Katsuhiro Ootomo

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Best-known as the creator of the manga series Akira, and its 1988 film adaptation.

While he was in high school he was fascinated with movies, often taking a three-hour train ride during school holidays just to see them. After having graduated high school in 1973, he left Miyagi, heading to Tokyo with the hopes of becoming a mangaka. He made his debut later on the same year with a manga adaptation of Prosper Mérimée's short novel Mateo Falcone, titled A Gun Report. In 1979, after writing multiple short-stories for the magazine Action, Ootomo created his first science-fiction work, titled Fireball. Although the manga was never completed, it is regarded as a milestone in Ootomo's career, containing many of the same themes he would later explore in Doumu, which began serialization in January 1980 and ran for two years until completed.

In 1982, Ootomo made his anime debut as character designer on Harmagedon. After this Ootomo began working on Akira, which would become his most acclaimed and famous work. The manga took eight years to complete and would eventually culminate in 2000 pages of artwork.