Published May 11, 2026, 1:20 PM EDT 12 years is a long time, but who's counting? Image: Katsuhiro Otomo/Toho Sign in to your Polygon.com account Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo has been keeping quiet when it comes to news about his next projects. It was announced that he'd be writing and directing a feature titled Orbital Era as far back as 2019, with Sunrise listed as the studio behind the film. As of today, however, Otomo has launched a new animation studio called Oval Gear . Does that mean more announcements are coming soon Orbital Era, or will this be a new project entirely? Inquiring minds want to know! Either way, it's been nearly thirteen years since Otomo's last work: the opening short Hi no Youjin for the 2013 anime anthology Short Peace. Regardless, his influence on the comics and film industries is impossible to deny. As part of Japan's manga New Wave in the 1970s, he worked as a mangaka for around a decade before dropping the seminal Akira , which ran from 1982-1990.…