[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/otomo_6.jpg]]

Mangaka-turned director Katsuhiro Otomo (born April 14, 1954) has been working in the field of manga since the 1970s. His first "short stories" were published in 1973, while he was still in college; three of his more famous short pieces were adapted into the film ''Memories'' in 1995. Between 1980 and 1982, he published ''Manga/{{Domu}}: A Child's Dream,'' which contained themes and imagery he would expand on in his six-volume magnum opus, ''{{Manga/Akira}}''. Afterwards, he releases ''Manga/TheLegendOfMotherSarah'' which he wrote but didn't draw (Takumi Nagayasu did), an eleven-volumes series that further elaborates on the themes of its predecessors but from a different perspective and concludes the cycle.

After taking charge of a film adaptation of ''AKIRA'', Otomo made the jump from comic artist to film director; to date, he has six feature-length animations and two live-action movies (''World Apartment Horror'', 1991; and ''Mushishi'', 2006) to his credit. In 2012, he announced his plan to return with a {{Shonen}} manga set in Japan's Meiji period. This will be his first full-length series since ''The Legend of Mother Sarah'', although it appears to be in DevelopmentHell.

His dark, obsessively detailed CyberPunk style has influenced dozens of artists, both in and outside of Japan. The film adaptation of ''AKIRA'' was a breakthrough success in the west and ushered forward an interest in anime in mainstream Western cinema, as well as a "second wave" of popularity among anime fans. His signature artstyle, as seen in ''Domu'' and ''AKIRA'', is also notable for averting {{Mukokuseki}}, as characters are drawn with convincing ethnic features.

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[[index]]
Notable manga:
* ''Highway Star'' (collected shorter pieces), 1979
* ''Fireball'' (unfinished), 1978-1979
* ''Apple Paradise'' (unfinished), 1980
* ''Manga/{{Domu}}'', 1980-1982
* ''{{Manga/Akira}}'', 1984-1990
* ''Manga/TheLegendOfMotherSarah'' (writer), 1990-2006
* The ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'' short "The Third Mask", 1996.
* [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-03-25/akira-katsuhiro-otomo-prepares-manga-series-in-shonen-mag A yet unnamed]] {{Shonen}} manga set in Japan's Meiji period.

Notable films:
* ''Anime/GenmaWars'' (character design), 1982
* ''Anime/NeoTokyo1987'': "Construction Cancellation Order" a/k/a "The Order To Stop Construction", 1987
* ''Anime/RobotCarnival'': segments "Coming Soon" and "See You Again", 1987
* ''AKIRA'', 1988
* ''Anime/RoujinZ'', 1991
* ''Katsuhiro Otomo's {{Anime/Memories}}'' (based on his stories, wrote and directed segment "Cannon Fodder"), 1995
* ''Spriggan'', 1998
* ''Osamu Tezuka's Anime/Metropolis2001'' (screenplay), 2001
* ''Anime/{{Steamboy}}'', 2004
* ''Anime/ShortPeace'', 2013 (Directed "Combustible" segment, wrote original manga of "A Farewell to Arms" segment)

Clearly was involved with:
* ''Anime/FreedomProject'', 2006
[[/index]]
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