Miyu Distribution began streaming on the Bang Bang YouTube channel on Thursday the “Yamanaka Sadao ni Sasageru Manga Eiga ‘Nezumikozō Jirokichi'” (“Manga Cinema Dedicated to Sadao Yamanaka ‘NEZUMIKOZO JIROKICHI'”), or “Nezumikozō Jirokichi”, 24-minute film short by director Rintarō (Galaxy Express 999, Metropolis) in Japanese with English subtitles.
The “silent animation” film depicts the behind-the-scenes story of the Nezumikozō Jirokichi – Edo no Maki (Nezumikozo Jirokichi – Edo Chapter) film by Sadao Yamanaka – a film director who died at 28 in 1938 – and Yamanaka’s efforts to produce the film. Yamanaka spurred the Japanese film industry’s transition from silent films to talkies.
Yamanaka’s Nezumikozō Jirokichi – Edo no Maki film is about the titular character Nezumikozō Jirokichi, a thief who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, and a townswoman named Osuzu, who leads a tough life with her small child after her husband died.
Rintarō directed the “Manga Cinema dedicated to Sadao Yamanaka ‘NEZUMIKOZO JIROKICHI'” silent animation film at GENCO, Studio M2, and French animation studio Miyu Productions. Katsuhiro Ōtomo (Akira) designed the characters, and Toshiyuki Honda (Metropolis,Tokyo Babylon) composed the music. Mami Koyama voices the film’s benshi (live narrator for silent films).
The short made its debut at the 1st Niigata International Animation Film Festival in March 2023. When the short debuted in 2023, it had been Rintarō’s first new directorial work in 14 years. Montreal’s 27th Fantasia International Film Festival then screened the short in July 2023. The short has since played at multiple fefstivals, including the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Lumière Film Festival in France, and also screened in September 2024 at the Japan Film Festival Los Angeles. The short opened at the
Eurospace cinema in Shibuya in November 2024.
Source: Bang Bang’s YouTube channel via Catsuka
