Take a Wild Ride with ‘Shin Kamen Rider’

When an evil terrorist organization called SHOCKER kidnaps people to conduct experiments, turning them into super soldier monsters, Kamen Rider pledges to stop them. 

 Takeshi Hongo, the main character in “Shin Kamen Rider,” is kidnapped by SHOCKER and is turned into Kamen Rider.

The experiment goes well, but before SHOCKER could reprogram his mind, he escapes, making Takeshi half-human and half-cyborg. Takeshi now defends the Earth as Kamen Rider.                                                                                                              

 If this story sounds familiar, this is the plot line of  “Shin Kamen Rider,” a 1971 Tokusatsu show by Toei

productions.             

With a total of 98 episodes, Kamen Rider is one of the most popular series in Japan even today. 

But 53 years have passed since the citizens of Japan first saw Kamen Rider on TV, and in those 53 years, Kamen Rider has grown quite a bit.                                    

 Director Hideaki Anno made the film; it was released on March 17 of this year in Japan and will be released in America on May 31.

Back in 2016, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi both directed “Shin Godzilla” which was their take on one of the most iconic characters in pop culture history, Godzilla.

 “Shin Godzilla” was a huge success at the box office and was, and still is, the highest-grossing Godzilla movie still to this day, making about $78 million. With the success of “Shin Godzilla,” Anno and Higuchi would make another installment to their “shin” anthology series, with “Shin Ultraman,” in 2022. But Anno was working on two projects at the same time. He wrote the screenplay for “Shin Ultraman,” but had his best friend Shinji Higuchi in charge of directing it while he was off directing Kamen Rider.

“Shin Kamen Rider” is a remake/reboot of the original Kamen Rider series back in 1971. Just like for “Shin Godzilla” and “Shin Ultraman, “

Anno decided to bring some new life into Kamen Rider. His design is pretty much the same as it was in 1971, just with more modern details on the character. One unique accessory to the modernized suit is a black trench coat that he wears for the majority of the film. Kamen Rider will additionally fight a variety of villains he fought in the past that original fans will recognize in the film. “Kamen Rider 2” will also make an appearance in the film, fighting alongside the original Kamen Rider, as he did later in the series. Kamen Rider will be played by Sosuke Ikematsu and Kamen Rider 2 will be played by Tasuku Emoto. 

Unlike Anno’s other films, “Shin Kamen Rider” doesn’t really rely on CGI. Most of the film is done with practical effects and Sosuke Ikematsu performs his own stunts. One interesting fact about the original Kamen Rider is that the show loves filming jumping. Whenever Kamen Rider does a jump flip, a double jump or a triple flip, the jumps are shot from many different angles. “Shin Kamen Rider” did the same thing

to bring back that dramatic, yet fun-to-watch, effect.

The film also recreates a lot of references to the very first episode of the original show. For example, when Shin Kamen Rider fights Kumo Augment-01 (Man-spider), it is filmed at the same location that the original series was filmed in. The production team recreated a lot of the first episode scene-for-scene. 

If you like darker stories, then Shin Kamen Rider is definitely a movie for you. 

In “Shin Kamen Rider,” there are a lot of bloody and brutal fight scenes. Thankfully, the gore is not to the point where it will ruin your opinion of the movie.

It also focuses more on the loneliness and depression of Takeshi Hongo after he became Kamen Rider. The original show did the same, but Shin Kamen Rider goes more in-depth than the  original.

Anno does a fantastic job of making the audience put themselves in Takeshi’s shoes, and the viewer really feels bad for him because of the

fact that he used to be a normal human being and all the dreams he had as a kid would never come true. The movie really expresses the loneliness a hero has to go through. Even though Kamen Rider 2 fights alongside him later in the film, they eventually go their separate ways. 

Kamen Rider is like the “Batman of Tokusatsu” because he’s mysterious and sometimes misunderstood. Anno showcases that really well.

“Shin Kamen Rider” is definitely worth a watch. If you’re a superhero fan, then you should give the movie a chance, especially if you’re into global superheroes.

But don’t just watch Shin Kamen Rider, watch the original Kamen Rider series from 1971.

Kamen Rider isn’t just your standard typical hero that fights normal, ordinary crimes like burglary like most superheroes.

Kamen Rider also doesn’t ’t just fight for justice, he fights for humanity and to make sure that humans stay human. He fights so no one can experience the same tragedy he went through.

Originally, Kamen Rider was the average human being, and that’s what makes the movie unique. 

I rate this film 5 feathers.