A juggernaut in the world of manga and animation, Katsuhiro Otomo is synonymous with his magnum opus, Akira—the original comic and its 1998 film adaptation. Like the great Osamu Tezuka before him, Otomo has regularly ventured into cinema through screenwriting or directing adaptations of his own works. One such work is the 1995 beloved anthology film, Memories, which features a collection of his short stories adapted for the big screen. Otomo himself directed the segment Cannon Fodder and oversaw the film’s other segments.

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He’s no stranger to anthology films either, having contributed to Neo Tokyo and Robot Carnival beforehand. His last big screen animated effort was 2004’s Steamboy, but he’s played his hand at directing live-action films with 2006’s Mushi-Shi. Like many of his contemporaries, Katsuhiro Otomo refuses to be nailed down.