Shin Kamen Rider

What’s most important to you in a superhero film – flawless special effects or having a good time? Hideaki Anno’s spirited take on the hit 1970s Japanese TV series (and later manga) Kamen Rider may look rough in places but the director knows exactly what he’s doing, and provided that you’re willing to roll with it, you’re bound to enjoy the ride.

The film belongs to the same universe as Shin Ultraman, which preceded it as a Fantasia selection, plus Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time and fan favourite Shin Godzilla. Anno has been creatively involved in all four, co-directing the latter with Shinji Higuchi. There are no plans for a fifth instalment, though it seems likely that all these characters will return to the big screen sooner or later. Compared to its stablemates, Shin Kamen Rider has a distinctly low budget look about it, but it has benefited from just as much care and attention. Fans of the genre will find numerous little references and in-jokes to please them. In terms of style, it perfectly captures the magic of the TV show, and though this may put off some younger viewers with no nostalgic investment to draw on, it gradually develops a fluency of movement which will appeal to anyone who likes a good fight scene.

That this is not present from the outset makes sense when you consider that its hero, Takeshi Hongo (Ikematsu Sôsuke) isn’t a fighter as such, just an ordinary young man still in shock after undergoing a strange transformation. Following a motorbike accident, he has been saved by being turned into a cybernetic organism, his DNA combined with that of a grasshopper and his body fused with a special suit of armour which also acts as his power source. When complete – with his helmet in place – this armour takes control of his body, turning him into a fighting machine but also blocking out his conscience. Coming round afterwards to discover what he has done is horrifying – and, of course, he will never be able to fight effectively for the things which really matter to him until his body and mind can act as one.

He is not the only person unhappy with the way this augmented body system works. When we first meet him, he has been smuggled to freedom by the project’s original creator, Professor Midorikawa (played, in a nice touch, by legendary actor/director Tsukamoto Shin’ya of the Tetsuo series), and his cyborg daughter Ruriko (Hamabe Minami). Midorikawa hopes to persuade him to take on his former employers, the sinister SHOCKER (Sustained Happiness Organisation with Computational Knowledge Embedded Remodelling – don’t ask!). Upon the arrival of the ruthless Spider-Aug, it quickly becomes apparent that our young hero has no real choice. He can return to serve the organisation or he can take on each cyborg it sends out to get him, one after another.

Fortunately for Honga – and Ruriko, who sticks around to help him (with a refreshing lack of romantic interaction) – government agents are on hand to help. There are still relatively few Japanese superhero or monster films which don’t involve civil servants trying to clean up the mess. Their plans don’t always neatly align with those of our heroes, but from the viewer’s perspective, they provide an extra layer of complexity which makes this more than just a string of fights. “We’ve been working on insect hybrid technology for some time,” says the professor, providing some context for the odd quirks of the enemies Honga has to face. It’s not quite clear how bats or chameleons fit into that, but never mind.

With brightly coloured costumes, high speed motorbikes and a fondness for mid-air combat, the film has a very distinctive style and never lets self-consciousness get in its way. “To prevent leaking sensitive data, all agents dissolve when they die,” we are told, explaining the little puddles of what looks like bath foam which are at first hilarious and, later, surprisingly moving. The effortless chic Ruriko, who criticises Honga’s dress sense and prides herself on always being prepared, turns out to have a number of secrets, including a connection to SHOCKER which makes it difficult to simply walk away. She also knows something of its fiendish plans. Honga, who will undergo yet another strange transformation before the film is over, finds his path to freedom or revenge complicated by the struggle to reconcile his new identity.

Originally aimed at kids, and still childlike in its reasoning, this is nevertheless an engaging watch for adults, gaining in confidence over time just as Honga does. It finds a joy in action which is notably absent from most Western efforts. Sometimes simple thrills are the most, well, thrilling, and Shin Kamen Rider has a lot of them to share.