Born in the
Hyōgo Prefecture capital city of
Kobe, he studied oil painting at
Osaka University of Arts. While in college, he developed an interest in
manga, which led him to create his own complete work,
Black Magic, which was published in the manga
dōjinshi Atlas. His work caught the eye of President Harumichi Aoki, who offered to publish him. The result was best-selling manga
Appleseed, a full volume of densely plotted drama taking place in an ambiguous future. The story was a sensation, and won the 1986
Seiun Award for Best Manga. After a professional reprint of
Black Magic and a second volume of
Appleseed, he released
Dominion in 1986. Two more volumes of
Appleseed followed before he began work on
Ghost in the Shell. His work has been cited as an influence on
The Wachowskis and the development of the popular
Matrix film series. In 2007, he collaborated again with
Production I.G to co-create the original concept for the anime television series
Ghost Hound, Production I.G's 20th anniversary project. A further original collaboration with Production I.G began airing in April 2008, titled
Real Drive. 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. ==Bibliography==