With the help of Shotaro Ishinomori, writer and director Hideaki Anno is back with another iconic hero entry into the massively popular Shin Japan Heroes Universe with Shin Kamen Rider (2023). Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kamen Rider which debuted in the early 70s and boasts nearly 100 episodes, this film comes only a year after the stunning Shin Ultraman with a new and equally famous hero to follow: Kamen Rider. A note here that “Kamen” in this context appears to mean “masked.” Far more brutal than its predecessor, this ode to the 70s and classic old school action and monster films is an exercise in violence, combat, bodily manipulation, and toppling shadow organizations, with more than enough to keep you entertained and, as always, a director that doesn’t make it too difficult to follow along if you’re not up to date on your Shin Universe lore. Another epic I was pleased to watch for the full, meaty two hours, Shin Kamen Rider might have just stolen my heart from Ultraman and gotten me hooked on this franchise.
Starting with a car chase and incredibly dramatic music (a theme throughout) we find two motorcyclists being hunted down by a paramilitary-looking group of soldiers led by an Augment, a human/insect hybrid with highly increased physical capabilities, to put it lightly. “Terminate all traitors,” says the Aug, approaching the woman on the bike now sprawled out from a vicious crash. Ordered by an Organization to take her alive, the suited Aug is about to get his hands on the woman when suddenly, another masked Augment arrives: Grasshopper-Aug, or as we know him, Kamen Rider. With brute force and incredible strength, Grasshopper kills a dozen guards with his fists, comically exploding them like water balloons across the forest. After the battle, Grasshopper takes shelter, overwhelmed by the battle and the sensations of his new form under the suit – revealed to be insect like, his face a barely-human mask with red eyes. In the moment he sees his own reflection he has a flashback: the woman on the bike rescued him from a facility that presumably turned him into an Aug, effectively making her a traitor. As Grasshopper frantically begs the woman to tell him what’s happened to his body, a man enters, informing him his new-found powers were what the young man wanted, and we find Grasshopper is actually named Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu).
The newcomer is Professor Hiroshi Midorikawa (Shin’ya Tsukamoto), and he informs the group that the Organization, also known as SHOCKER, has been developing insect-human augments—but Hongo is far and away their masterpiece. Hiroshi helps Hongo understand his suit, telling him he can revert back to human form at any time once he expels the “prana” from his suit that provides him his powers. A note on this Sanskrit word; it has many translations, but the best I could gather was this meant “breath of life.” Hiroshi admits that he and his group augmented Hongo, but only so that the use of prana would be kept sacred. Hongo suffered a tragedy when he was younger that caused him to want superior strength, and Hiroshi hopes that he will wield it to become a protector. At last, the professor introduces the woman as his daughter, the suspicious-eyed Ruriko (Minami Hamabe). Hongo is given a motorcycle named Cyclone, also integrated with his suit and perfect as he is unemployed and uses motorcycles as his only hobby. Their attention turns to the other Aug that was at the battle: Spider Aug, an “evil infused” Aug. Right on cue, Spider arrives for an ambush.
Spider Aug subdues Hongo and goes for Hiroshi, revealing his extra arms from under his jacket and choking the life out of the Professor. Ordered to take Ruriko alive, Spider leaves an explosive device to end the life of the trapped Hongo, tossing Ruriko in a getaway car and speeding off. Hongo miraculously escapes the explosion and hits his bike to catch Ruriko. Activating the bike and turning it into something of a transformer, Hongo stands and catches the wind as he rides, powering his belt and suit, giving him the prana, and strength, he needs to fight. Hongo cuts off the car, prompting Spider to get out and marvel at the masterpiece Grasshopper Aug. Tired of the moniker Grasshopper, Hongo tells Spider he is Rider, Kamen Rider. Spider orders the termination of Kamen Rider, launching into another acrobatic, cattle prod wielding, hand to hand blood bath. With the guards dead Kamen Rider and Spider can finally square off in an impressively choreographed battle. Fearing he will lose, Spider attempts to flee, but with an extraordinary launch into the air, Spider is left spinning in the sky, wide open for the most ridiculous flying kick I’ve ever seen kill a man.
Spider, as the Professor did, turns to a smoky foam and disappears when he dies. A rescued Ruriko informs Rider that this is to prevent any sensitive information from being taken from their bodies by enemies. They release the remaining prana in the suit to relieve Rider of the overwhelming survival instinct and strength that compels him to be violent whilst wearing the suit. Rider remarks at the pain he feels from his actions, rebutted by Ruriko that receiving that pain is what a protector does, absorbing it so others don’t have to. The two ride back on one of the adversaries motorcycles marked SHOCKER, the Organization with four other Augs, one of which is already seemingly tracking the duo. We cut to a sinister, futuristic lair where the tracker is returning to his master, informing him of the casualties and the intended plans of Rider and Ruriko. The Aug addresses this ethereal looking leader of the Organization as Mr. Ichiro, and says the two traitors they’re tracking wish to strip him of his authority. Mr. Ichiro isn’t worried about Kamen Rider though, as he intends to meet violence with violence.
As I expected, the over the top 70’s era action music, artistic costuming and practical effects all deliver in the extreme fashion that the Shin Universe always does. Inventive suit design and intense fight scenes make the Augs fun to watch as they battle out their dystopian hybrid abilities. Performances range from the blunt, to the campy, to the truly heartfelt, fitting in just as it should with no one “tone” as the Shin Universe tends towards. Interesting ideas about technology, leadership, human augmentation and how the world should be run are thrown around later in the film as we build a greater understanding of just what SHOCKER set out to do, and how they turned so far towards the dark. Again, Hideaki Anno holds true to his style and put out a more brutal but still soulful piece of epic hero action. I once again thoroughly enjoyed my deep dive into another Shin Universe special, and if you weren’t as keen on the stylings of Shin Ultraman and are looking for a more violent, secretive, and battle packed hero movie, I recommend you strap in with Shin Kamen Rider and enjoy both an homage to icons of the past, and a truly fun and entertaining film for any fan or newcomer.
Shin Kamen Rider (2023) featured at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2023.