This week I got to pick again for Movie Club, so I had to go for the hat-trick and finish the trilogy (so far) of “Shin” films by Hideaki Anno. Like Ultraman, Kamen Rider is a series I’ve only admired from a distance; with so many different installments, it’s difficult to tell where a good place to start is. However, after spending only two hours with Shin Kamen Rider (2023), I can consider myself a Kamen Rider fan. What can I say, the plucky green grasshopper Aug won me over. Read on to see my thoughts on Shin Kamen Rider!

The following post contains light spoilers for Shin Kamen Rider.

When Takeshi Hongo, a motorcyclist, is abducted by Shocker, an organization plotting world domination by abducting and augmenting humans, he escapes with his newfound grasshopper abilities, and vows to destroy the evil organization. In his fight, he meets other Augs, humans-turned-bioweapons who use their vast array of powers to subjugate civilians, and makes a few allies along the way. Compared to the previous “Shin” movies, Shin Kamen Rider fully embraces its genre, and doesn’t make as much of an attempt to root itself in our reality. While some may miss the dryness of Shin Godzilla, I think leaning into this campy genre film was the right decision, and it definitely made the movie stand out.

This movie wastes no time, and I love it for that. Shin Kamen Rider feels like what Marvel movies used to be aiming for, spectacle and loveable characters. The film has a brisk pace, covering what feels like a season of anime’s worth of story in its brief runtime. I couldn’t help but laugh when I realized that the movie wastes no time with montages or liminal shots; when the characters say they’re going somewhere, in the very next shot, they are often there. This decision gives the movie an odd sense of timing, but when weighed against the alternatives often seen in mainstream superhero movies, I have to say I much prefer Anno’s sped up version.

Because there’s no time wasted, Shin Kamen Rider manages to squeeze in several villains without feeling like any don’t have enough time to develop a presence. Admittedly, Sasori Augment-01, the scorpion woman felt like she didn’t have much screen time, but I later learned that she is a classic Kamen Rider character, and was likely included as an easter egg. Her mask in particular felt too distinct to just be for this movie, and in looking her up found that it was actually based on the character Hell Dragon’s mask from another tokusatsu show called Kaiketsu Zubat. Clearly, a deep cut for tokusatsu super-fan Hideaki Anno.

The action in this movie is awesome. From the first fight with the Spider Aug, the fight sequences are dynamic and ambitious. The explosive blood splatters that go off from the impacts of Takeshi’s enhanced fists are comically intense, but it feels so fitting in this kind of movie, especially when spotlighted by his visceral reaction, fearing how much power he now has. The Riders strike iconic and cool poses that I couldn’t help but mimic as they did them on screen. I felt like in this installment alone I got a great sense of what watching a Kamen Rider series feels like, and I really enjoyed how many turns it took. Admittedly some action sequences may have been over-ambitious for live action. The fight with Hachi Augment-01, despite how cool the character designs were, was a CGI brawl, and at times looked like a PS3 cutscene. Stylistically the film compensates for this by reducing the framerate in some sequences to create a stop-motion effect that looks really cool, neither of the two options ends up looking particularly lifelike.

Unlike the previous “Shin” films, Shinji Higuchi didn’t collaborate with Anno on Shin Kamen Rider, and I think it shows in the visual direction. While shots are still dynamic and anime-esque, Anno distances himself from that style, at least compared to the previous two. Shin Kamen Rider is undoubtedly trying to channel the same energy as its tokusatsu source material, and I think as a result may come across as too campy and cheesy to most audiences. If you have a craving for a Power Rangers movie made with adults in mind, however, this is your movie.

Yutaka Takenouchi returns in the role of a government official in this movie, but it seems like Anno was perhaps aware of the rumors that his films shared a universe. Takenouchi’s character was primed to be the Nick Fury-type recurring secret government man in each of the “Shin” films, but right before the credits roll, his character states that his name is Tobei Tachibana, a different name from the character he played in Shin Godzilla, Hideki Akasaka. This late reveal lands like a gut punch to hopefuls of the shared universe theory, but I can’t help but find humor in how direct it is.

Overall, I had a really great time watching Shin Kamen Rider, and it makes me excited to see what other films Hideaki Anno will go on to direct. While he’s directed live action films for over a decade, it feels like he’s really found his stride in this one, and I felt I could see his unique brand of style and action confidently realized in live action here. As soon as it was over, I was ready to watch it again, if not for feeling a little drained from such a dense story being told in such a short time. Two hours may feel long to someone who isn’t having fun with this movie, but I had a blast, and only realized how much had occurred in the film by the time the credits began. It’s very campy, and very self-serious, but if you enjoy tokusatsu wrestling action with a modern film budget, Shin Kamen Rider will ride off with your heart.