Shin Kamen Rider (2023)

This movie is such a great love letter to the franchise! It was really so beautifully written and quite action packed. While at times some of the sfx or superfast fight scenes can turn out to be quite anime-like, overall the stunts and battles and story telling still makes you feel so exhilarated and excited to know what happened next.

I know of Sousuke from the MOZU series almost a decade ago, and I had looked forward to seeing him play Hongo in his own image. And I have to say that I wasn't disappointed at seeing the result. Since the behind the scenes had been released way ahead of the screening, I was excited to see the final result on film and it was really great to see how all the shots play out.

With every single reimagination of Rider 1 and Rider 2 stories, it never ceased to amaze me at how unique each version of Rider 1 and 2 turned out to be. This movie's approach to introducing Hongo to the audience was quite different compared to how it was in The First, as well as in original. But I love how refreshing the story felt, even when at the very core of each different Rider 1 and 2, there's still that certain quality that remains the same.

I also love the reimaginations of the five kaijins or Augs, and how they have a different stories behind them... to which we learn how twisted they had become after joining SHOCKER.

The movie somewhat ended with a pretty open ending though, like it felt like there should be a continuation after this. Hopefully there is, because I really like to see more of Anno's reimagination of the Showa riders.

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The highest grossing kamen rider film in history. A great ride!

Firstly, i am not a follower of the kamen rider series although i do know them since i was a kid. Kamen rider is pretty iconic in Japan and Asia, just like Ultraman and Godzilla.

Helmed by the brilliant Hideaki Anno, the mastermind behind the Shin series (Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman), this film stars Sosuke Ikematsu as Kamen Rider 1. What really drew me to this film is actually Minami Hamabe.

The story basically starts from the creation of Kamen Rider. Minami plays Ruriko Midorikawa, the daughter of the brilliant scientist Dr. Hiroshi Midorikawa, who is basically the creator of Kamen Rider 1. It's basically a story of the war between Kamen Rider and an "evil" organisation called "Shocker". Que the inverted comas because there's a reason for it. Watch it to find out.

I have been a fan of Minami Hamabe since forever. To see her reuniting with Emoto Tasuku (they both starred in the drama series Dr. White) is indeed a treat. I really loved her acting here. She just embodies her character really well.

The CGI used is pretty interesting. Some may find the fighting scenes rather dizzying or bloody but i personally enjoyed them. I liked the chemistry between Ruriko and the 2 Kamen Riders. Overall, the acting by all the casts were great. Although this is essentially an action-movie, there are some really well-done touching/sad scenes.

PS: there are actually quite a number of cameos by popular actors and actresses such as Masami Nagasawa and Yutaka Takenouchi. Keep an eye out for it.

Overall, this is a great watch. The storyline is good and consistent. Although this movie's box office performance isn't as good as the previous two shin series, it is still the highest grossing kamen rider film in history. I believe the lower box office gross is due more to the fact that the Kamen rider series itself is not as popular as that of Ultraman and Godzilla.

Is it worth the watch ? DEFINITELY!

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Pulpy Comic Book fiction done right

While he left our beloved Shinji Higuchi to handle directing duties on Shin Ultraman, Anno focused his efforts on Shin Kamen Rider and it's very much cut from the same cloth as its predecessors. Fast, stylish, cartoony and oh-so-charming, it opens with action and never slows down, not even afraid to fully embrace the camp and horrific qualities of its source material.

I'll admit this is the tokusatsu property I am least familiar with (at the time of writing I've seen ZO, J, Shin Prologue and, more substantially, Den-O and Fuuto PI), but even to a more casual fan of the series, you can easily follow what is ultimately re-imaged episodes of the original show stitched together into a movie. I'm yet to watch the original but the number of side-by-sides I was seeing on Twitter after clips of it were leaked, shows that Anno really does take pride in his childhood influences.

Hyped stylised like the previous Shin movies, there's some very overbearing and pretty redundant CGI in places where practical effects would have been preferable and even cheaper, but it fits the same tone and energy of its predecessors. Anno's direction is great and features the same variety of angles and strange composition choices that make these so visually engaging. The hyper-choreographed fight scenes also help immensely, unafraid to go all the way to 11 with squishy violence.

With regular Anno collaborator Shirō Sagisu committed to Shin Ultraman, in steps Anime composer Taku Iwasaki and boy, does he do a stand-up job. I'm definitely gonna have to get the soundtrack to this the moment it's released, so many styles of music all coming together in a seamless blend of beauty.

While I ultimately feel that Shin Ultraman is the best of these Shin movies so far, Shin Kamen Rider is a very close second. Anno goes hell for leather here, amounting to a beautiful love letter to one of the grandfathers of Tokusatsu, having fun but not poking fun and fully embracing his inhuman worldview he's only ever touched upon in previous movies.

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Needed to be longer

Shin Kamen rider, the most modern feeling of the three shin movies, god I wish it was 1. longer and better paced 2. Wasn't so realistically explanatory, kinda takes away from the charm of superhero movies, it doesn't feel as fantastical as original Kamen rider but it might just be me, sure the explanations are cool

Also the old music in some parts just feels so out of place cause of how modern it is or maybe it's just me having watched the original and not being able to feel it here, but the music that is not from the original seems to fit right in, overall, good movie, could have been better if longer

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A Kamen Rider Carrying Anno's Spirit

Shin Kamen Rider is a flawed but incredibly fun movie. The info dumps that come with the story structure can hurt the pacing - Hideaki Anno seems to love scenes of characters explaining powers and lore in long-winded explanations, detailing all the little bits of science that go into his concepts. The structure is also very much akin to Shin Ultraman, feeling like an homage to several episodes in one movie rather than being a movie with a single plot line throughout. However, the music is stellar - either one-to-one pulls or fantastic remixes of songs from the original 1971 Rider series. The fight choreography is fun and exciting, the designs of the villains and the redesigns of Ichigo and Nigo are brilliant. The characters have fun chemistry and all work well together. It is an exciting homage to the franchise.

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