Episode Details

Episode 119 - Appleseed by Masamune Shirow

Published 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Description

In a world ravaged by war, two mercenaries named Deunan and Briareos accept an offer to live in a mysterious metropolis known as Olympus. Once inside the city, the two end up joining the city police force, but can't seem to shake the feeling something isn't right about the supposed utopia... And just maybe, this life isn't better than the one they left behind scavenging beyond the city walls!

On this week's episode, Mat is joined once again by writer and artist, Ian Sta. Maria to discuss Masamune Shirow's debut work, Appleseed! With the new omnibus editions from Dark Horse about to hit shelves, we thought now was the perfect time to crack out our old (flipped!) copies and talk about what makes the book so special. We get into Shirow's incredible creative vision, where his love of drawing ladies took his career, and how we feel about a story thats as hard sci-fi as you're likely to see on the pages of a manga!

---

Show Notes

---

First up! A correction - Mat says on the podcast that nobody knows Shirow's real name, but it is in fact Masanori Ota!

---

Shirow Interviews:

KABOOM! Explosive Animation from America & Japan" exhibition (listification)

Masamune Shirow, Interviewed by Trish Ledoux (1993)

Dark Horse interview with Masamune Shirow (1995)

Toren Smith's Interview with Masamune Shirow (geocities)

Link to Mat's reel of the Masamune Shirow Exhibit in Tokyo (2025)

---

Manga