Inazuma Inc. announced today that ePaperCraft SHIRYU, a digital papercraft design software developed by Takahiro Yonemura, Ph.D., is now available worldwide on Steam, following its earlier release on the Microsoft Store. The software enables users to design 3D models on a PC, automatically unfold them into printable templates, and assemble them with paper, scissors, and glue. It includes more than 70 ready-to-build models, and users retain the right to use their original creations commercially.
The original version of the software, known in Japan as "Paper Dragon," was selected as a Jury Recommended Work at the 10th Japan Media Arts Festival hosted by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and its underlying research was published in the NICOGRAPH technical journal. The Steam release represents an expanded successor refined over two decades of development. It has been used successfully by elementary school students while offering depth for hobbyists, educators, makers, and artists who engage in careful manual work and inventive model design.
Notably, no generative AI was used to create the included models or the program code. The software emphasizes the hands-on process of designing, printing, and assembling physical objects, contrasting with instant digital generation.
Developer Takahiro Yonemura is also the author of the sci-fi manga "Beast Code" (eigoMANGA, 2022) and "Recycled Brain" (eigoMANGA, 2025-2026), both published commercially in the United States and covered by Anime News Network. His English-language book "The Metal Brain" was distributed to 12 countries under a Japanese government support program in 2019. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and lectures at a university of science and technology in Japan.
Yonemura commented, "People ask why an engineering PhD writes manga and folds paper. I say: a scientist's job is to turn imagination into something real. SHIRYU turns a screen into scissors, glue, and a creature on your desk."
ePaperCraft SHIRYU is available on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/4912480/ePaperCraft_SHIRYU/ and more information can be found on the official website at https://craft.inazuma7.co.jp/index_en.html.
