50th Kamen Rider Broadcasting Anniversary, Shin Kamen Rider Announced

On Saturday, April 3, 2021, the first episode of "Kamen Rider" began broadcasting 50 years ago, and the "Kamen Rider 50th Anniversary Plan Announcement Conference" was held. A national hero, Kamen Rider, who straddled the three eras of Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa. 

Several projects are underway with the big milestone of "50th Anniversary", and on April 3rd, the comicalized work "Futo Detective", which is the orthodox sequel to "Kamen Rider W", will be animated. The reboot of the last TV series "Kamen Rider BLACK", in which the original author Shotaro Ishinomori was directly involved, was announced prior to the interview. In this article, we will report on the interviews held by Toei's talented producers who are in charge of each project.

First of all, Mr. Osamu Tezuka, President of Toei, made a greeting. Mr. Tezuka said, "Humanity can be divided into three types. People who are currently watching Kamen Rider, people who once enjoyed it but have left, and people who have not seen it yet," said the plan to be announced in the future. "I thought that all human beings would enjoy Kamen Rider," he said, as if he were the head of an evil organization.

Here, the animation of "Futo Detective" is announced again. Hideaki Tsukada, the director of the TV planning and production department in charge, said, "(Futo Detective) made a new discovery and evolution by making the double, which was originally a video work, into a manga. By doing so, I want to realize new discoveries and evolution. I am working with creators who were tired of wanting to make this work into an animation, "he said." It must be enjoyed by various people. " I closed with a confident comment.

Next, Mr. Fumio Yoshimura, director of Toei and in charge of the content business division, announced again the reboot work of "Kamen Rider BLACK", which started broadcasting in 1987, "Kamen Rider BLACK SUN". "Kamen Rider BLACK" has a concept of "returning to the origin", and the sad story of fighting with a close friend still catches the hearts of many fans. It has also been announced that director Kazuya Shiraishi, who is known for "The Blood of Wolves," will take a megaphone, and he plans to unveil it in the spring of 2022.

Also, Shinichiro Shirakura, director of Toei and general manager of the second sales department of TV, announced "Shin Kamen Rider", a project to "release to the maximum for all humankind"! Hideaki Anno, who was not told, will take a megaphone in a live-action movie for the first time in "Shin Godzilla", and will also be in charge of the script. Along with the image illustration by animation director Maeda Maeda, a message from Ishimori Productions president Akira Onodera and director Anno, that this work is scheduled to be released in March 2023, and according to the production It was revealed that some kind of publication plan is under consideration.

Mr. Shirakura summarized the announcement, "This is not the only 50th anniversary project. It will be crowned with the 50th anniversary in various fields such as summer movies, the current" Saber ", and other events and product development." It was suggested that this alone would not end. Also, regarding the fact that the release of the work, which is a 50th anniversary project, will be delayed to 2022 and 2023, while explaining that the influence of the new coronavirus was also large, "Conversely, this 50th anniversary festival It will not end until 23 years. I will do my best and do my best. "

After the press conference, there was a scene where we answered questions from the media gathered in the field.

--How did you plan "Kamen Rider"?

Mr. Shirakura: It goes back 6 years. A person who became intimate with Anno through the exchange of "Shin Evangelion Theatrical Version" received a planning memo saying "How about this?"

――When can overseas fans see the released work?

Mr. Tsukada: "Futo Detective" will be in the summer of 2022, just like in Japan. Europe and the United States are making adjustments through funimation (American anime distribution company).

Mr. Yoshimura: It is still undecided, but I would like to adjust it so that it can be seen at the same time in the spring of 2022.

Mr. Shirakura: "Shin Kamen Rider" may be rare for a Japanese movie, but we are aiming for simultaneous release.

--Why did you choose Kazuya Shiraishi as the director of "Kamen Rider BLACK SUN"?

Mr. Yoshimura: The main point of the story is the tragedy that two best friends and brothers are destined to fight. When I focused on that relationship and wanted to create a work that plunged into suffering and humanity, I focused on what kind of person I should ask to be reborn.

――What kind of work will "Shin Kamen Rider" be?

Mr. Shirakura: Director Anno is five years older. I've been chasing his back since I was young. I am glad that I have made a great leap forward as a creator and have an attachment to Kamen Rider. Good luck and 倖 倖 are the connections between such world-class creators and Kamen Rider. It should be an entertainment full of love that even those who see Kamen Rider for the first time can enjoy. I want to see it as soon as possible.

--What is the appeal of "Kamen Rider"?

Mr. Tsukada: Toei's dictionary says, "It's justice derived from evil." That kind of deep theme, which has a shadow unlike other heroes, is attractive.

Yoshimura: Unlike other hero works, "Kamen Rider" was really scary. I've been watching the series for a long time, and the year I joined Toei, "Kamen Rider BLACK" was broadcast. I will be in charge of the reboot work, and I feel fateful.

Mr. Shirakura: On this day, 50 years ago, I also bite into the TV and watched the first episode of "Kamen Rider" like Yoshimura. There is an impression that it has become explosively popular with the transformation pose of Hayato Ichimonji. I think it's a rare series that is a mixture of yin and yang. That's why you can follow a human drama or do it in a bright style for children. As Tezuka said, it is an amazing vessel that "all human beings can enjoy."

After the press conference, the first thing I frankly thought was that "the connection between" Anno "and" Kamen Rider "was surprising." Director Anno is known as a lover of special effects, but he has a strong impression of "Ultraman", which has an episode that he independently produced a movie when he was in college, and there is also an image of the "Evangelion" series that was strongly influenced by it, like a Kamen Rider. I think there have been relatively few opportunities to dig deeper into what you think of a “life-size hero”. Anno's interpretation of Kamen Rider and how it will be reconstructed-I'm really looking forward to seeing it through "Shin Kamen Rider".

Another. "Shin Godzilla," "Shin Evangelion," and "Shin Ultraman," are the words "Shin," which seems to have become synonymous with director Anno, but what does this mean when it comes to Kamen Rider? Is not it. new? true? The answer is not known until you see the main story (maybe even if you look at it), but just because there was a work called "Shin Kamen Rider" in the past, what is "Shin" so far? There is no doubt that a different nuance will be born. As a Kamen Rider fan, I would like to keep an eye on the trends of "Shin Kamen Rider".