THE
AMBIENT
MASAMUNE
SHIROW
SPACE


On January 28, 1998, I interviewed Masamune Shirow,
the brilliant creator of Appleseed, Orion, Ghost in the Shell
and other famous manga, in the city of Kobe, a few hours south
of Tokyo by train. Mr. Shirow is a very private person,
and doesn't permit photographs of himself, but I wanted
to at least see places in Kobe that might have
influenced his work, or perhaps appeared as backgrounds
in his drawings. His good friend and editor, Shigehiko
Ogasawara, of Seishinsha, graciously agreed to take me
on a tour of the city. The environmental photos
that resulted do not contain any images of
Masamune Shirow. They may or may not be regarded as
cryptic clues to the inner workings of his creative mind.

For those interested, an edited form of the original interview
with Mr. Shirow appears in the inaugural issue of Manga Max
magazine, on sale November 30, 1998. This publication from
the Titan Group is edited by Jonathan Clements, and was
formerly known as Manga Mania. It can be ordered in the
U.K. through +44 (0)1536-760306, and is also distributed
in the U.S.A. and Canada. A longer draft of the interview
is viewable by clicking here.

--Frederik L. Schodt--
(For inquiring minds: photo date stamps are San Francisco time, therefore one day off).


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Copyright 1998, Frederik L. Schodt
Revised -- October 4, 1998