Anime Expo: Akira Creator Teases New Movie Announcement

With Anime Expo ready to swing open the doors and welcome thousands of anime fans into its halls, [...]

By Evan Valentine

With Anime Expo ready to swing open the doors and welcome thousands of anime fans into its halls, the popular convention has a surprise in store hanging right outside its hallways! A large banner, photographed by Comicbook.com's very own Megan Peters, hung outside the Los Angeles Convention Center, promoting an upcoming movie project from Akira creator, Katsuhiro Otomo. Though little is known right now about the project, we're sure to hear more from Otomo himself who is attending the Expo this week!

Megan Peters posted the photograph from her Twitter Account that teases the legendary anime creator's upcoming project, displaying a young boy or girl, clad in a space suit with "CCCP" stamped on their helmet and a skateboard held under their arm:

For those wondering, "CCCP" refers to the Russian abbreviation for the Soviet Union, so one is led to believe that this upcoming project could deal in our world, or perhaps an alternate universe version of it, either in the past or the present. Considering how Akira seemed to be a reflection of our world, but with a more cyberpunk theme to the proceedings, this upcoming movie could be taking a page from that environment and presenting a new interpretation of a familiar setting.

Katsuhiro Otomo
(Photo: Katsuhiro Otomo)

Katsuhiro Otomo was announced as a "guest of honor" at the Anime Expo, originally promising to reveal some news with regards to upcoming projects that he was working on. It seems, that from the banner displayed for all attendees to see, that the legendary creator is already well underway on creating his next anime blockbuster.

What do you think this new project from the creator of Akira could be? What clues do you think you can decipher from the character appearing on the banners outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Otomo!

Originally created by Katsuhiro Otomo for Kodansha's Young Magazine in 1982, Akira later inspired the equally as prolific 1988 animated film, which Otomo himself directed. The story is set in a dystopian world following the bleak close of World War III. A gang leader known as Kaneda finds himself embroiled in a massive government operation when his best friend begins exhibiting powerful telekinetic gifts. To save his friend, Kaneda must get to the bottom of Neo Tokyo's espers, but the lead quickly learns he is way in over his head.

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