[2] Born in the Hyōgo Prefecture capital city of Kobe, he studied oil painting at Osaka University of Arts.
His work caught the eye of Seishinsha [jp] President Harumichi Aoki, who offered to publish him.
The result was best-selling[3] manga Appleseed, a full volume of densely plotted drama taking place in an ambiguous future.
His work often explores the philosophical themes of cyberpunk such as the nature of post-human existence, AI and the ethics of biotechnology, human–machine relations, multiculturalism, and globalism.
Galgrease (published in Uppers Magazine, 2002) is the collected name of several hentai manga and poster books by Shirow.