Shin Kamen Rider 2023 Review/Spoiler Thread

[OGMechaMothra]

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!

Also June 5th has been added. I exchanged my tickets for better seating.

[GoKelley86]

I am so happy at how fast these movies are coming to the states now.

[CamtheGodzillafan]

Spoiler:

Just finished Shin Kamen Rider, and honestly, I thought it was decent, definitely not as good as Shin Godzilla or Shin Ultraman, but it did alright. My favorite Augments are Kumo and the wasp one, they wasted Scorpion, and the bat was just weird, ovrall, good movie, but definitely one I'm not going to constantly watch.

[Anguirus]

I thought the movie was better than Shin Godzilla or Shin Ultraman! I liked that this one was deeper. Also, I didn't think the special effects were as bad as Ultraman's. But then again, I am horrible at figuring out which cgi is the best or worst.

[CamtheGodzillafan]

The bat augment proves that Shin Ultraman had better cgi quite a bit.

[Godzillakuj94]

What a fun film. Just got out of it with my girlfriend and this being her first Kamen Rider she really liked it. Moreso than she did Shin Ultraman. Love how the shocker troops randomly appear in frame, got a few laugh out of me.

[Angilasman]

... similar to Shin Ultraman, but I don't think it comes together as gracefully as with Shin Ultraman (also, I really think Higuchi's style compliments Anno's, probably why that's my fav of the three 'Shin' films). I really need to see it again to absorb all the... all the... stuff. All the stuff. Seriously, there's an overwhelming amount of stuff here. It feels like a compilation movie of an anime we were already expected to have seen every episode of!

I gotta say, though. Of all three Shin films this is the one I most want a direct sequel to. Rider #2/Ichimonji had such a great presence and having him be the protagonist is tremendously appealing.

[LSD Jellyfish]

... similar to Shin Ultraman, but I don't think it comes together as gracefully as with Shin Ultraman (also, I really think Higuchi's style compliments Anno's, probably why that's my fav of the three 'Shin' films). I really need to see it again to absorb all the... all the... stuff. All the stuff. Seriously, there's an overwhelming amount of stuff here. It feels like a compilation movie of an anime we were already expected to have seen every episode of!

I gotta say, though. Of all three Shin films this is the one I most want a direct sequel to. Rider #2/Ichimonji had such a great presence and having him be the protagonist is tremendously appealing.

Curious who has seen the original Kamen Rider show going into this. I saw the first 16 episodes before seeing this, so I recognized a good bulk of what is going on.

Happy to see that many are enjoying it. I think that similar to Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman, different people will have drastically different opinions on it. Some people like it more than the other Shin films, while others think its worse.

Honestly, Shin Kamen Rider to me felt like a collection of COOL shit going on constantly, with some brief moments to reflect on it all. Seeing it on a big screen was so exhilirating.

[Angilasman]

^ Oh, I'm fairly familiar with the original show, but the movie changes quite a bit - it's like a compilation film of a series that only exists in Anno's mind!

[CyberZilla]

I really enjoyed this movie. A second viewing would help crystallize my feelings on all the characters and the narrative, but I really love how they took on the themes of happiness, sacrifice, and heroism. It was hand-in-hand with the optimism of Shin Ultraman, but a wholly different direction and approach. Likewise, it showed the dark side of that pursuit like the darker elements of Shin Godzilla, but again, with its own purpose. The pacing wasn’t all there, though, and that might be the movie’s main weakness. As someone who’s still fairly new to KR, though, I think it embodies the original show very well in terms of thematic relevance and how it handles the Riders, even as it strives to be its own take.

[Creature22]

Just saw it with my brother. We previously went to “Shin Ultraman” together and loved it, so this one was another good experience to have and it hit close to home seeing the two Masked Riders work side by side in the finale. Kind of a throwback to when we were kids and “both” played as the hero, especially with the height and slight color difference. I liked that both Riders had distinguished features and personalities.

This one felt totally different from the other two but it was still easy to tell it was in the Shin/Anno “family”. I definitely saw him in the lead, and like that it kind of took a mature approach to mental health and the inner workings of the reluctant hero.

Also, the battle scenes were just stupendous. It had all the camp and color of classic 70s Tokusatsu, but it was violent. Arguably the goriest Tokusatsu film I’ve ever seen.

[daveblackeye15]

I really liked this. I was warned this would feel like episodes squashed together like Shin Ultraman but nah not at all. Shin Ultraman much as I liked the pacing was a bit fast. 'Oh now Zarab is happening wait now Mefilas is happening.' Wait so what happened to "I" I didn't realize Ichiro was supposed to be Great Leader until reading tvtropes. I like the Shadow Moon borrowed look. I was expecting Cobra to be in the film but hey name dropped. Honestly shocked not a single toku bad guy explosion.

[king_ghidorah]

4/10 for me.

I honestly felt like it was just a bad movie. It wasn’t just a matter of it not working for me like I initially felt with Shin G. At least there, I recognized it was a well crafted film.

This ….felt like a student film.

I adore Shin Ultraman for what it’s worth.

[Major sssspielberg!]

Mixed feelings. Some of the fight scenes had Nolan-itis where there was too much cutting and it was hard to enjoy what was happening, which may have to do with the lack of Higuchi involvement in storyboarding (unless I'm wrong about that) Bordering on too much whacky POV stuff.
I kinda feel like Anno's style didn't marry as well with the physical choreography and more grounded battles sometimes.
Surprised how much of the thing was shot on iPhone. Can't tell if it's because I'm a little more ambivalent about Kamen Rider than Ultraman or Godzilla, but definitely felt like the weakest of the Shin cycle.
The nihilism vs having a heart and caring about people kinda feels a little been-there-done-that after 3.0+1.0 and Shin Ultraman.
However, I still really enjoyed it. I guess the strengths of the film were present in all Anno's toku projects before so that lessened their impact, and had me focusing on the things I liked less. In its own bubble Shin Kamen Rider still fucks. Gotta give props to the freaking gore lol

[Creature22]

I do wonder after seeing it who will be handling the American DVD/Blu-Ray release. The US theatrical release really felt like it went under the radar compared to the other two "Shin" films; I didn't see a single advertisement or announcement for it anywhere. Had I not been checking up on it consistently myself, I wouldn't have even known it was coming.

Funimation did a good job handling "Shin Godzilla", all things considered, but I hate that they forced that cringey "round table" thing onto the disc as a bonus feature. I think a different studio is handling Ultraman, but for Kamen Rider... who knows at this point.

[mikelcho]

I do wonder after seeing it who will be handling the American DVD/Blu-Ray release. The US theatrical release really felt like it went under the radar compared to the other two "Shin" films; I didn't see a single advertisement or announcement for it anywhere. Had I not been checking up on it consistently myself, I wouldn't have even known it was coming.

Funimation did a good job handling "Shin Godzilla", all things considered, but I hate that they forced that cringey "round table" thing onto the disc as a bonus feature. I think a different studio is handling Ultraman, but for Kamen Rider... who knows at this point.

Wikizilla has reported that Shin Ultraman is being released on both DVD and Blu-ray by a company called Cleopatra Entertainment on July 11th of this year. There's a reference to this if you want to look at it there or transfer it to the proper thread.

[batmatt92]

I had quite the surprise at my screening last night in LA!

Before the movie started, we were greeted - in person! - by none other than Sosuke Ikematsu and one of the producers of the movie, whose name I utterly failed to remember (looking at IMDB's 6 listed producers for the movie did not help jog my memory unfortunately). They just said a few quick words about how proud they were of the film, and how they were glad it was getting screened in America (if only for 2 nights!). But it was really great and the audience gave them a warm reception.

And then the movie itself - whoa! I knew literally nothing about Kamen Rider going in. I only went to see this because I loved the first two "Shin" movies. And I had a blast! And for what it's worth, my lack of familiarity didn't give me any trouble with following the plot. I think I actually liked it more than Shin Ultraman.

[LSD Jellyfish]

People have been mentioning that some of the action is choppy and hard to follow. I agree that it happens in a few moments and is a minor issue I have with the film. I'm not sure if that's Anno's fault, a budgetary problem, or something else. I will say that it doesn't ruin it for me, because for each moment like that, there's a very clear impactful and crazy moment that is very easy to follow. How the film had no problem letting us soak in the visuals of a Rider Kick and feeling its weight was amazing.


I'll also say that all the fight scenes are more interesting than the fights in the Kamen rider 1971 show I've seen. I don't want to dunk on it, but a lot of the old Kamen Rider fights amount to fist fights and jumping around before a big kick. It can get repeitive and not so exciting at times. I really liked the variety of fights in this film for that reason.


I'm mixed on the "shot on iphone" and various Low budget parts of the film. I guess they were trying to make it seem more like the TV show in moments, but again that's not really an excuse.

[Major sssspielberg!]

I have to say I probably laughed the hardest at the US involvement in this one, bearing the USAF scenes in Shin G and Shin Ultra in mind. I laughed out loud audibly and was the only one in the theater who did (my theater was actually FULL of Kamen Rider fans by the look of it.)
That scene did kick ass.

[CyberZilla]

I do wonder after seeing it who will be handling the American DVD/Blu-Ray release. The US theatrical release really felt like it went under the radar compared to the other two "Shin" films; I didn't see a single advertisement or announcement for it anywhere. Had I not been checking up on it consistently myself, I wouldn't have even known it was coming.

That was sort of my experience outside of my Instagram algorithm recommending me tokusatsu posts. Somehow though, it got further showings for June 7 iirc. There was apparently enough buzz and interest that more showings were added, which correct me if I’m wrong, did not occur with Shin Ultraman. That’s a good sign for the sales of the eventual digital and physical releases.