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On Sunday, April 9, a stage greeting event for the hit movie Shin Kamen Rider was held at the Marunouchi Toei Theaters in Tokyo, with cast members Sousuke Ikematsu, Minami Hamabe, Tasuku Emoto, Mirai Moriyama, and director Hideaki Anno, appearing on stage.
Shin Kamen Rider is an original film directed and written by Hideaki Anno of Shin Evangelion fame. Announced as part of the 50th-anniversary project for the Kamen Rider Franchise, the film re-imagines the original 1971 tokusatsu series. The movie stars Sousuke Ikematsu as Takeshi Hongo/ Kamen Rider No. 1, Minami Hamabe as Ruriko Midorikawa, Tasuku Emoto as Hayato Ichimonji/ Kamen Rider No. 2, and Mirai Moriyama plays Ichiro Midorikawa/ Chou Augment-01/ Kamen Rider No. 0.
The movie debuted in Japan last month and will begin hitting United States theaters on May 31, with tickets going on sale beginning on May 5.
▍Shin Kamen Rider Trailer
Director Anno appeared first as the MC of the event. He took the stage, greeting the audience saying, “My name is Hideaki Anno, and I will be your MC today. Please welcome our cast members.” After the warm welcome, the movie’s main cast Ikematsu, Hamabe, Emoto, and Moriyama were ushered on stage.
Ikematsu greeted the audience saying, “There were many people around me who have told me that they have seen it many times. Thank you very much for your love and support.” Hamabe added, “I’ve received in-depth impressions that are different from the ones I’ve received in the past, and I am encouraged by the feedback.”
Emoto said, “I want to keep things short since we don’t have much time, but everyone is welcome to come back and watch the film several times over (laugh).” Moriyama stepped forward last, saying, “While I didn’t get to participate in as many scenes, the time I spent recording was extremely eventful. I think the Kamen Rider series is loved by people of all ages and genders, so it is wonderful to be loved again in this way.”
Anno kicked things off by asking the cast to share their experience while shooting the Shin Kamen Rider film. Moriyama, who plays Kamen Rider No. 0 in the movie said, “We shot for about two weeks, but it was very intense. The suits made me sweat a lot and it cooled down very fast, making it feel like I was out in the cold for most of the time.”
Anno thanked the cast for their hard work when wearing the Kamen Rider suit, “The mask was just barely visible, and it was really difficult to breathe when wearing them. Thank you so much for sticking around in this suit”
Emoto, the cast of Kamen Rider No. 2, also revealed interest in the Kamen Rider suit and asked director Anno, “During the costume fitting, you’ve made several last-minute changes to the costumes, such as changing the lines on the Kamen Rider No.2 suit to be thicker by 1 millimeter here and 2 millimeters there. I personally couldn’t see the differences in the changes, but seeing how every shot looked stylish, was it always the intention to make things cool?”
Anno replied: “Since the costume originated 50 years ago, I wanted to keep things as accurate as I possibly could. In the end, I was particularly concerned about the width of the suit as I considered it the most important part of all. “
“From your point of view, how did you balance between respecting the originals and updating them?” Moriyama asked.
“I struggled until the very end to find a way to mix the two so that audience who watched the film for the first time would not feel too alienated. Things couldn’t be too close to the 50-year-old original, but taking things too far would’ve been equally worse,” Anno explained.
When Moriyama mentioned that he was particularly fond of the sound effect when Kamen Rider stood up, director Anno shared an interesting episode, “We tried to create a completely new tune for those moments, but we couldn’t beat the original sound.”
Emoto added: “When that sound is played, it is a little uplifting. I saw the first preview at this theater, and I remember how cool it was when I first heard it in action.” Ikematsu, who plays the protagonist Kamen Rider No. 1, added, “I thought it was awesome how they kept music leitmotifs but also updated the music here and there.”
Director Anno explained the painstakingly detailed recording process, with the comments: “I was obsessed with the first scene where the mask goes on the Kamen Rider. I tried to shoot everything as similar to the original as possible, including how the rays of light hit the mask. I went over the recordings and if something was different, I insisted we reshoot each time so that particular cut probably had the most retakes. We kept reshooting as long as Ikematsu-kun had time in his schedule.”
Next was the cast’s turn to ask Director Anno questions. Moriyama asked, “Now that Shin Evangelion is over and the hero series with the Shin titles have come to an end, do you have any plans for the future?” Director Anno replied, “I don’t have a plan for the next film, so for the first time in over 30 years, I’m back at a blank slate.”
Emoto also asked: “You said you don’t have one now, but do you have any plans for a sequel to this film?” Anno laughed a little laugh and replied, “The project has been in the works since I was writing the script for Shin Kamen Rider, and I wanted to make the story open-ended or at least open enough to have a plausible sequel.”
He continued to reveal more insight into the concept of a possible sequel to the Shin Kamen Rider film, “Realistically, it’s still a blank script, but I still have the draft for a would-be sequel. I already decided on a title for the sequel, “Masked World” or “Masker World,” which will immediately ring a bell if you’ve read Ishinomori-sensei’s original work.”
“Plot-wise, the Japanese government has developed an artificial intelligence called SHOCKER Brain, and the politicians and bureaucrats would begin joining up with SHOCKER and do various things while Masked Rider No. 2 fight against them. We are also thinking about adding characters that work under the government, and another man who’s from the intelligence agency. I’m thinking of exploring conflicts and struggles with characters like that.” Anno said.
Emoto enthusiastically commented, “You guys will probably be able to see this in a few years. I will do my best when it happens!”
“There are many things to love about Shin Kamen Rider, but what fascinates you the most?” Hamabe, the actress of Ruriko Midorikawa, asked.
“I’m inclined to say the entire film since I directed everything, but the very last scene was the one I wanted to do from the beginning. We shot the scene in my hometown (Yamaguchi Prefecture) and chose the last take. The idea to shoot the scene there was already set in stone since I wrote the script. The moment I like best in most films is the moment when the film switches to the credits, so I was very particular about that too in Shin Kamen Rider.” Director Anno replied.
To Moriyama’s question of why the end credits played three different tracks, Anno replied that he chose those tunes simply because they were his favorites.
To a question asked by Ikematsu regarding how people around him reacted 4 weeks after the movie premiered, Anno said: “What I find interesting is that my friends, who hadn’t watched the previous films, have been emailing me with tremendous amounts of enthusiasm. So I think it was good that I was able to appeal to different people from the three films. That being said, this one is the film I was most passionate about.”
Ikematsu also added that he was happy to know that many of his friends were really enthusiastic about the movie and they ended up crying after watching it.
Emoto asked the director if he’d head to the cinema to see the Shin Kamen Rider film. Anno said: “Once the movie is done, I won’t watch it anymore. I didn’t even watch the first screening.” Hamabe, on the other hand, exclaimed that she had watched the film three times in total and plans to go a few more times so that she could check out the merchandise.
On this occasion, a specially designed illustration of “Masked Rider No. 0” by Maeda Masahiro, who also serves as the movie’s designer, was unveiled for the first time. After Moriyama expressed that he was flattered by the illustration of the character he played in Shin Kamen Rider, director Anno exclaimed: “The design is super accurate and looks like it came straight out of a still from the film. It’s nicely drawn.”
Ikematsu concluded: “What I have to tell everyone here is, ‘Please watch the film. Thank you for seeing it,’ but there will be more screenings to come. Please come see us again, and please keep supporting us. Thank you very much!”
The director also rounded things up, “It was hard work shooting and directing on-site, so I am glad that I could meet my audience like this, and thank everyone for watching the movie in person. As the director, I am very happy that everyone has been giving different comments and feedback after Shin Kamen Rider, and I am glad that I made it. Thank you again, everyone.”
With that, Director Anno and the cast members all bowed to the audience, thus concluding the stage greeting event.
▍About Shin Kamen Rider
Produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kamen Rider, Shin Kamen Rider is the third reboot of a tokusatsu series to be adapted by Hideaki Anno, following Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman. The film stars Sosuke Ikematsu, Minami Hamabe, Tasuku Emoto, Nanase Nishino, Shinya Tsukamoto, Toru Tezuka, Suzuki Matsuo, and Mirai Moriyama.
In the film, a man and his female accessory attempt to annihilate the corrupt organization responsible for his mutation into a humanoid cyborg and stop their plans to conquer society.
The film premiered in Japan at selected theaters on March 17, 2023, and was released nationwide on March 18, 2023. It has grossed ¥1.5 billion ($11.66 million)and received positive reviews from critics. The film will be released in the U.S. on May 31, 2023.
The original article was written by the editors of SPICE.
Find the original article here: https://spice.eplus.jp/articles/317103
