Rintaro is the director of Metropolis and Galaxy Express 999, now at work on a new Galaxy Express 999 feature, and will appear at the Busan International Film Festival's new anime strand.
Rintaro's recent output centers on two threads: his long-anticipated return to filmmaking and his festival presence. In June 2026 he released his first film in over a decade, a 24-minute animated short based on a lost 1933 project by Sadao Yamanaka. The short, free to watch online, uses silent-film intertitles, benshi-style narration, and character designs by Katsuhiro Otomo and Yoshinori Kanemori to imagine the vanished work.
By September 2026, Rintaro's name appears at the Busan International Film Festival, where he is listed among the curators and participants of a new anime strand. The festival is pairing 12 anime films with Paul Grimault's European classic, spanning works from Taiji Yabushita's The White Snake Enchantress to Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg, Rintaro's own Metropolis, and new titles from Shingo Natsume and Ryo Katanosaka. Rintaro is confirmed to appear in person, while currently working on a new Galaxy Express 999 feature.
No other stories in this cluster address Rintaro directly. The Steins;Gate stories mention a character named Rintaro Okabe, but that is a fictional persona, not the director, and those stories carry no information about him. The MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL story names a Rintaro Fuse, a different individual. Coverage on Rintaro as a creator is limited to the short film and the Busan announcement.
Written with AI from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced.
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22h ago
The Japanese government has selected director Rintaro as one of its Persons of Cultural Merit for fiscal 2026. Rintaro, whose real name is Shigeyuki Hayashi, is 85. The citation credits his contributions to the development of television animation through works such as Astro Boy. He directed the 1979 Galaxy Express 999 film, its Adieu Galaxy Express 999 follow-up, and the Emeraldas special, and he is handling the original story draft for Toei Animation's new film based on Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999 franchise. His other directing credits include Harmagedon, X/1999, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, The Dagger of Kamui, Metropolis and Yona Yona Penguin. His autobiographical manga My Life in 24 Frames per Second won the Grand Prize at the 29th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and was nominated for Best Graphic Memoir at the 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Madhouse congratulated him on its official X account.
Sep 2
The Busan International Film Festival has added a curated anime strand to its 31st edition. Titled Japanese Animation Special: Masterpieces of Madness, Exhilarating Prospects 12+1, the program pairs 12 anime films with one European classic, Paul Grimault's The King and the Mockingbird. The selection spans Taiji Yabushita's The White Snake Enchantress, Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix 2772, Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg, Rintaro's Metropolis, and new works from Shingo Natsume and Ryo Katanosaka. Rintaro, now working on a new Galaxy Express 999 feature, will appear at the festival.
Jul 26
Toei Animation announced on Saturday that it is producing a new theatrical anime film based on Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999 franchise. Anime director Rintarō, who directed the original 1979 Galaxy Express 999 film and its sequel Adieu Galaxy Express 999, is handling the original story draft for the new project. The announcement was made by Leijisha, the company managing Matsumoto's estate. No director, release date, or further production details have been disclosed. The original Galaxy Express 999 television anime ran for 113 episodes from 1978 to 1981, and the 1979 film was an alternate retelling. The franchise has since spawned multiple movies, specials, and OVAs. The story follows orphan Tetsuro Hoshino as he travels across the galaxy on a space train with the mysterious Maetel, seeking a cybernetic body. Two key franchise figures died earlier this year: voice actress Masako Ikeda, who voiced Maetel, passed away on March 3 at age 87, and composer Nozomi Aoki died on February 20 at age 94. A Leiji Matsumoto exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Galaxy Express 999 has been touring Japan since June 2025.
Jun 3
Rintaro, director of Metropolis and Galaxy Express 999, has released his first film in over a decade: a 24-minute animated short based on a lost 1933 project by pioneering filmmaker Sadao Yamanaka. The short is free to watch online and uses silent-film intertitles, benshi-style narration, and character designs by Katsuhiro Otomo and Yoshinori Kanemori to imagine what Yamanaka's vanished work might have looked like.