“Shin Kamen Rider” embraces modernity. A look at good and evil, violence, and power

The existence of SHOCKER, which is not an absolute evil

In the manga ``Kamen Rider'', Shocker is a group that believes that ``only selected people will be added to the organization'' and ``other incompetent humans will be subject to their will like livestock'', and that other people are trying to enslave people. Hongo sometimes feels sympathy for his enemies, the monsters, as ``those who have been modified,'' but even though there is some compromise, the Shocker, which has changed each person's life, has a strong implication of pure evil. It can be said that the positions and depictions of good and evil are clearly separated.

On the other hand, in Shin Kamen Rider, the concept of good and evil is ambiguous. In the first place, SHOCKER is a secret society whose purpose is not to control others, but to promote the happiness of humanity, and its name is ``SHOCKER'', an acronym for ``Sustainable Happiness Organization with Computational Knowledge Embedded Remodeling.'' If we think of it in terms of the dualism of good and evil, it is a good being. Augmenting humans was originally a technology to create a better future.

So, the reason why SHOCKER went in the direction of "evil" attacking others is because AI (artificial intelligence) is involved. The AI ​​was given the title ``What is human happiness?'' and the answer it came up with was not the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, but ``the salvation of those who are in the deepest despair.'' As a result, SHOCKER has transformed into an organization where people who have been burdened with a terrible fate pursue happiness.

Salvation from despair -- as long as the degree of rise from negative to positive is emphasized, that idea becomes secondary. As a result, the number of people who derive happiness from controlling and attacking others has increased. It was supposed to pursue the happiness of mankind, but in the end it ended up benefiting only a few people... Seeing this trend as dangerous, Midorikawa (Shinya Tsukamoto) and his daughter Ruriko leave SHOCKER with Hongo and rebel against the organization.

However, not all the members of SHOCKER are inherently evil, and considering that they have become that way for various reasons as mentioned above, the line between good and evil in this work is very vague. Hongo himself was deeply traumatized by being involved in a certain incident and sought power, and ``Shin Kamen Rider'' has a tragic feeling that feels like a fight between victims. .

A complexity where good and evil melt together. This element is strengthened by the manga `` True peace is not in this world, Shin Kamen Rider SHOCKER SIDE ' ' (manga script: Kuri Yamada, illustration: Hinoji Fujimura), which is a media mix of ``Shin Kamen Rider''. As the title suggests, this is a story that unravels what happened to SHOCKER and the Midorikawa family. Ichiro Midorikawa, whose mother was killed by a passing demon, enters SHOCKER with his father and wonders what happiness is. I walk in despair while worrying about this. The direction Shin Kamen Rider is aiming for can be seen from the fact that they have released works that depict the "circumstances on the enemy's side."

Numerous depictions that question the pros and cons of solving problems through violence