire is preparing its ultimate feat of psycho-science: the destruction of all the negative karma in the galaxy! But will this mystical purification be the salvation of humanity--or the trigger of its ultimate destruction? Only one being can save the Empire from its folly: Susano, the God of Destruction. Wild, arrogant, and homicidal, Susano has come to teach the world the true nature of power!

Shirow Masamune, creator of Appleseed, Dominion, Intron Depot, and Ghost in the Shell, has earned a huge worldwide following with his unique, eclectic, and visually stunning blend of science-fiction and fantasy. Orion is Shirow at his wildest, and is now for the first time in America published in right-to-left reading format, as originally published in Japan. Plus a variety of great bonus features: art gallery, Orion glossary, and notes on the text composed by Shirow himself!

* Shirow Masumune is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell, which has been turned into two anime movies, two anime TV series, a series of prose novels, and several video games.

Dominion: Conflict--No More Noise TPB
Publication Date: Mar 14, 2007
Format: b&w w/color, 160 pages, TPB, 8 1/4" x 5 3/4"
Price: $14.95
Age range: 16+
ISBN-10: 1-59307-698-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-698-6

Dominion Conflict 1: No More Noise

Welcome to the future of vast bio-constructed cities with crime so severe that the cops drive tanks! For top tank-cop Leona Ozaki (and her trusty tank, Bonaparte), the day-to-day is a tall order already, but when the villainous and sexy (and super-powered androids!) Puma sisters become duly deputized officers of the law and are assigned to "help" Leona catch Urushi-Maru, "The Skyscraper Pirate," things are bound to get out of hand, especially in the midst of a full-on, tank-on-tank streetfight between Leona and a corrupt arms manufacturer bent on getting the city's police tank contract!

Produced by international comics superstar Shirow Masamune, creator of Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell, Dominion is an ecological-dystopian-police procedural adventure/comedy as only Shirow can create!

Appleseed Book 1: The Promethean Challenge TPB
Publication Date: Apr 11, 2007
Format: b&w, 184 pages, TPB, 8 1/4" x 5 3/4"
Price: $14.95
Age range: 14+
ISBN-10: 1-59307-691-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-691-7

Appleseed Book 1

World War III is over, and nomad soldier Duenan Knute and her cyborg partner Briareos struggle to survive in the abandoned cities and demilitarized zones of the post-war wasteland, the "Badside." Matters appear on the upswing, however, when they are found and brought to Olympus, an urban utopia and centerpiece for the reconstruction of civilization. Duenan and Bri join the Olympus police, a force that seems hardly necessary in such a paradise. But, like in most pretty pictures, perfection is an illusion, and Olympus's peaceful facade hides a dark secret, a violent struggle between human and cyborg that could once again plunge the world into war . . . and genocide.

* Shirow is well known and critically acclaimed internationally, and is responsible for numerous classic anime/manga titles, such as Appleseed, Dominion, Ghost in the Shell, Orion, and Black Magic.

* Produced in the authentic right-to-left reading format, as originally published in Japan.

Appleseed Volume 2: Prometheus Unbound TPB
Publication Date: May 30, 2007
Format: b&w, 192 pages, $14.95, TPB, 8" x 5 3/4"
Price: $14.95
Age range: 14+
ISBN-10: 1-59307-692-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59307-692-4

Appleseed Book 2

You can't have a perfect society without perfect people, and the only perfect people are the ones you can manufacture. The governing body of Olympus, an urban utopia created from the ashes of World War III, is about to bring paradise crashing down around their ears as they seek to regulate the minds and bodies of the human race . . . or fully replace them with cyborg substitutes. Deunan and Briareos, still new to the city, find themselves in the unlikely position of having to hold together this house of cards. Their strategy? Destroy the old foundation and pray everything stands while new underpinnings are forged!

From the imagination of Ghost in the Shell creator Shirow Masamune comes the manga masterpiece Appleseed, an epic cyberpunk vision deftly balancing hardcore techno-science, wry political commentary, and explosive action. A visionary work that inspired the wildly popular animated film, Appleseed is now presented for the first time in America in right-to-left reading format, as originally published in Japan.

2007 will be a great year, so for those who have only been exposed to Ghost In The Shell this is the best opportunity to check out Sensei Shirow's other works. Trust me you won;t be disappointed. For older generation fans like me... well, the new format is a good enough reason to add to the existing library of Shirows :) Note that all release dates are tentative, as per Dark Horse's current announcements.

Good news! This has been way overdue but finally Dark Horse is going to do Shirow's works great justice by unflipping (or unflopping) the re-prints, according to Dark Horse's Japanese Licensing Manager, Mr Michael Gombos.

Here's the tentative release schedule:
October 2006 - Appleseed Hypernotes (New!)
December 2006 - Appleseed Illust and Data (New!)
January 2007 - Dominion (Reprint)
February 2007 - Dominion Conflict (Reprint)
March 2007 - Orion (Reprint)
April 2007 - Black Magic (Reprint)
May 2007 Onwards - Appleseed 1 to 4 (Reprint)

The logic behind flopping Shirow's works in the initial release by Studio Proteus was to adapt to the Western convention of reading left to right, hoping that the books will be more acceptable to a larger readership. Eastern books, Japanese included reads right to left.

DH's Michael Gombos mentioned in his announcement "Due to heavy demand, Dark Horse is proud to present the entirety of Shirow Masamune's catalogue non-Westernized, for the first time ever!" Hey! Heavy demand? I didn't realise there was such a petition going on... probably feedbacks from conventions or something?

Anyway, its no problem. I'm definitely glad that English versions of the Shirow classics are finally going to be printed as close to the original as possible. Shirow was never comfortable with it, mentioning that he thinks some of his drawings looks weird when mirrored, plus its really very annoying to see Deunan totting guns and knives with her left hand... Even MMI was painstakingly modified by Shirow personally to avoid heavy floppage.

If Dark Horse Editors / Managers are reading this, a request: how about Appleseed Hypernotes & ID? Can they be released unflopped? Oh, and Ghost In The Shell: Human Error Processor too if possible. Speaking of GITS, that is the only title absent from the line-up mentioned. Eh?... Kodansha has an unflopped version of GITS in bilingual Japanese-English format some years ago, maybe this is the reason?

Well, here's the Dark Horse announcement in it's (Shirow bits only) entirety:

Michael Gombos, Japanese Licensing Manager
DH to re-print Shirow books, and name, unflopped!

Updated 5/12/2006

The last time many of you saw these books, they, along with the name of their creator, had been flopped! Due to heavy demand, Dark Horse is proud to present the entirety of Shirow Masamune's catalogue non-Westernized, for the first time ever!

The greatest care was taken in ensuring that these weren't just the books you'd previously seen printed in a new right-to-left version; Dark Horse requisitioned new films and materials for all of the books, and one of the most experienced manga editors in the industry, Chris Warner, is making the supervising the production quality and beauty of these pieces. Appleseed Hypernotes, until now never collected in English, will be debuting in October 2006; a collection of short strips—related to Appleseed but not attached to the main storyline itself—are included with tons of schematics of vehicles, robots, and weapons that would otherwise run unidentified through Appleseed's pages.

Santa will be delivering Appleseed ID (Illustrations/Data) to your local retailer in December 2006. This book will feature even more in-depth schematics of Shirow's world of Appleseed, including an Appleseed timeline!

Dominion, and Dominion Conflict will help ring in 2007, being released in January and February, respectively.

Remember Orion? Well, it's gonna be back, and better than ever! Look for it in March next year.

Black Magic, Shirow's first work and a personal favorite of Matt Parkinson, will be re-released with two full-color sections in April 2007.

Last but certainly not least, look for the re-issues of the unflopped Appleseed (all four volumes), released monthly starting this time next year. Be it Dark Horse's reprints, or anime, Shirow Masamune will be hot in 2007!

Nice little strategy there, having an Appleseed run in Summer 2007, when the movie sequel and TV series are sure to whip up an International Appleseed frenzy ;)

Thanks Dragon :)

Amidst a big Stand Alone Complex weekend, Kadokawa Herald / Project Team Doga have finally released Tank S.W.A.T 01 DVD to the masses. Got my copy in the mail 2 days ago (24th March 2006), much thanks to the great customer service and speedy delivery of Amazon.co.jp where I pre-ordered my copy.

TANK S.W.A.T. 01 Release Date: 24th March 2006 Publisher: Kadokawa Herald RRP: 4200 Yen Serial No. NBHS-50007 Main DVD: Tank S.W.A.T. 01 32mins main feature NTSC Region 2 / 2.0ch Audio / 16:9 ratio Bonus DVD: 47 mins Romanov Higa "Wired Bob" Short (12mins) / NG Scenes / Continuity / The World of Personal CG Animation (25mins feature) Extras: - 16 Pages Tank SWAT Booklet - Bonaparte Papercraft by Masamune Shirow

My verdict after watching this newest Dominion Conflict adaptation: Brilliantly done! Better than Appleseed Live Anime by a mile! Certainly hoping there will be a sequel soon. A proper review would be done in the near future, in the meantime here are some pictures of my copy of the DVD and specials:

Tank SWAT DVD Packing (with sleeve)


The DVD and a nice surprise! :>


Bonaparte Papercraft by Shirow :)




Tank SWAT DVDs & Special 16p Booklet

If you are a Shirow and/or Dominion Fan, this is one DVD you won't want to miss! A caution note though, this DVD is Japanese Audio only, so please bear this in mind if you are thinking of getting a copy at this time. No subtitles either.

Some say that Masamune Shirow Sensei is a bloody good artist. Not many know that he is also a very good designer. In fact, he is a bloody very good designer. Here is the proof, Mr Shirow's Bonaparte Paper Figure to be included with the Tank SWAT 01 DVD!

Tank SWAT 01 DVD's Bonaparte Paper Figure
Design by Masamune Shirow

More at sTwo's Shirowledge~ :)
You know you want the Tank SWAT DVD!

Shirowledge has updated with news about the pending release of Tank S.W.A.T 01. Publisher Kadokawa Herald Pictures has updated with their Tank SWAT Official Information webpage;

Kadokawa Herald Tank SWAT Official Product Page

Click to view original size

That Bonaparte you see at the picture here is a "Paper Figure" specially designed by Masamune Shirow for this DVD release ^_^.

Here's a summary of the product as detailed by sTwo:

TANK S.W.A.T. 01
Release Date: March 24, 2006
Publisher: Kadokawa Herald Pictures
Price: 4,200yen (net of tax)
Catalog No.: NHBS-50004
Contents: 2 DVD + booklet (16pages) + paper-craft paper-figure (Bonaparte)
Special Disc (DVD #2):
'Wired Bob' ROMANoV HiGA works, 'news from the Newport Police Station', 'the world of the Personal CG Anime', bloopers, storyboard

Oh, almost forgot to mention this, please check out the New Trailer at Kadokawa's Tank SWAT Page! It looks great, and I really look forward to this DVD's release :D

It's ironic that the first post of 2006 is last year's news, but it doesn't matter (not that we are in Tokyo or anything to take advantage of this event!:P) My end-of-year has been furiously busy and I had not the time to dig for these obscure Shirow news m-_-m Apologies! Anyway:

Digital Art Festival Tokyo 2005
9th to 13th December 2005

Special Programs:
Premium Screenings of CG Animation Works
December 10th 2005 (Sat)
@ National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation "Miraikan"
(So many types of museums these days! ^_^- Lucas)

Special screenings of soon-to-be-released "TANK S.W.A.T.01" (story by Shirow Masamune, dir. ROMANoV HiGA), "Pale Cocoon" (dir. Yasuhiro YOSHIURA) and "Beyond the Train Tracks" (dir. Tayuta MIKAGE)

Date/Time: Dec 10(Sat) 13:00-14:30 15:00-16:30 (tentative)
Venue: 7F Innovation Hall

Please registration beforehand is needed to join in special programs specified below which take place at Miraikan

(C)2005 Shirow Masamune/Seishinsha DoGA/Romanov Higa

TANK S.W.A.T.01

Story: Shirow Masamune, Director: Romanov Higa

Newport City, Hyogo Prefecture. Future city where humans and androids coexist. A tank unit was formed in the police to deal with armed criminals. AI tanks and mysterious androids appear. An office building turns into a battleground in pursuit of a single data disk!

..........

OK, hold it! That's all we are concerned about! Well, while I'm not fortunate enough to attend a free screening of Tank SWAT in Tokyo, what caught my attention was the summary posted here. So now we know a tiny bit about Tank SWAT. Its a tank battle in an office building over some kind of data disk. Doesn't sound much like Conflict to me, so this is something exciting to look forward to! :D

Bring on Tank SWAT in April! :> By the way, if anyone knows where to pre-order the DVD, let me know? And sorry again for the late posting...

Tank S.W.A.T 01 is scheduled for a March 2006 release in Japan, our super-reliable Shirow source in Japan (sTwo-san) updated.

Here are the release details so far:

Tank SWAT 1 (c) Shirow Masamune / Seishinsha / DoGA / Romanov-Higa

• TANK S.W.A.T. 01
• Release Date: March 24, 2006
• Publisher: Kadokawa Herald Pictures
• Price: 4,200yen (not including tax)
• Catalog #: NHBS-50004
• Contents: 2 DVD + booklet

Loved the cover art, and there's a new trailer out! :> Go to Shirowledge to download the 9MB+ clip. I must say that despite the low-key status of this project, I am very much excited about the prospects of this new CG movie. Certainly looks to have much potential, and the graphics works out well too.

I'll definitely be having this one on my "to order" list! :D

sTwo-san, what's happening?? ^_^??? (Go to Shirowledge now if you have not!)

:::::: Updated! 15th August 05 ::::::
Ah! sTwo-san replied :D ~ looks like Tank SWAT has no release date yet, but he got a Sample DVD full of goodies from Tank SWAT's producer! (That's pretty neat!) For the full story click here to go to Shirowledge and read it from sTwo himself. The animation work for Tank SWAT 01 is completed, but official release date, we still have to wait... ^_^
Thanks sTwo :) (Galgrease scoop, and now exclusive peeks at Tank SWAT, sTwo's cool! ^_^)

GO GO TANK POLICE! Errr...

I see new screenshots there, and a secret link to a new video?? I've downloaded it, seems like an introduction to Bonaparte and Newport Tank Police (Leona's team to be specific). If you haven't seen it, you should! Get it from sTwo (I couldnt find the link for this clip on Tank SWAT Official Site... when I visited, there was no update... >:( Oh and its 24MB-ish so if you're not on broadband be patient...)

Here's some screens from the video clip:

Click to view original size



Profiling the oh-so-sexy T-31 and the oh-so-shiny CANONS ^o^


Everybody's favourite yet notorious Puma Sisters!

Hmmm... well, a bit weird this one. A dolphin criminal? Hmmmm! Atleast the partners for the Tanks are confirmed: T-31 >> Leona - Anna, T-32>> Shinozaki - Habana, T-33>> Asada - Uni. That's Leona's unit. Difference here is that Uni has taken the place of one-monther Shimizu partnering Asada in T-33.

Ok, so now here's the strange bit. I dont know if this is a correct guess or not, but from sTwo-san's post it seems that he has got Tank SWAT on hand already! Think he reviewed it a bit too... If you're reading this sTwo, is this true? And HOW can I get a copy?? T_T Help~

Sorry I "borrowed" these screenshots from Shirowledge:

Tearing up the streets


Enemy / Criminal, I presume!


Leona's Unit, Tank Police

Has Tank SWAT been released? How will it be marketed? For sure, its some kind of a independent work by Romanov-Higa but I do hope that us fans outside Japan will have a chance to collect this. For now I reserve my comments. From the new clip sTwo posted, the overall feel is still really excited anticipation and it looks to be a stunner! ^_^ Seriously hoping to find out more about this...

Since my last post about TANK SWAT, the Official Site has been updated with a brand-new look and more proper contents. Now, we have News/Information, Story Summary, Production Credits List, and a Tank Depot section (under construction, but I think it should contain some Tank Swat goodies when done! ^_^). Anyway, the Trailer page has been taken off, and we shall see if it will be available again in the near future. But more urgently, now we await the pending release of TANK SWAT 01 in DVD, which should be real soon since the Test Screen in Osaka was done on 29th May 05.

Click to view original size

Tank Police Ready To Roll! ^_^

After what seemed to be an eternity of static at Seishinsha's Website, I honestly thought they forgot about Shirow Sensei. Well, not anymore. In today's update (27/5/05) Seishinsha Online finally added information on TANK SWAT 01, just a link to the Tank SWAT Official Website and a mention of Tank SWAT animator Romanov Higa.

"Based on DOMINION CONFLICT, [GUNGRAVE O.D.] etc animator Romanov Higa's [Tank Police TANK S.W.A.T. 01] CG animation is currently in progress and latest information is available here.
The latest Trailer is also available for download on the site".

Uhmm... yeah. That's basically what the update says (I think, hope I understood that correctly ^_^; Please correct me if I'm mistaken!)

Finally! Seishinsha Promotes Tank SWAT on its Official Website!