Shin Kamen Rider 2023 Review/Spoiler Thread

[LSD Jellyfish]

Shin Kamen Rider is out today, and I have a ticket for an 8pm showing (in 12 hours).

Unforunately, I'm not as familar with Kamen Rider as Ultraman or Godzilla, having only seen the first twenty episodes of the original 1971 series. Therefore, if you're a Kamen Rider NUT, please don't look towards me for guidance on which cyborgs/shocker creations appear, unless it's stuff from early on. Likewise, I'll be watching this film unsubbed (obviously), and while I can understand Japanese in casual conversation, I can get easily lost in anything philosphical/overly complex.

Mainly, I'll let you know how good it is as a standalone film, and if there's any bread-crumbs to Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, or anything else. Technically, this is the last "Shin" film to be confirmed to be released, with Shin Evangelion (Eva 4), Shin Godzilla, and Shin Ultraman, already have been release. Not saying anything will happen, nor do I want to get my hopes up, but it seems like if we ever do get a theatrical/OVA crossover between the four franchises, it seems now is the time.

Regardless of connections to other films, I'm really excited by this, because Anno is directing. I remember feeling a little nervous going into Shin Ultraman, hoping it'll be of similar quality to Shin Godzilla, and walking away happy.

[daveblackeye15]

Wait it's out already? Here I thought it was just started production.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Wait it's out already? Here I thought it was just started production.

Yeah, it's out today lol.

I didn't know it was out today until a month ago. They didn't post a release date until a few weeks ago, having listed it as "March".

[LSD Jellyfish]

Shin Kamen Rider was very good, excellent even. However, do not go in expecting Shin Godzilla or Shin Ultraman references. There's no shared music, locations, or camera/shots angles. There Is that one guy who has appeared in Shin Godzilla and Ultraman as a government official, and some shared actors, but that's it. Shin Kamen Rider is the least connected to the other two, being a fairly straight forward remake of the original 13-16 episodes+some stuff I haven't seen.

Long and short of it, is that the movie feels like peak classic Tokatsu. In moments, the action in Shin Kamen Rider is fantastic, feeling like "live action anime battles". Some of the action is brutal, over the top, and it feels overtly violent. Blood/Jelly washes over the screen, as Kamen Rider punches goons. Flying enemies are slammed out of the sky, and into the ground, with Rider Kicks. Things explode, there's violent sword fights, and crazy cycle action. It mainly feels like if the 1971 show had a bigger budget and todays effects. However, it feels noticeably cheaper than both Shin Gojira and Shin Ultraman. True to the original show, very little of the movie takes place in an urban environment. Much of it is relegated to empty roads, backwoods, and seemingly abandoned factories and warehouses. If you don't mind that, there's some fun to be had. Some of the costumes are pretty good.

I do feel the movie made some substantial changes, sort of similar in scope to the changes done to Godzilla and Ultraman in their respective films. Hongo is not happy, and it's very clear he's very traumatized by being a cyborg. There's no giggly girls, or fun at the malt shop, in fact we know very little about Hongo. Likewise, other things seem completely different. Shocker is not an evil Nazi organization, and they aren't as sinister. We don't get scenes of random civilians or bystanders getting horribly killed like we do in Kamen Rider 1971. Maybe there's some worse subtext I'm missing, but they don't seem as bad. Still vying for world domination I believe. This is done in contrast, to make Hongo's story better. The big crux of the movie early on is Hongo being horrified by how he can horribly murder baddies. Mainly it seems to draw a parallel that perhaps if things were a little different, he would be the cyborgs he's fighting. I think a lot of people might be let down by these major changes, but it honestly makes things smoother and less exploitationy. Because of the violence and other things it still feels accurate.


Here's a list of things you may or may not to know:

Spoiler:

Here's a list of cyborgs that appear in the film:
Spider-Man
Bat-Man (wears a cap, he's weird and the way he dies is cool)
Scorpion-Woman (the scene she is in is fantastic, and I know a lot of degenerates on here will fall in love with her)
Wasp-Woman (amazing sword fighting scene.
Kamen Rider 2
Chameleon Man/Mantis Man (fused into one composite character)
Fake Kamen Riders
Blue Mother Guy, Leader of Shocker (I never finished Kamen Rider, so this guy and the other above are the only ones I'm not familiar).

Kamen Rider's bike feels more useful/cool in the movie. It's shown that he uses the bike to speed up, thus allowing the wind to collect. Kamen Rider also uses his bike more directly in combat. He uses it to leap up into the air, and we see it can move it's fuselage to briefly fly.

Hayato appears as the second Kamen Rider and plays a substantial role. The fight with him versus Kamen Rider is excellent.

Overall, pretty great.

[StardustGenius]

Shocker aren't Nazis anymore? Dang, and here I was looking forward to more Nazi punching. Are they some kind of cult? I know cults are looked at really badly in Japan because of all the scandals and the terrorist attack back in the 90s.

[UltramanGoji]

As someone who has never seen the original Kamen Rider or any of the shows at all, would you say its good for newcomers?

[LSD Jellyfish]

As someone who has never seen the original Kamen Rider or any of the shows at all, would you say its good for newcomers?

I believe so. It doesn’t require much foreknowledge of the series, although just like Shin Ultraman it’s rather episodic. However, just so you know, if you wanted to watch the first few episodes of Kamen rider (1-13 specifically), you’d basically have all the info you need.

While I understood mostly what’s going on, there were some bits of the story I was confused about, and specific character motivations, so an eng subbed version really will make a key deciding factor for me.

Added in 5 minutes 33 seconds:

Shocker aren't Nazis anymore? Dang, and here I was looking forward to more Nazi punching. Are they some kind of cult? I know cults are looked at really badly in Japan because of all the scandals and the terrorist attack back in the 90s.

I think they’re some AI built from a German super computer named Faust, but don’t quote me on that. So there’s some tangentially related connections, but it’s different.

Shocker is actually an acronym,S.H.O.C.K.E.R, which popped in for a second in English. It might have been “Substitute Humans” but I honestly couldn’t read it fast enough. I think they’re based around nihilism and ignoring pain, but I may be wrong. I’d say yes they’re more akin to a cult, but a cult that makes bio weapons.

Edit: I was wrong about the acronym, it’s “ Sustainable Happiness Organization with Computational Knowledge Embedded Remodeling”, so yeah computer cult.

I think the idea is that the Cyborgs may have chosen to become cyborgs because of trauma, ie willingly given themselves over to ignore pain and reality, but I may be wrong. That’s where a lot of the sympathy comes through.

Ruruko, the woman, has a familial relationship to shocker as well.

[daveblackeye15]

Lack of Nazi connections to Shocker!? Clearly the director is a Nazi sympathizer.
(sarcasm) Though I agree watching Nazis get rider-kicked to death is good.

[OGMechaMothra]

Shin Kamen Rider was very good, excellent even. However, do not go in expecting Shin Godzilla or Shin Ultraman references. There's no shared music, locations, or camera/shots angles. There Is that one guy who has appeared in Shin Godzilla and Ultraman as a government official, and some shared actors, but that's it. Shin Kamen Rider is the least connected to the other two, being a fairly straight forward remake of the original 13-16 episodes+some stuff I haven't seen.

Long and short of it, is that the movie feels like peak classic Tokatsu. In moments, the action in Shin Kamen Rider is fantastic, feeling like "live action anime battles". Some of the action is brutal, over the top, and it feels overtly violent. Blood/Jelly washes over the screen, as Kamen Rider punches goons. Flying enemies are slammed out of the sky, and into the ground, with Rider Kicks. Things explode, there's violent sword fights, and crazy cycle action. It mainly feels like if the 1971 show had a bigger budget and todays effects. However, it feels noticeably cheaper than both Shin Gojira and Shin Ultraman. True to the original show, very little of the movie takes place in an urban environment. Much of it is relegated to empty roads, backwoods, and seemingly abandoned factories and warehouses. If you don't mind that, there's some fun to be had. Some of the costumes are pretty good.

I do feel the movie made some substantial changes, sort of similar in scope to the changes done to Godzilla and Ultraman in their respective films. Hongo is not happy, and it's very clear he's very traumatized by being a cyborg. There's no giggly girls, or fun at the malt shop, in fact we know very little about Hongo. Likewise, other things seem completely different. Shocker is not an evil Nazi organization, and they aren't as sinister. We don't get scenes of random civilians or bystanders getting horribly killed like we do in Kamen Rider 1971. Maybe there's some worse subtext I'm missing, but they don't seem as bad. Still vying for world domination I believe. This is done in contrast, to make Hongo's story better. The big crux of the movie early on is Hongo being horrified by how he can horribly murder baddies. Mainly it seems to draw a parallel that perhaps if things were a little different, he would be the cyborgs he's fighting. I think a lot of people might be let down by these major changes, but it honestly makes things smoother and less exploitationy. Because of the violence and other things it still feels accurate.


Here's a list of things you may or may not to know:

Spoiler:

Here's a list of cyborgs that appear in the film:
Spider-Man
Bat-Man (wears a cap, he's weird and the way he dies is cool)
Scorpion-Woman (the scene she is in is fantastic, and I know a lot of degenerates on here will fall in love with her)
Wasp-Woman (amazing sword fighting scene.
Kamen Rider 2
Chameleon Man/Mantis Man (fused into one composite character)
Fake Kamen Riders
Blue Mother Guy, Leader of Shocker (I never finished Kamen Rider, so this guy and the other above are the only ones I'm not familiar).

Kamen Rider's bike feels more useful/cool in the movie. It's shown that he uses the bike to speed up, thus allowing the wind to collect. Kamen Rider also uses his bike more directly in combat. He uses it to leap up into the air, and we see it can move it's fuselage to briefly fly.

Hayato appears as the second Kamen Rider and plays a substantial role. The fight with him versus Kamen Rider is excellent.

Overall, pretty great.

Thank you for this! I saw the internet is freaking out because Yutaka Takenouchi is in as a government official again. Even saw someone say.. Anno is coming something big. Lol.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Thank you for this! I saw the internet is freaking out because Yutaka Takenouchi is in as a government official again. Even saw someone say.. Anno is coming something big. Lol.

Yes, and other actors appear as well.
It's a non-exhaustive list, but:

Shinya Tsukamoto, Japanese director who appeared as the scientist in Shin appears.
Mikako Ichikawa, Ogashira, appears in a small role briefly.
Masami Nagasawa (the female heroine in Shin Ultraman) appears Scorpion Woman.

I should be clear, what I meant: there's similar actors, cinematography, and it's clearly made by the same group. However, there isn't anything like Shin Godzilla being turned into Shin Gomess, payback time, or the weapons used in Shin Godzilla.

There is one cool thing, that might be a reference, but maybe grasping at straws:

Spoiler:

Kamen Rider uses an American drone to jump onto the top of a tall tower.

[king_ghidorah]

Do the Riders Henshin at all or are they stuck in cyborg mode?

Also-what were you thoughts on the other two shin films and how do you feel this movie compares?

[king_ghidorah]

Thank you for this! I saw the internet is freaking out because Yutaka Takenouchi is in as a government official again. Even saw someone say.. Anno is coming something big. Lol.

Yes, and other actors appear as well.
It's a non-exhaustive list, but:

Shinya Tsukamoto, Japanese director who appeared as the scientist in Shin appears.
Mikako Ichikawa, Ogashira, appears in a small role briefly.
Masami Nagasawa (the female heroine in Shin Ultraman) appears Scorpion Woman.

I should be clear, what I meant: there's similar actors, cinematography, and it's clearly made by the same group. However, there isn't anything like Shin Godzilla being turned into Shin Gomess, payback time, or the weapons used in Shin Godzilla.

There is one cool thing, that might be a reference, but maybe grasping at straws:

Spoiler:

Kamen Rider uses an American drone to jump onto the top of a tall tower.

What’s the consensus looking like in Japan right now? Are people generally happy? Is the box office decent?

[LSD Jellyfish]

Do the Riders Henshin at all or are they stuck in cyborg mode?

Also-what were you thoughts on the other two shin films and how do you feel this movie compares?

They need their masks+a trigger to transform. Some of the tension in the film involves Rider temporarily separated from his mask, or something similar. The transformation is cool, and we briefly see Transformed Kamen Rider without the mask a few times. His face is all scarred, scary eyes, and his arms are disgusting.

It’s difficult comparing it to Shin Godzilla or Shin Ultraman. I’m a Godzilla fan first, and I like Ultraman. Up until a few months ago, I hadn’t seen a single episode of Kamen Rider. I said around the time Shin Ultraman’s Japanese release that there would be people on here who disliked Shin, but will love shin Ultraman. This will be similar. I think a lot of people who like action films, and weird costumes and the whole Kamen Rider aesthetic will really love this. Because it is made primarily by Toei (not Toho or Tsubaraya) the film got a lot less promotion here, and feels a little lower budget. The quality is still there, the film looks good, and Anno goes for different types of expiremental camera shots and styles at certain points, but there’s never big destruction scenes like in Shin Godzilla. In other words, I think it’s good, but you’ll like it if you like Kamen Rider.
In regards to the reviews, I don’t have any like magnetic pulse to what people think just because I live here lol. However, looking at this movie review site, it seems like it’s just like the Shin Reviews:

https://eiga.com/movie/94843/review/
Most people, seem to really like it, giving it 5 or 4 out of five stars, but there’s a couple of people who seem to really dislike it and give it a 1/5, weighing the thing down due to some story changed.

A more succinct way to put it is that they’re all in the same league of quality. In other words, if you put Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider, all on one blu-ray, Shin Kamen Rider wouldn’t feel like a black sheep, despite not featuring giant monsters.

[StardustGenius]

I am certain Anno did the whole Rider head as a helmet thing, out of pure nostalgia. It's not accurate to the source material. He probably saw promotional images in a magazine and thought that was better than the in-story explanation. Kamen Riders back in the day weren't dudes in hightech armor like a Metal Hero nowadays. They were cyborg creatures and the "helmet" was their actual head. His head was a grasshopper creature head.

I wish they had kept that aspect tbh.

[king_ghidorah]

In the original manga they had helmets they put on before the Henshin was introduced

[daveblackeye15]

There's something I have trouble wrapping my head around with classic Kamen Rider...Okay so like he goes a high enough speed the rotary on his belt spins and he transforms into Kamen Rider...So like is the armor popping out like nanotechnology? It's not like emerges from his skin and rips his clothes apart right? It's like okay I buy suits instantly popping on with Power Rangers/Sentai via magic or technology but is the Kamen Rider outfit just an outfit or actually part of his body?

It's a really silly thing for me to get hung up on like 'where's the suit come from!?' But right he looks like a normal guy on the outside and undereath Hongo is cyborg stuff and the Kamen Rider stuff is an outfit.

For the longest time I thought Kamen Rider's mask was supposed to be ant themed not cricket/grasshopper.

Oh yeah my best friend liked Shin Godzilla and is interested in Shin Ultraman. If he likes that I bet he'd be willing to try Shin Kamen Rider.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Supposedly Shin Kamen Rider might have a one-night western release soon!
https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/375 ... se-in-may/

Check your local theaters!

[Angilasman]

I don't have any local listing yet, but if it's Fathom I assume it'll be here. Shin Ultraman was similar: listings only popped up a few weeks before.

[Anguirus]

Thanks to LSD Jellyfish for pointing out this thread. Any others who are going to see the movie on the 31st? I have never watched any Kamen Rider movie or show before, this will be my first.

[Angilasman]

I've got my ticket!