Legendary Director Rintaro Warns Against Overusing Anime Remakes

Legendary anime director Rintaro, known for his work on Galaxy Express 999, has shared some tough words regarding the current state of the industry. During the 2026 Busan International Film Festival, he argued that anime studios are playing it too safe by focusing almost exclusively on remakes and existing franchises.

He believes this trend is a serious problem for the future of creativity. By prioritizing projects that are already guaranteed to sell, studios are becoming less likely to take risks on new ideas. He feels that the constant pursuit of global market appeal is causing the industry to lose its original spark.

For fans, this is a call to pay attention to how our favorite stories are being made. While seeing classic series return is often fun, Rintaro suggests that relying on them too heavily might eventually stop new, iconic stories from being told. It will be interesting to see if studios listen to these warnings and start greenlighting more fresh concepts soon.