Akira and Steamboy director Katsuhiro Otomo’s film Combustible was just honored with the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival’s Grand Prize for Animation. “The fictional story, inspired by incidents such as the Great Fire of Meireiki (also known as the Furisode or Long-Sleeved Kimono Fire) and the Great Fire of Greengrocer Oshichi, is depicted in an ornate and dramatic manner”, says the Festival. Ignited by the traditional style of Japanese painting as inspiration, the short is a stunning combination of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation.