Additional good news to those who plan to go to Anime Expo in Los Angeles: the creator of cult classic Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo, was just revealed as one of the guests in the event!
Otomo began his career as a manga artist in 1973, when he published A Gun Report, a manga adaptation of Prosper Merimee’s short novel Mateo Falcone. He created his first science-fiction work entitled Fireball but never got to finish it. He eventually worked on Domu, which became successful and even won him the Nihon SF Taisho Award.
In 1982 Otomo started working in anime, debuting as a character designer for the animated film Harmagedon. The next year saw him starting work on his critically-acclaimed and most famous work, Akira, which finished serialization in 1990. In 1988, the Akira animated film was released to huge commercial and critical success. Since the Akira film, Otomo has exclusively worked in anime.
It was recently announced that Akira’s Hollywood live-action adaptation has just been greenlit. The film will be produced by the Leonardo di Capriio-owned Appian Way and will be directed by Thor: Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi. The film is slated for a May 21, 2021 release.
Besides Otomo, Anime Expo will also be guesting other well-known personalities in the anime industry. Ouran High School Host Club author Bisco Hatori was previously announced as a guest, as well as Love Live! Sunshine!!’s 2.5D idol group Aqours. The event will also guest singer Kanako Ito, composer Yoshihiro Ike, Azur Lane illustrator Hao, voice actresses Saya Horigome (Cleveland in Azur Lane) and Asuka Itou (San Diego in Azur Lane), and Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono, among many others.
Anime Expo will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on July 4-7, 2019, with a pre-show night on July 3.
Source: Anime News Network