News
Japan Honors Director Rintarō as Person of Cultural Merit
posted on by Adriana Hazra
Rintarō's real name is Shigeyuki Hayashi. The director is currently 85 years old.
The director is in charge of the original story draft for Toei Animation's new anime film based on Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999 franchise. He previously directed the 1979 Galaxy Express 999 film, the Adieu Galaxy Express 999 film, and the Galaxy Express 999: Emeraldas: The Eternal Warrior special.
He directed the silent film short "Yamanaka Sadao ni Sasageru Manga Eiga 'Nezumikozō Jirokichi'" ("Manga Cinema dedicated to Sadao Yamanaka 'NEZUMIKOZO JIROKICHI'"), his first directorial work in 14 years, and it screened at the 1st Niigata International Animation Film Festival in March 2023.
Aside from Galaxy Express 999, Rintarō directed such works as Harmagedon, X/1999, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, The Dagger of Kamui, Yona Yona Penguin, and Metropolis, and personally worked with Osamu Tezuka on Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Phoenix: Karma Chapter.
His autobiographical manga My Life in 24 Frames per Second (1-byō 24-koma no Boku no Jinsei) launched in January 2024. It won the Grand Prize at the 29th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize awards. It was also nominated for Best Graphic Memoir in the 2026 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.
The honorees of Persons of Cultural Merit of 2025 included Masako Nozawa (Dragon Ball's Son Goku, Gegege no Kitarō's Kitarō) as the first voice actor to be so honored, as well as manga creator Keiko Takemiya (Toward the Terra, The Door into Summer, Andromeda Stories), dancer and actor Min Tanaka (Children of the Sea, live-action Rurouni Kenshin films), and playwright and actor Hideki Noda ("Tokatonton" anime short's narrator).
Source: Nikkei
