© 1998 Shirow Masamune

What do you think of when you hear the name Shirow Masamune? Cyberpunk stories? Sharp visual illustrations? How about the lusciously-drawn females that are a common factor in most of his works?
Ever since the release of the Shirow's first artbook titled INTRON DEPOT, rumors about a second volume spread like wildfire, no doubt fueled by the fans' demand for Shirow's character illustrations. The fans may now rejoice, for after many years, the second volume INTRON DEPOT 2—BLADES was released just recently.
A lot has changed since the first volume. As the subtitle "Blades" suggests, INTRON DEPOT 2 features a strong fantasy influence. Gone are most of the cyberpunk mecha and futuristic body armor, replaced by swords and mystical creatures. One thing hasn't changed—a lot of the female characters are dressed in rather skimpy getups. A more appropriate name for INTRON DEPOT 2—BLADES might have been "Babes." Shirow is certainly a capable artist, but one has to wonder if he gets out much.
Shirow also seems to have fallen prey to the lure of computer graphics. A lot of the backgrounds are CG renderings, and many of the character illustrations are shaded by computer applications as well. Shirow used to mess up with color schemes occasionally, and the use of computers seems to have allowed for some experimentation, resulting in better color matches this time around. But some of the illustrations feel a tad artificial, lacking the brushstrokes and texture of traditional materials. This reader found himself wondering if the use of computer graphics was indeed an improvement, but your response may vary.
All in all, the book features plenty of well-drawn and (ahem) appealing female character illustrations, and if you're a Shirow Masamune fan then you definitely owe it to yourself to purchase this book. One note of caution before I go: the illustrations for the GHOST IN THE SHELL Playstation game as well as Shirow's work for EXON DEPOT have been released in separate artbooks, and aren't included in INTRON DEPOT 2.

Seishinsha Co, Ltd.
ISBN4-87892-156-0
¥2800
Available Now
Where to buy