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.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
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.
Sep 2
MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2026 runs October 9-12 in Tokyo's Tennozu area for its fifth edition. The live program, announced at an August 31 media briefing, opens with Tetsuya Komuro and Rintaro Fuse's one-night installation, continues with a Nujabes tribute stage curated by the Tribe label from Hydeout Productions, and closes with New Balance Day. The festival is organized by the MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL executive committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Aug 7
RiceWine announced collaboration sake bottles between the TV anime Steins;Gate and the time-themed brand HINEMOS. Four bottles inspired by Rintaro Okabe, Kurisu Makise, Mayuri Shiina, and Suzuha Amane will be released, each with a completely original brew. Pre-orders open July 28 at 1:00 PM, with shipping from early October.
Jul 3
MAGES. announced on July 3 that it will hold the official pop-up event "STEINS;GATE Final Mission" for the newly released game "STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT" on August 29 and 30 at Bellesalle Akihabara in Tokyo. The event marks the first official merchandise sales since the game's launch on August 20. Admission is free, but advance reservations are required for certain time slots to manage congestion. The merchandise lineup includes acrylic stands, tapestries, pin badges, a metal Upa figure, an Upa room light, and plushies of Rintaro Okabe and Kurisu Makise. Two original lab coats modeled after Okabe and Makise will be sold for 20,000 yen each. A 2.7-meter-tall artificial satellite display will also be on exhibit. Advance online orders for venue pickup open from July 6 to July 12.
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.