February 10th, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the final episode of the original Kamen Rider series, and Toei used the opportunity to announce the premiere date of Shin Kamen Rider, a retelling of that legendary series. Ahead of its March 18th, 2023, premiere, Kamen Rider fans were treated to another teaser trailer showcasing the new Takeshi Hongo beginning his work and the legacy of Kamen Rider.
Hideaki Anno of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame is writing and directing the movie, following the successes of other tokusatsu reboots, like Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman.
Toei set up a home page and Twitter account so fans can keep up-to-date with the newest information regarding Shin Kamen Rider. Eye-catching key art, such as the two below, can also be found there.
A shop app titled “SHOCKER” was also set up to sell exclusive collaboration merchandise. Some Evangelion characters dressed as SHOCKER troops, the villain organization from the Kamen Rider franchise, appear there.
Shin Kamen Rider is a reboot of the original Kamen Rider series that started the henshin-type hero that transforms by striking a pose. That series first aired on April 3rd, 1971, and followed the story of Takeshi Hongo. Takeshi was abducted by the terrorist organization SHOCKER, an acronym for Sustainable Happiness Organization with Computational Knowledge Embedded Remodeling. His body was changed to something beyond human, but he escaped before they could brainwash him as they had done to many people before. Takeshi donned the mantle of Kamen Rider to use his new power against SHOCKER to save the world.
Sosuke Ikematsu is taking up the role of Takeshi Hongo in Shin Kamen Rider. Many Kamen Rider fans are hoping that the original Kamen Rider 1 Hiroshi Fujioka at least has a cameo in the film. Hiroshi was last seen as Takeshi in the 2021 Kamen Rider movie Saber + Zenkaiger: Super Hero Senki.
To talk about the origins of Kamen Rider would take all day. Whole books can be written about Kamen Rider and Shotaro Ishinomori’s contribution to fiction, so those interested should look up the series and take in the history of it all. His eldest son Joe Onodera suggested that Kamen Rider 1 use a grasshopper theme. Ishinomori also created Japan’s first superhero team, Cyborg 009. To follow his work is to follow the building blocks of various beloved tropes seen in anime and manga today.
Are you hyped to see the reboot of Shin Kamen Rider? Are you a longtime fan of Kamen Rider? Let us know in the comments below.
