by Director Rintaro, who is known for animations such as “Galaxy Express 999” and “Genma Taisen, “has produced a new animation for the first time in about 14 years, “A cartoon movie dedicated to Sadao Yamanaka’ Nezumikozo Jirokichi ‘,” and the feature-length commercial animation film festival “No. It was revealed that it would be screened at the 1st Niigata International Animation Film Festival.
The new work is a silent animation directed by Rintaro, based on Sadao Yamanaka’s 1933 film Nezumi Kozo Jirokichi Edo no Maki. Manga artist Katsuhiro Otomo, known for works such as “AKIRA,” is in charge of the character designs, and composer Toshiyuki Honda is in order of the music and produced by Studio M2, Genco, and France’s Miyu Productions. Mami Koyama will appear as a benshi. It will be screened at Niigata Civic Plaza (Chuo-ku, Niigata City) at 10 am on March 20th.
The new work is an anime that pays homage to “Nezumikozo Jirokichi Edo no Maki,” which depicts the activities of the thief Nezumikozo Jirokichi, set in the city of Edo. Director Rintaro, impressed by Yamanaka’s ‘Ninjo Paper Balloon,’ said, ‘I still remember leaving the movie theater while being shaken by the fleeting last scene.’ He commented, “I’m hooked on the skillfulness of modern picture-making and character modeling,” directed by Yamanaka, such as “Notsubo” and “Munetoshi Kawachiyama.”
“On the other hand, when I found out about Yamanaka, who used to draw flipbooks and caricatures in the corner of his notebook, Sadao Yamanaka, a man with a long chin and stubble, called Long Long Ago by his friends. The short animation we have planned is based on Sadao Yamanaka’s script “Nezumikozo Jirokichi Edo no Maki” and is a small tribute to the film director Sadao Yamanaka. I would be happy if we could deliver our work to Mr. Yamanaka, who wrote in the diary that he wrote, “The humankind paper balloon is a posthumous work of Sadao Yamanaka.”
The film festival will be held from March 17th to 22nd at the Niigata Civic Plaza and other venues. In addition to the competition section, about 50 works will be screened in “event screenings” of invited works, “world trends” that collect recent results, and “retrospectives” that re-evaluate artists and movements. Director Mamoru Oshii serves as chairman of the judging committee.
With a long chin, stubble, a hand towel wrapped around his head, and thin slippers, film director Sadao Yamanaka passed away at 28, running through the film industry from the silent to talkie eras. I learned the name while working on the TV animation work of Shotaro Ishinomori’s “Sabu and Ichitori Monozukuri.”
Director Sadatsugu Matsuda, who has been active since the silent era as the first-period drama animator, was present at the dubbing as a supervisor. Mr. Matsuda told me about the wonderfulness of director Sadao Yamanaka. Still, after a long period without seeing his work, I went to the Namikiza, a masterpiece theater in the basement of a multi-tenant building in Ginza. I met a paper balloon.
It was a movie with a heavy and tragic feeling that overwhelmed the viewer, but I was moved by the brief last scene of the paper balloons that symbolize the story slowly flowing down the river in the alley with a faint light. I still remember leaving the cinema.
After that, with the release of VHS and DVD, I could see “Tange Sazen Hyakuman Ryo no Tsubo” and “Kawachiyama Munetoshi.” Hats off to Tange Sazen Hyakumanryo no Tsubo’s ability to summarize succinctly with a light and stylish modern touch and Kawachiyama Soshun’s detailed modern painting of the mountains. I was utterly addicted to the skill of human figure modeling.
On the other hand, when I learned about Yamanaka, who used to draw flipbooks and caricatures in the corner of his notebook, I became even more fond of Sadao Yamanaka, a man with a long jaw and stubble, who was called Long Long Ago by his friends. I have reached it now.
The short animation planned here is a small homage to the film director Sadao Yamanaka that our team dedicates based on Sadao Yamanaka’s script “Nezumikozo Jiro Yoshiedo no Maki.” It would make me happy if we could deliver our work to Mr. Yamanaka, who wrote in a diary he left behind on the battlefield, “The humankind paper balloon is a posthumous work by Sadao Yamanaka.”
