Katsuhiro Otomo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Katsuhiro Otomo 大友 克洋
Otomo in 2016
Born	(1954-04-14) April 14, 1954 (age 71) Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Area(s)	Cartoonist, Writer
Notable works	Dōmu Akira Metropolis Steamboy
Awards	Seiun Award (1982, 1984) Nihon SF Taisho Award (1983) Kodansha Manga Award (1984) Will Eisner Award (1992, 2002) Harvey Award (1993) Annie Award (2014) Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême (2015)
Spouse(s)	Yoko
Children	Shohei Otomo

Katsuhiro Otomo (大友 克洋, Ōtomo Katsuhiro, born April 14, 1954) is a famous Japanese manga artist, writer, animator, and film director. He is most known for creating Akira. This includes both the original 1982 manga comic series and the 1988 animated movie.

Otomo has received many important awards. These include the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Japan's Purple Medal of Honor. He was also added to the American Eisner Award Hall of Fame. He was the first manga artist to win the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême in 2015. Otomo is married to Yoko Otomo, and they have a son named Shohei Otomo, who is also an artist.

Early Life and Manga Dreams

Katsuhiro Otomo was born in Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. He grew up in a very rural area. Because there wasn't much to do, he spent a lot of time reading manga.

As the only boy with sisters, he loved drawing manga by himself. He started thinking about becoming a manga artist. His parents let him buy one manga book a month. He often chose Shōnen magazine, which had famous series like Astro Boy.

Otomo copied drawings from these manga in elementary school. He learned how to draw manga properly after reading a book by Shotaro Ishinomori. This made him take drawing more seriously.

From High School to Professional Artist

In high school, Otomo became very interested in movies. He thought about becoming an illustrator or a film director. A friend introduced him to an editor at a publishing company.

The editor saw Otomo's manga and told him to get in touch after graduation. Otomo moved to Tokyo after high school. This is how he began his career as a professional manga artist.

Manga Career Highlights

Otomo published his first work on October 4, 1973. It was a manga story called A Gun Report. It was based on a short story by Prosper Mérimée.

Early Science Fiction Works

In 1979, Otomo created his first science fiction manga, Fireball. Even though it was never finished, it was important for his career. It explored themes he would use in his later, more famous works.

One of these works was Dōmu. This manga started in 1980 and ran until 1981. It won the Nihon SF Taisho Award in 1983 and the Seiun Award in 1984.

Otomo also worked with writer Toshihiko Yahagi on Kibun wa mō Sensō. This manga was about a fictional war. It won the 1982 Seiun Award.

Otomo posing on a replica of a futuristic motorcycle seen in his series Akira (2016)

The Success of Akira

In 1982, Otomo began his most famous work: Akira. He was asked to create a series for a new magazine. He didn't expect it to be a big success.

Akira was first planned to be only about ten chapters. But it became hugely popular. The series ran for eight years and had 2000 pages of artwork.

Later Manga Projects

In 1990, Otomo drew A Farewell to Weapons. This story was later part of a collection called Kanojo no Omoide.... He also created Hi no Yōjin in 1995, about firefighters in old Japan.

In 2002, Otomo wrote a picture book called Hipira: The Little Vampire. Shinji Kimura drew the pictures for it.

After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Otomo designed a special artwork. It shows a boy riding a robot goldfish. This art is at Sendai Airport and represents the region's strength.

In 2019, a project was announced to re-release all of Otomo's manga works. This project will restore them to their original versions. Otomo is personally overseeing this work.

Otomo has been working on a new long manga series since Akira. It is set in Japan's Meiji period. The story is still a secret, but he is working on a full-length project.

Film Directing and Animation

Otomo started making films when he was 25. He made a live-action film to learn about directing. In 1982, he started working in anime as a character designer for Harmagedon: Genma Wars.

Directing Animated Films

In 1987, Otomo directed his first animated work. It was a part of the movie Neo Tokyo. He also directed two parts of another movie called Robot Carnival that same year.

In 1988, he directed the famous animated film adaptation of his manga Akira. This movie became very popular around the world.

Otomo was also a producer for the 1995 movie Memories. This film was based on three of his stories. He wrote the scripts for two segments, Stink Bomb and Cannon Fodder. He also directed Cannon Fodder.

Other Film Projects

Otomo has worked a lot with the studio Sunrise. He directed a short film called Gundam: Mission to the Rise in 1998. Sunrise also produced his 2004 movie Steamboy.

He wrote the script for the 2001 animated film Metropolis. This movie was based on a manga by Osamu Tezuka.

In 2013, Otomo directed a short film called Combustible. It was part of an anthology called Short Peace. This film won a Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival.

Otomo announced in 2019 that he is writing and directing a new animated film. It is called Orbital Era and is based on his 2001 manga.

Otomo's Unique Style

Otomo said that when he started in the 1970s, most manga was about sports or action. He wanted to create science fiction manga that felt more real. He wanted to make stories that were believable and exciting.

Realistic Characters and Influences

Otomo first tried to draw like traditional manga artists, such as those who created Astro Boy. But he later wanted to draw characters with a more realistic art style. He tries to balance fantasy and realism in his work.

He said that the realistic look of his early works came from using his friends as models. The French artist Moebius, known for realistic characters, also influenced Otomo.

Otomo often includes nods to his favorite childhood manga. He greatly respected Osamu Tezuka, Shotaro Ishinomori, and Mitsuteru Yokoyama. For example, the main computer in Fireball is named ATOM, like Tezuka's character. The main character in Akira is called No. 28, like Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28-go.

Detailed Backgrounds and Mecha Designs

Since drawing the apartment complex in Domu, Otomo has been very interested in architecture. He puts a lot of effort into drawing detailed buildings. He believes this comes from Shigeru Mizuki's manga, which showed him how important backgrounds are.

When designing the robots (mecha) in Farewell to Weapons, Otomo was influenced by artists like Kazutaka Miyatake and Naoyuki Kato. He likes to mix different ideas to create his designs.

Otomo's Lasting Impact

Otomo's work became very influential in Japan around 1979. Many artists were influenced by him, including Naoki Urasawa and Masashi Kishimoto. Urasawa said that Otomo changed manga after Osamu Tezuka.

Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, said Otomo was one of his biggest influences. He especially liked Otomo's art style and tried to imitate it.

Otomo's manga also influenced many Japanese video game designers in the 1980s. Game creators for titles like Dragon Quest and Sokoban were inspired by his work.

Film director Satoshi Kon, who worked with Otomo, said Akira and Domu influenced him. American director Rian Johnson is also a big fan of Otomo's work.

In 2017, a book called Otomo: A Global Tribute to the Mind Behind Akira was published. It featured art and writing from 80 artists from around the world. In 2021, an art gallery in New York City held an exhibition of Otomo-inspired works.

Filmography

Anime Features

Anime Shorts

Live-action Films

Additional Work

Besides his own animated works, Otomo has helped with art designs for other projects. These include Harmagedon: Genma Wars and the Crusher Joe film. He also worked on the seven-part OVA series Freedom Project and an episode of Space Dandy.

He also oversaw the creation of the Spriggan animated film. He directed the music video Juku-Hatachi (じゅうくはたち) for the singer Aya Nakano.

Images for kids

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  France's 2016 Angoulême International Comics Festival hosted an exhibition of art created in tribute to Otomo.

See also

In Spanish: Katsuhiro Ōtomo para niños