Masamune Shirow. Where did it all go wrong?

[Hawkmumbler]

Just finished off the second volume of Appleseed, IMHO Shirows best work besides GITS. Just when did he stop writing such great works as these and Orion (some of the best comics ever concieved IMHO) and start doing nothing above "niche" porn? I know the guy's a recluse but, come on, surely a follow up to Black Magic isn't to much to ask in between Intron Depot pin-ups. 

[Professor Bear]

The "niche" elements creating a link between sex and technology were a part of Shirow's work even before he moved onto his Galgrease projects.  Motoko Kusanagi is arguably the best example of this fetish, or robo-prozzies AnnaPuma and UniPuma, though any mix of mecha and fanservice might be viewed as fitting the bill - does the M66 cyborg killing machine really need boobies?

[SIP]

He was always into technical detail, military hardware, philosophy and convoluted detail. I loved appleseed and was a hardcore shirow fan during my  1990's Japanese comics phase but he started to lose me with Orion. I love the art work in the book but he became increasingly a grind to read from this point for me. I also think the intron depot books got worse with each release (one of them is a real disappointment).

Still, all theappleseed, Orion, black magic, dominion, ghost in the shell  and intron depots sit happily on my bookshelf and still get picked up when I'm lacking a bit of inspiration.

[Hawkmumbler]

Herm...interesting. I always agreed that sexuality was integral to his art (There's the "slippery butt" scene in Orion for starters) but it never felt overly pornographic, which is evidently the path he has strayed down in recent years. A new series wouldn't go amiss is all, he's still a master in the art department IMHO.

[Robert Frazer]

I loved appleseed and was a hardcore shirow fan during my  1990's Japanese comics phase but he started to lose me with Orion.

Orion intrigued me more than it engaged me. I found the book very interesting, not so much for the story or art but more for it providing a window into Buddhist cosmology.