Katsuhiro Otomo doesn’t have a studio tied to his name. He has done many movies for/with many studios, so he has a section to himself. Otomo’s work varies from good for family to barely good for public consumption. Of course, only his best works will be listed here. Otomo is a ridiculously experienced anime director and the quality of his work is always quite evident.

Akira (1988)
Akira (アキラ)

One of the most critically acclaimed anime movies ever created. Adored by both critics and anime buffs alike. Except me. While I recognize that Otomo went way beyond any of the anime of the time, in both story and animation complexity, I just don’t think that it really deserves the reverence that it often heralds. It can seem like it is very, very long. Mostly due to the fact that it is 124 minutes long, but also because the story line spends itself after the first hour. Otomo then departs into the realm of the surreal and doesn’t come out again for the rest of the movie. The animation is starting to look dated in this anime, so if you’re picky about such things, then it would be good to see it as soon as possible. I think that you should save this movie until you already have a good appreciation for Otomo’s work, because then you’ll know a little more about what to expect from this movie. Anime that plays out like a bad dream can be a good thing, but this is one movie that leaves me wanting to wake up long before it’s over.

Roujin Z (1991)
Roujin Z (老人Z)

This anime showcases the lighter side of Katsuhiro Otomo quite well. It has decent amounts of both charm and humour as well as some of the fancy robots that Katsuhiro likes so much. The story follows an old man and the college student who was his care-worker as he is conscripted into a government-run beta test of a new machine designed to automatically tend to needy old people. The machine doesn’t work like it’s supposed to, though. Overall good times, worth the watch, but not as much as some of Otomo’s other masterpieces.

Memories (1995)
Memori (メモリ)

These are a bit weird. I wouldn’t suggest them to anyone new to anime, but anyone reasonably well-acquainted with anime’s propensity for the odd will love these. The first in the series of three is a space sci-fi called “Magnetic Rose”. This is my favourite of the three. It has an awesome storyline, beautiful animation, and enough weird to kill a yak. The second in the series is called “Stink Bomb”. This is a funny story with an emphasis on smell jokes as opposed to art direction. It’s still quite good. Lastly, we have “Cannon Fodder”. This is a funky one set in a war-torn city akin to something from a George Orwell book. It follows a boy who idolizes his dad who is one of hundreds of people who operate a large cannon that is used to fire into seemingly empty space. This one is very, very stylized and does not cut from the scene once. The camera just kind of moves from scene to scene instead. Overall, these three anime movies are a great package, and can be enjoyed by pretty much everyone (note: Satoshi Kon worked closely with Katsuhiro Otomo to make this movie happen).

Metropolis (2001)
Metoroporisu (メトロポリス)

This is just an amazing anime, and was the movie that made me love and appreciate the work of Katsuhiro Otomo. Placed firmly in the genre of “action-sci-fi-tragedy”, the movie explores how fine the line is between human and machine in a fictional future. The animation style for this movie is most aptly described as a “super-slick Astro Boy” (primarily because it’s based on a manga from Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy), and the the widely varied environments within the movie are all presented superbly. Definitely a must-see for anime fans, and a good introduction to both anime and Katsuhiro Otomo for anyone else.

Steamboy (2004)
Suchīmubōi (スチームボーイ)

No, it’s not a hentai, it’s about the power of steam. The premise of this movie is that steam is a ridiculously powerful source of energy (which it kind of actually is when you think about it) and that in Manchester, England a boy named James Ray Steam ends up receiving a metal ball filled with ridiculously concentrated steam from his grandfather, Lloyd Steam. He can’t let it fall into the wrong hands or its immense power could be used to take over the world (or something of that sort). This movie features top-notch animation, great voice-acting (especially in the English version, surprisingly), and a story that is easily comprehended by Western audiences. While Otomo does have surreal works that even rival some of Satoshi Kon’s, this is most certainly not one of them. I think that this is the best movie from Otomo (perhaps tied with Metropolis), but a lot of anime-watchers will insist that Akira was his greatest work.