{"id":1034638,"date":"2026-08-31T08:53:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1034638\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T08:53:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:53:19","slug":"rintaro-returns-to-korea-for-busans-japanese-animation-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1034638\/","title":{"rendered":"Rintaro Returns to Korea for Busan’s Japanese Animation Special"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe 31st Busan International Film Festival<\/a> (BIFF) has unveiled a 13-film Japanese Animation Special program, marking the first Korea visit in 17 years for animation master Rintaro<\/a> alongside four next-generation directors.<\/p>\n

\n\tBilled as a Special Program in Focus, the lineup puts a spotlight on Japan\u2019s animation history across a full century, mixing formative classics with buzzed-about new releases and one European work that shaped generations of Japanese animators. Most of the lineup has rarely played Korean theaters, and several titles will have their Korean premieres at the festival.<\/p>\n

\n\tRintaro will travel to Busan alongside directors Kadowaki Kohei, Katanosaka Ryo, Natsume Shingo and Shinomiya Yoshitoshi, who represent the medium\u2019s newer generation. It is Rintaro\u2019s first trip to Korea in 17 years.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lineup\u2019s classics section opens with Yabushita Taiji\u2019s \u201cThe White Snake Enchantress\u201d (1958), an adaptation of a Chinese folk tale about a young man who falls for a serpent capable of taking human form. It was the first Japanese animated feature made in full color, and it left a lasting impression on a teenage Miyazaki Hayao, who wrote in \u201cStarting Point 1979-1996\u201d that watching it left him in tears until dawn. The film stands as a landmark work from Toei Animation.<\/p>\n

\n\tYamamoto Eiichi\u2019s \u201cBelladonna of Sadness\u201d (1973) was produced by Mushi Production as an experimental work aimed at adult viewers. Adapted from Jules Michelet\u2019s \u201cLa Sorci\u00e8re,\u201d the story centers on Jeanne, a woman who strikes a bargain with the Devil and emerges transformed into a witch. The film was invited to screen at the 1973 Berlin Film Festival, shortly after its debut, and it later became a global cult title following a 2016 4K restoration. Actor Nakadai Tatsuya provides the Devil\u2019s voice, while the camera drifts across static watercolor paintings under Fukai Kuni\u2019s art direction.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPhoenix 2772 (Space Firebird)\u201d (1980) draws on Tezuka Osamu\u2019s \u201cPhoenix\u201d manga saga, with Tezuka serving as writer and director on the project. Its 12-minute opening, which traces the protagonist\u2019s growth using only music and imagery and no spoken dialogue, stands as one of the film\u2019s most discussed passages.<\/p>\n

\n\tOshii Mamoru\u2019s \u201cAngel\u2019s Egg\u201d (1985), made with illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, unfolds with almost no dialogue, relying instead on biblical symbolism and imagery. The film laid the groundwork for a visual approach Oshii carried forward into \u201cGhost in the Shell\u201d (1995).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMemories\u201d (1995), overseen by Otomo Katsuhiro of \u201cAkira\u201d (1988), comes back to Busan three decades after it screened at the festival\u2019s first edition. The program will show a 2025 remaster marking the film\u2019s 30th anniversary, presenting all three episodes of the omnibus.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMetropolis<\/a>\u201d (2001) draws its story from a 1949 manga by Tezuka Osamu. Rintaro, whose credits include \u201cGalaxy Express 999\u201d (1979), directed the film, and Otomo Katsuhiro wrote the screenplay. Production took five years, with a budget among the largest in Japanese animation history at that point.<\/p>\n

\n\tYuasa Masaaki made his feature directorial debut with \u201cMind Game\u201d (2004), adapting a manga of the same name by Robin Nishi. Yuasa, known for his work on \u201cCrayon Shin-chan\u201d and \u201cChibi Maruko-chan,\u201d saw the film take the Animation Division\u2019s Grand Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival, plus the Mainichi Film Awards\u2019 2004 Ofuji Noburo Award for Animation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cKakurenbo\u201d (2004) is where Morita Shuhei made his directorial debut. He later picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film for \u201cPossessions\u201d (2013) and went on to direct \u201cTokyo Ghoul\u201d (2014). The 24-minute short built a cult following for pairing 3D CG with cel-style rendering, an unusual combination for its era.<\/p>\n

\n\tFour new titles round out the lineup, with all four directors attending BIFF. \u201cGhost \u2013 End of Night\u201d comes from director Natsume Shingo, who also made \u201cOne-Punch Man\u201d (2015), with production handled by Madhouse Inc. The film heads to BIFF ahead of a planned 2027 theatrical bow in Japan.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShiranui\u201d is a 36-minute theatrical short produced by CoMix Wave Films, the company known for many of Shinkai Makoto\u2019s biggest titles. The studio found first-time filmmaker Katanosaka Ryo and backed him in making an original work for cinemas. He personally hand-drew close to two-thirds of the picture\u2019s 325 rough cuts.<\/p>\n

\n\tKadowaki Kohei directs \u201cWe Are Aliens<\/a>,\u201d a rotoscoped feature with a distinctly realistic look. The film played in the Directors\u2019 Fortnight sidebar during this year\u2019s Cannes Film Festival, and it also screened in Competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector Shinomiya Yoshitoshi\u2019s \u201cA New Dawn\u201d holds the distinction of being the first Japanese animated feature directed by a first-time feature filmmaker to compete at the Berlin International Film Festival. After its Berlinale premiere, the film went on to win the Jury Award, given in Annecy\u2019s Contrechamp section. The 76-minute feature is built around a distinctive green palette inspired by \u2018Paris Green,\u2019 a pigment once outlawed for its toxicity. Shinomiya, who earlier worked on Shinkai Makoto\u2019s \u201cYour Name.\u201d (2016) and created the poster art for \u201cThe Garden of Words\u201d (2013), handled the story, screenplay and direction on \u201cA New Dawn,\u201d in addition to its character design and art direction.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe program closes with Paul Grimault\u2019s \u201cThe King and the Mockingbird\u201d (1952, 1980). Grimault finished an initial cut in 1952, which took a prize at the Venice Film Festival, but he later pulled the film from circulation, scrapped that version and spent decades reworking it into a new cut. Miyazaki Hayao paid tribute to it in his directorial debut, \u201cLupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro\u201d (1979), and Studio Ghibli co-founder Takahata Isao once said he might never have gotten into animation had he not seen it. The film also numbers Bong Joon-ho among its admirers.<\/p>\n

\n\tBIFF festival director Jung Hanseok said, \u201cAnimation has recently become one of the most dynamic forms in global cinema, bridging East and West. That is why, for this year\u2019s major Special Programs in Focus, we wanted to take a closer look at the world of Japanese animation, long one of the great traditions and powerhouses of the medium.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJung said organizers set a handful of firm criteria for the lineup: the films needed, whenever feasible, to be original works made for theatrical release, and to represent either bold precedents from their era or a forward-looking vision for the medium, with preference given to titles that have seldom, if at all, played Korean cinemas. He added that the program deliberately left out Miyazaki Hayao and Takahata Isao, choosing instead works that had shaped both directors\u2019 own filmmaking.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSome films can only be fully experienced in a theater. I hope audiences in Busan will not miss this rare opportunity to experience these works on the big screen. I am also deeply honored to welcome Rintaro, a living legend of Japanese animation, and four directors representing its next generation to BIFF,\u201d Jung added.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 31st Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 6-15, with venues centered on the Busan Cinema Center. The 21st Asian Contents & Film Market takes place alongside it, from Oct. 10-13.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has unveiled a 13-film Japanese Animation Special program, marking the first…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1034639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[28],"tags":[128890,171,307145,53,414028,67,132,68,414029],"class_list":["post-1034638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-busan-international-film-festival","tag-entertainment","tag-metropolis","tag-movies","tag-rintaro","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-we-are-aliens"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117189280291877076","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}