I'm a librarian who loves anime, manga, and reading a wide variety of genres.
A thing I'm wondering, in relation to The Last Firewall: Is there any precedent for a name like Shizoko being used for a male? Hertling definitely uses male pronouns for Shizoko. So far, my Googling has turned up two female Shizokos, but I haven't found any men yet.
ETA: Point for me. My friend's husband says that is a very odd choice for a male character's name. And also a kind of odd choice, period, since ShiZUko is more common.