Katsuhiro Otomo said in an interview in this year's 22nd issue of Shogakukan 's Big Comic magazine on Saturday that he is working on a new manga.

The interviewer asked if he is writing a new manga, or if there is a manga he would like to write. Otomo quickly answered, "Of course there is!" and went on to say it's a full-length work, but the contents are secret. He added that he feels stuck when it comes to putting his pencil to paper, but that he is finding enjoyment in working away at it.

Otomo revealed in 2012 that he was preparing his first long series since Akira . He said the same year that the manga would take place in the Meiji Era and that he would work on the manga himself without assistants. The manga was supposed to debut that fall in Shogakukan 's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine, but it was delayed, and Otomo said that the target audience may be older than Weekly Shonen Sunday 's .

Otomo began his career as a manga creator on such works as Domu , Kibun wa mō Sensō , and his most famous title internationally, Akira . He then branched into animation by directing part of the Robot Carnival omnibus and a feature film adaptation of his own Akira story. He directed other anime projects such as the Memories omnibus, the Gundam: Mission to the Rise event short, and the Steamboy feature. He also collaborated on Harmagedon , Roujin Z , Spriggan , Metropolis , Freedom Project and Hipira: The Little Vampire .