Katsuhiro Otomo, director of beloved anime film Akira, has established a new animation studio known as OVAL GEAR. The studio, focused on feature films, is already working on its first movie.
In a statement, OVAL GEAR further outlined the two purposes for the studio’s creation. These are “to pass on to the new generation the filmmaking methods and authorial sensibility Katsuhiro Otomo has cultivated.” Further, the second purpose is to “produce new animated works for global release.” Currently, the studio is hiring animators and production staff for its first film. Check out the announcement post for the founding of OVAL GEAR below:
Lastly, MyAnimeList describes the Akira film as follows:
Japan, 1988. An explosion caused by a young boy with psychic powers tears through the city of Tokyo and ignites the fuse that leads to World War III. In order to prevent any further destruction, he is captured and taken into custody, never to be heard from again. Now, in the year 2019, a restored version of the city known as Neo-Tokyo—an area rife with gang violence and terrorism against the current government—stands in its place. Here, Shoutarou Kaneda leads “the Capsules,” a group of misfits known for riding large, custom motorcycles and being in constant conflict with their rivals “the Clowns.”
During one of these battles, Shoutarou’s best friend Tetsuo Shima is caught up in an accident with an esper who finds himself in the streets of Tokyo after escaping confinement from a government institution. Through this encounter, Tetsuo begins to develop his own mysterious abilities, as the government seeks to quarantine this latest psychic in a desperate attempt to prevent him from unleashing the destructive power that could once again bring the city to its knees.
