Masanori Ota (太田正典, Ōta Masanori, born November 23, 1961), better known by his pen name Masamune Shirow (士郎 正宗, Shirō Masamune), is a Japanese manga artist. Shirow is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell, which has since been turned into three theatrical anime films, two anime television series, an anime television movie, an anime ONA series, a theatrical live action movie, and several video games.