Katsuhiro Ōtomo Launches OVAL GEAR in Tokyo, With First Feature Already in Production

You know that feeling when a name from your anime history suddenly moves again, like a city waking up before dawn. That happened this week: Katsuhiro Ōtomo announced he has founded a new feature animation studio in Tokyo called OVAL GEAR. And yes, its first work is already in production.

I still remember being a Korean kid growing up in Mexico, finding Akira on a scratched disc at a local tianguis. I didn’t have the words for what I felt, but my chest got tight anyway. It was like someone opened a metal door inside my head. If you’ve carried something like that from Ōtomo’s work, you understand why this studio news lands heavy.

OVAL GEAR: a new studio, a real production underway

OVAL GEAR is based in Tokyo, and the studio confirmed two concrete things right away:

• The first title is currently in production.
• They are hiring animators and production staff.

It’s not framed as a distant plan. It’s framed like a workshop with the lights already on.

Two goals: passing the craft forward, aiming at the world

The studio described its founding with a clear direction—like a compass you can actually hold:

• To pass on the filmmaking methods and authorial sensibility Ōtomo has cultivated over decades, specifically to a new generation.
• To produce new animated works intended for global release.

If you work in animation, you know what it means when a studio talks about craft like inheritance. It’s not just a project; it’s a hand reaching back and forward at the same time.

The road that led here: manga, films, and collaborations

Ōtomo’s career began in manga, including titles like Domu and Kibun wa mō Sensō, before the work that traveled the world: Akira. From there, he expanded into animation and film direction, including:

• Directing part of the Robot Carnival omnibus
• Directing the feature film Akira
• Directing the Memories omnibus
• Directing the Gundam: Mission to the Rise event short
• Directing the feature Steamboy

He also collaborated on projects including Harmagedon, Roujin Z, Spriggan, Metropolis, Freedom Project, and Hipira: The Little Vampire.

Where does Orbital Era fit into this?

Back in 2019, Ōtomo announced the film Orbital Era with Sunrise, described as a space science-fiction coming-of-age story set on a space colony across four seasons of the year. He is credited for the original work and design works, and he is also writing the screenplay and directing.

Since that 2019 announcement, there has been no further update on Orbital Era. The OVAL GEAR logo looks similar to the art revealed for that film in 2019, but there is no confirmation that the studio’s first project is connected to Orbital Era.

Your next step: watch, share, or apply

If you want to keep this on your radar, do it intentionally. Don’t let it slip away like a train you heard but didn’t see.

• If you’re in the industry: look for OVAL GEAR hiring details and prepare your materials.
• If you’re a fan: follow OVAL GEAR updates and track announcements about the first production.
• Tell me directly: which title pulled you in first—Akira, Steamboy, or something else?

And if you’re like me—carrying two cultures in your voice—save this moment. It feels like a new page turning, and you deserve to be there while the ink is still wet.