http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ShinKamenRider.gif
[[caption-width:250:The BlackSheep of KamenRider? Or just covered in [[DarkerAndEdgier Dried blood?]] ]]

[[SnicketWarningLabel If you think this is a run of the mill take on good and evil, go elsewhere.]]

If not, read on.

''ShinKamenRiderPrologue'' is a DarkerAndEdgier DirectToVideo incarnation of the ''KamenRider'' franchise released in 1992.

It is the story of Shin Kazamatsuri, a simple young man who's experimented on by his father, Dr. Kazamatsuri, and his father's partner, Dr. Onizuka. Rather than contributing to a possible cure for diseases, Shin is instead gene-spliced with Grasshopper DNA. This results in him getting the power to become a Grasshopper-monster himself. This secret puts him and his loved ones in danger from the Syndicate funding the experiment, the ''CIA,'' and Onizuka, who himself can change into a Grasshopper-monster.

Often shunned by ''Kamen Rider'' fans due to its {{Deconstruction}} nature.

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!!This work features examples of:
* AntiHero
* ArtifactTitle: Shin doesn't wear a mask, he physically transforms into Kamen Rider, nor does he ride his bike (a Suzuki Bandi 250) in his transformed state.
* {{Badass}}: Sarah Fukumachi, the CIA operative. Over the course of the film she orders a raid on Onizuka's lab (and is the only survivor), saves Shin from a sniping attempt, bursts in on the NebulousEvilOrganization's transport of [[spoiler:the transformed Onizuka]] with a rocket launcher, and most likely would have ''killed'' Shin in the climax had an organization helicopter not gotten in the way.
** For bonus points, she's constantly wearing a ScarfOfAsskicking.
* TheBerserker: Shin, Dr. Onizuka
* BittersweetEnding
* BloodierAndGorier: Shin's "finishing move" is to ''cut a monster's head and pull it off'' complete with part of the spine and dripping neon green blood (Eat your heart out, [[MortalKombat Sub-Zero.]]) Yes, there actually is a Rider with a more violent attack style than KamenRiderAmazon.
* BodyHorror
* CreatorCameo: ShotaroIshinomori is the guy with the FunnyAfro at the beginning of the movie.
* CurbStompBattle: Shin killing the BigBad who just killed his LoveInterest. The former is a grasshopper-monster complete with super-strength, sharp claws and ultraregeneration powers, the latter is a normal human with a gun...yeah.
* CutShort: Despite the fact that the title calls it a prologue, ''Shin'' never went any further than the one movie. ''KamenRiderDecade'''s comedy net spinoff has Shin asking the ''Decade'' cast to help his petition for a sequel, and subsequently finding success and fame [[spoiler:only for the whole thing to be AllJustADream. [[ButtMonkey Poor Shin.]]]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''No shit.'' This film is the darkest and grittiest interpretation of ''KamenRider'' to date. Rather than a tranditional super-suited human, the Rider is genetically altered and undergoes a horrifying transformation. The fight scenes are visceral and bloody. And if that weren't bad enough, almost everybody in the film [[KillEmAll dies.]] Considering that the ''KamenRider'' fanbase is normally very supportive of darker installments (''KamenRiderBlack'', ''KamenRiderFaiz'', etc.), the controversial nature of this film amongst the fandom is quite the indicator of what this film is like.
* {{Deconstruction}}
* {{Fanservice}} (oddly enough... or not): We get a completely nude scene of the female lead in the shower and swimming naked with Shin, who's also naked.
* GrayAndGrayMorality: While we do have a BigBad, the CIA will not hesitate to dispose of Shin if he proves uncooperative.
* HumanoidAbomination
* InvoluntaryShapeshifter: Shin, at least initially, has no control over how or when he transforms.
* KillEmAll: By the end of the movie, pretty much every named character except Shin and his gym buddy, who was nowhere near the scene of carnage, is dead. Including Shin's girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child.
* MemeticMutation: Shin is often depicted as the red-headed stepchild of the Kamen Rider family.
* MilestoneCelebration: 20th anniversary production.
* PainfulTransformation: And HOW!
* PsychicLink: Shin and Onizuka [[spoiler:and later, Shin's unborn child]] have one. [[spoiler:It's the reason that for the first half of the film Shin thinks he's been killing people when it's actually Onizuka.]]
* PsychicPowers: Telepathy between ''Kamen Riders''.
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Meta example: ''KamenRiderDecade'' acknowledges Shin as the thirteenth KamenRider (counting Black and RX separately, who are technically the same character). Guess which one was the scariest and deconstructed the entire concept.
* TookALevelInBadass: Shin doesn't really do this in his own movie, but in the anniversary movies for Decade and OOO, where he fights alongside the other Riders and even gets his own bike, and in All Kamen Rider Generation, where he acts more like a real hero.
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