Rintaro
Japanese anime director
title: "Rintaro" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1941-births", "anime-directors", "anime-people-from-tokyo", "japanese-animated-film-directors", "japanese-animators", "japanese-science-fiction-film-directors", "living-people", "madhouse-(company)-people", "osamu-tezuka"] description: "Japanese anime director" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rintaro" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Japanese anime director ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Rintarō.jpg |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Tokyo, Japan |
| birthname | Shigeyuki Hayashi |
| othername | Kuruma Hino |
| yearsactive | 1958–present |
| awards | Won |
| :: |
| birth_place = Tokyo, Japan | birthname = Shigeyuki Hayashi | othername = Kuruma Hino | spouse = | yearsactive = 1958–present | awards = Won
- Alexander Senki, Netizen's Choice Award, Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (1998)
- Metropolis, 2nd Place, Best Animation Film, Fant-Asia Film Festival (2001)
Nominations
- Metropolis, Best Film (nomination), Festival de Cine de Sitges (2001)
Rintaro is the pseudonym of Shigeyuki Hayashi, a well-known director of anime. He works frequently with the animation studio Madhouse (which he co-founded), though he is a freelance director not employed directly by any one studio. He began working in the animation industry—at age 17—as an in-between animator on the 1958 film Hakujaden. His works have won and been nominated for multiple awards, including a nomination for Best Film (Metropolis) at the 2001 Festival de Cine de Sitges.
Rintaro is a fan of science fiction, and has been influenced by American westerns, gangster films, film noir, and French films. Additionally, he was influenced by Osamu Tezuka, and worked with him on Kimba the White Lion and Astro Boy. He said that when he was making Metropolis, which was based on Tezuka's manga of the same name, he "wanted to communicate Tezuka's spirit". Rintaro personally introduced the film at the Big Apple Anime Fest in 2001, where it was screened before its theatrical release by TriStar Pictures.
Rintaro has also worked under the name Kuruma Hino, in addition to his best known pseudonym and his birth name. His pseudonym is sometimes miswritten as Rin Taro or Taro Rin. He is a founding member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) labor group.
Biography
Rintaro was born in Tokyo. His first job in the animation industry was as an in-between animator on the 1958 film Hakujaden, which he worked on while working at Toei Animation. After working on two additional films there, he began working for Mushi Productions, the studio run by Osamu Tezuka. His first directing job was the fourth episode of the 1963 series Astro Boy. After leaving Mushi in 1971 to become a freelancer, he worked on many TV series and films, and established himself as one of the most respected and well-known anime directors in Japan.
In recent years, Rintaro has lectured at Kyoto Seika University.
In 2023, a short film directed by Rintaro, Yamanaka Sadao ni Sasageru Manga Eiga 'Nezumikozō Jirokichi, premiered at the 1st Niigata International Animation Film Festival.
Rintaro's brother, Masayuki Hayashi, is himself an anime director and animator with credits including Wandering Sun, Kimba the White Lion, Combattler V and several Tatsunoko productions including Kerokko Demetan, Dash Kappei, The Littl' Bits, and Okawari Boy Starzan S. Some sources, including The Anime Encyclopedia, erroneously claim that "Masayuki Hayashi" and "Rintaro" are one and the same.
Filmography
Films
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Mighty Atom, the Brave in Space | As Shigeyuki Hayashi | |||
| 1979 | Galaxy Express 999 | ||||
| 1981 | Adieu Galaxy Express 999 | ||||
| 1983 | Harmagedon | ||||
| 1985 | The Dagger of Kamui | ||||
| 1986 | Phoenix: Karma Chapter | ||||
| Toki no Tabibito: Time Stranger | |||||
| 1996 | X | ||||
| 2000 | Reign: The Conqueror | Co-directed with Yoshinori Kanemori | |||
| 2001 | Metropolis | ||||
| 2009 | Yona Yona Penguin | ||||
| :: |
Short films
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Mystery of the Arcadia | |||
| 1987 | Labyrinth Labyrinthos | Segment of Neo Tokyo | ||
| 2023 | Yamanaka Sadao ni Sasageru Manga Eiga 'Nezumikozō Jirokichi | |||
| :: |
[[Original video animation]]
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Take the X Train | |||
| 1988 | Bride of Deimos | |||
| Matasaburo of the Winds | ||||
| Peacock King | ||||
| 1991 | Doomed Megalopolis | Episode 4: "The Battle for Tokyo"; | ||
| Also chief director | ||||
| 1992 | Download: Devil's Circuit | |||
| 1993 | X² - Double X | |||
| 1994 | Spirit Warrior | 2 episodes | ||
| Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals | 4 episodes | |||
| 2002 | Space Pirate Captain Herlock: The Endless Odyssey | 13 episodes | ||
| :: |
TV series
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Astro Boy | Episode "Don Tay's Infernal Machine" | ||
| 1965-1967 | Kimba the White Lion | 10 episodes | ||
| 1968 | Wanpaku Tanteidan | |||
| Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae | 6 episodes | |||
| 1969 | Moomin | |||
| 1972 | New Moomin | |||
| 1974 | Hoshi no Ko Chobin | |||
| 1975 | Wanpaku Omukashi Kumu Kumu | |||
| 1975-1977 | Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi | 3 episodes; | ||
| Co-directed with Mitsuo Kobayashi and Tsuneo Maeda | ||||
| 1976 | UFO Warrior Dai Apolon | Episode "Invasion of the Demon Beast Bagladon from the Dark Nebula" | ||
| 1977 | Jetter Mars | 27 episodes; | ||
| Also producer | ||||
| 1977-1978 | Arrow Emblem: Hawk of the Grand Prix | 26 episodes | ||
| 1978-1979 | Space Pirate Captain Harlock | 42 episodes | ||
| 1980 | Ganbare Genki | 35 episodes | ||
| 1982 | Tiger Mask II | 1 episode | ||
| I Am a Cat | TV movie | |||
| 1989 | The Tezuka Osamu Story: I Am Son Goku | TV movie | ||
| The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion | ||||
| 1989-1990 | Dragon Quest | 15 episodes | ||
| 2005 | Manga Entertainment: The Art of Anime | |||
| 2011 | Wolverine | Episode "Mariko"; | ||
| Co-directed with Hajime Ootani and Hiroshi Aoyama | ||||
| 2012 | Lupin VIII | Pilot episode for a cancelled TV series. Released on home video in 2012. | ||
| :: |
Books
- Galaxy Express 999 movie Storyboard (映画「銀河鉄道999」絵コンテ帳). Fukkan.com, 2019.
References
References
- Llewellyn, Richard. (2007-05-12). "Rintaro Filmography". Animated Divots.
- "Rintaro".
- (2002-06-24). "Captain Harlock: Endless Odyssey cancelation explained". [[Anime News Network]].
- (2004-01-26). "Rintaro in Chicago". [[Anime News Network]].
- Seitz, Matt Zoller. "Anime Master Rintaro's Metropolis Is Playful, Humane and Visually Stunning". [[New York Press]].
- (2007-05-24). "Rintaro, Madhouse to Animate 2008 Penguin CG Movie". [[Anime News Network]].
- Berkwits, Jeff. (2002-01-22). "Interview: Animation legend Rintaro reinvents the city to build a better Metropolis".
- "Awards for Rintaro".
- (2002-01-24). "An Anime Metropolis". [[National Public Radio.
- (2001-11-14). "BAAF Wrap-up PR". [[Anime News Network]].
- (2002-01-25). "Taro Rin?". [[Anime News Network]].
- (2002-07-01). "Akira by Streamline?". [[Anime News Network]].
- "JAniCA 発起人及び世話人・事務方一覧". [[Japan Animation Creators Association.
- (2008-01-12). "Oshii to Take Guest Post at Tokyo Keizai University". [[Anime News Network]].
- (22 February 2023). "Director Rintaro Premieres 1st New Work in 14 Years on March 20".
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