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Akira's Otomo Reveals More About New Manga Series, New Film

The April 15 issue of Magazine House's Brutus magazine revealed more details about Katsuhiro Ōtomo's upcoming manga series — his first manga in a shōnen magazine, and his first long manga series since Akira — on Monday. In particular, the magazine's "Otomo Katsuhiro, Saikidō" (Katsuhiro Ōtomo, Restarts) feature listed five keywords about the new manga series:

In which magazine will the serialization begin?
Weekly Shonen Sunday

Where did [Otomo] research to prepare for the new series?
Kyoto

In which era is the story set?
Meiji Era

Which material did [Otomo] skim?
Bakumatsu Meiji Hyaku Monogatari ("One Hundred Stories Set in the Bakumatsu and Meiji Eras," a historical book written by Hirotaka Ichiyanagi and Mizuki Kondō)

About how long did it take to conceive this?
Four years

According to Brutus, Otomo plans to draw the manga entirely himself with no assistants.

The magazine also provided more information about Short Peace, the new anime anthology inspired by Otomo's work. It took one year to produce "Hi-no-youjin," the 13-minute segment that Otomo is directing himself at Sunrise. He based this segment on his Hi no Yōjin manga short about people caught in the Great Edo Fire of 1657. This segment will have its world premiere at France's Annecy, the world's largest animation festival, in June.

The different stories in Short Peace are based on the themes of Japanese culture and climate. Four directors, including Otomo himself, are handling the different segments of the anthology, and he plans to show Short Peace in theaters. Yasumasa Tsuchiya (Steamboy, Freedom, King of Thorn,
Hipira: The Little Vampire) is producing the project at Sunrise.

Brutus covered the creation of "Otomo Katsuhiro GENGA," the new exhibition devoted to Otomo's works that will open in Tokyo next Monday. The magazine's Otomo feature also includes an discussion between Otomo and fellow manga creator Takehiko Inoue (Slam Dunk, Vagabond), a primer booklet to Otomo's works, Akira stickers, and an interview with Otomo himself.

Source: animeanime.jp via Manga News