Born in Miyagi Prefecture in 1954, Katsuhiro Otomo began as a manga artist at nineteen and became a leader of the 1970s new wave of manga with Dōmu and Akira. He directed the animated film of Akira (1988), the film that opened anime to Western audiences, and went on to make Steamboy (2004) and the live-action Mushishi (2006). He wrote the script for Metropolis (2001) and directed the short Combustible (2013), a love story set in the Edo period which was shortlisted for an Oscar. He was the first manga artist to receive the Grand Prix of the Angoulême festival.
Filmography
- Akira (1988)
- World Apartment Horror (1991)
- Steamboy (2004)
- Mushishi (2006)
- Combustible (2013)