This is the official catalog art book for ‘The World Of Shirow Masamune Manga Exhibition’ (士郎正宗の世界展) held at the Setagaya Literary Museum in Tokyo, Japan from April 12th to October 17th 2025. The book collects all the original manga drawings, colored illustrations and other exhibits that were showcased at the event. I visited the exhibition on May 9th and will write more about it in an upcoming post.

At the Shirow Masamune / Ghost In The Shell genga exhibition and getting misty eyed seeing all his original drawings. Absolutely manga hall of fame stuff. ?? pic.twitter.com/Gyp0RdfEGx

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 9, 2025

In order to include the sheer amount of drawings and art work that were on display at the exhibition, not all the genga ( original manga drawings ) are reproduced at full size, but only select pieces. This is understandable as I estimate the book would have been at least three times as thick otherwise, and cost prohibitive to print and sell. That said, the pieces that are printed (close) to their original size are stunning in quality; you can check out some of them in my preview images below.

Please note that this book is not to be confused with the other art book that was also released around the same time in conjunction with the exhibition, the giant sized ‘Shirow Masamune Art Works In The Shell’, which is a big compilation of the artist’s best illustrations from all his manga work.

A flip-through preview of the Shirow Masamune genga art exhibition catalog sold only at the museum. Collects all the original manga panels & illustrations shown. There’s some overlapping content with the other new Shirow art book, but not much. Will review the book soon. pic.twitter.com/5KOvkjEp2X

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) May 17, 2025

By virtue of Shirow’s magnificent manga drawings this is an absolutely gorgeous volume to have, and indeed the first time any of his original work have been reproduced in a book at number, and close to their true size. Very highly recommended.

And now for the bad news – this book isn’t widely available and are not on sale in bookstores ( online or physical, even in Japan ). It is only available at the museum and if you visit the exhibition.

That said, some Ebay and Amazon Japan Marketplace sellers do carry it, but predictably at a much higher price. For reference, the original listed price is 3800 yen before GST ( about $26 USD ). If you are absolutely determined to get a copy still, at least you have these options to consider.

Another question I’ve been asked is the amount of content overlap that this book and ‘Shirow Masamune Art Works In The Shell’ have, and the answer is – very little. This catalog book includes mostly original manga drawings, and the latter mostly color illustrations.

“The World Of Shirow Masamune Manga Exhibition Catalog Art Book 士郎正宗の世界展 公式図録” details :

– Dimensions – 29.7 × 22.6 cm
– Softcover, 192 pages
– Full color, in Japanese

Buy From Amazon.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

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