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

A look at energy issues

Finally, let's touch on "power." Kamen Rider is a sustainable hero who transforms and fights using wind power, and incorporates Ishinomori's strong interest in energy issues. At the time of the serialization, pollution was becoming a serious social problem, and the manga also includes scenes of the fight against pollution. A characteristic of special effects is that it incorporates social themes, such as `` Godzilla '' depicting hydrogen bombs and the `` Ultraman '' series depicting discrimination issues, but ``Kamen Rider'' also depicts the anxiety of an era in which environmental destruction is progressing. At the same time, the hope for ``next generation energy'' is also depicted.

In his afterword, Ishinomori states, ``The Shocker is a symbol of technological civilization,'' and ``Rather than nature (symbolized by the grasshopper) directly rebelling against humanity (symbol of civilization), ``Kamen Rider'' (half grasshopper and half human), In other words, nature and humans work together to fight 'evil'... Human wisdom is to coexist skillfully with nature. 'Kamen Rider' is the symbol of 'true civilization.' In addition to reflecting the present moment in the story in real time, it also points to the future that lies ahead.

How was this spirit expressed in ``Shin Kamen Rider''? In this work, an energy called "prana" appears. It is described as "the ideal energy that will allow humanity to survive without destroying the natural environment," but things don't go so well. Eventually, this develops into a modern problem of ``competition for energy'' (this is also the case in `` There is no true peace in this world '').

By the way, "energy" is an important topic in director Anno's works, with nuclear power being used in " Shin Godzilla " and depictions of Earthlings being targeted by "aliens" as energy resources in " Shin Ultraman ". And Prana from Shin Kamen Rider. These three have a common feature: they are ``high risk.'' The current sense of crisis is that we have reached a point where existing energy cannot be used to meet the current demand, but it is also a warning that a crisis will arise as a result of blindly relying on technology . You can really feel it from ``Shin Kamen Rider''.

Lastly, the three keywords listed in the teaser poster for ``Shin Kamen Rider'' are ``solitude,'' ``trust,'' and ``inheritance.'' The catchphrase of this poster is "Things that change. Things that don't change. And things that we don't want to change." If you come back to these words again, taking into account what has been said so far and the main text, a new perspective will open up.

Reference material: Pen “ Thorough Research on Shin Kamen Rider ”

Text: SYO

Born in 1987. After The Graduate from Tokyo Gakugei University, he worked at a film magazine editorial production site and a film information site before becoming a film writer/editor. Works on a wide range of topics including interviews, reviews, columns, event appearances, and recommendation comments. Contributed to ``CINEMORE'', ``Cinema Cafe'', ``Soen'', ``FRIDAY Digital'', ``CREA'', ``BRUTUS'', etc. Twitter「 syocinema 」

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©Ishimori Productions/Toei/2023 “Shin Kamen Rider” Production Committee