Katsuhiro Ōtomo Opens Feature Animation Studio Oval Gear
Ōtomo has not directed a feature since 2004, and a permanent studio signals a multi-project commitment rather than a single return.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Niche Gamer (Anime).
Director and manga artist Katsuhiro Ōtomo has founded a new animation studio called Oval Gear. The studio will focus on feature-length work. Its first project is already in production. The company is hiring animators and production staff as it builds out its team. Ōtomo is best known for the 1988 film Akira, which he directed and wrote based on his own manga. His other directing credits include the anthology Memories, the steampunk feature Steamboy, and the science-fiction story Roujin Z. He also contributed to Perfect Blue, the psychological thriller directed by the late Satoshi Kon. The formation of Oval Gear marks a return to feature animation for Ōtomo, whose last full-length directorial work was Steamboy in 2004. The studio name and its immediate hiring push suggest a permanent production base rather than a one-off project team. No release window or title for the first film has been shared.
Ōtomo announced the studio through a newly opened official website and a social media account. The site carries a message from the director stating, "I have decided to establish an animation studio to produce feature-length works." He added that the first project is already underway and that the studio is actively recruiting staff.
Oval Gear is structured as a corporation. Ōtomo is its representative director. The studio has not disclosed any financial backers or production partners, and no title or release date for the debut film has been given. The hiring call covers animators and production staff, which suggests the company is building an in-house pipeline rather than outsourcing the bulk of the work to other studios.
Ōtomo's last feature as director was Steamboy, which spent roughly a decade in production before its 2004 release. After that film, he directed the live-action feature Mushishi in 2006 and the short Combustible for the 2012 anthology Short Peace. Oval Gear is the first permanent studio he has founded. His previous feature projects were produced through external companies: Akira was made at Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Steamboy at Sunrise, and the Memories anthology at Studio 4°C.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network Akira's Katsuhiro Ōtomo Establishes New Feature Animation Studio Oval Gear
- Niche Gamer (Anime) Katsuhiro Otomo launches his own animation studio OVAL GEAR