* AngstAversion: Part of the lukewarm reception to ''Shin'' came from it being much bleaker than previous works in the ''Kamen Rider'' franchise, having a [[GreyAndGrayMorality morally grey]] setting and ending on a very tragic note.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: For all its faults, this films soundtrack is incredible.
* BrokenBase: Big time. Some fans appreciate it for being akin to the darker parts of the Showa Era and Shotaro Ishinomori's works, whereas other fans despise it for being [[TooBleakStoppedCaring TOO dark]], pointing that in comparison to entries like ''Series/KamenRiderBlack'', the film goes too far.
* CompleteMonster: In one of the [[DarkerAndEdgier/KamenRider darkest entries]] in the franchise, these two are the most vile:
** [[BigBad Iwao Himuro]] is the paranoid head of the ISS. An uncaring, heartless BadBoss to his employees, Himuro considers those who refuse to cooperate with his projects as his own enemies, and has them either assassinated or imprisoned. Using his facility as a front for human experimentation, Himuro plans on obtaining financial gain through the mass production of super soldiers to be sold to the military industry. Forcing Shin's father to continue the research after having his former partner "resigned", Himuro denies his permission to not get his son involved, explaining that it was "too late for that". Armed with a submachine gun, Himuro guns down Ai, Shin's pregnant girlfriend, when she takes the bullet for him.
** [[MisanthropeSupreme Giichi Onizuka]]/[[DragonWithAnAgenda Onizuka Rider]] is one of Himuro's top scientists and secretly a misanthropic SerialKiller. Harboring an agenda of his own, Onizuka sabotages an experiment, altering both his and Shin's DNA, seeking to create an army of human-grasshopper hybrids to overthrow humanity, with him as their ruler. He wants Shin to be his first recruit, once trying to convince him into embracing his violent side. As a Cyborg Soldier Level 3, Onizuka regularly commits murders around the city ForTheEvulz, primarily targeting lone women. Introduced brutally killing a woman in the middle of the night, Onizuka proceeds to cut the throats of two undercover police officers investigating the slayings, and slaughters the cops who had arrived at the scene. When his secret lab is invaded by the CIA, Onizuka nearly kills the entire squadron, and tries to repeat this when he is indirectly released from containment by a group of agents.
* CultClassic: Its follow up was never made, it's rarely mentioned by Toei, but fans love it for the wildly different approach and practical effects.
* HilariousInHindsight: WhatCouldHaveBeen mentions that Shin's transformed state would have been retooled to look more Franchise/KamenRider-like, which is ''exactly'' what happened with ''Film/UltramanTheNext'' and ''Series/UltramanNexus'', in which Ultraman The Next goes from his gritty earlier forms to his more traditional form as Nexus (Shin's actor would also appear in ''[[Series/UltramanGaia Gaia]]'' and ''[[Series/UltramanMebius Mebius]]'' instead).
* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/KamenRider See this page for examples.]]
* NightmareFuel:
** See the BloodierAndGorier example on the main page.
** Shin and Onizuka's entire transformation scene.
* SpecialEffectsFailure: During Shin's battle with Goushima near the film's climax, there's a shot where the former punches the latter in the stomach. The camera's angled low enough that for a few frames, you can spot that Goushima's suit actor isn't wearing the suit's mask, with his face clearly visible!
* TearJerker: The ending theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzybL1tC-lw Forever]] really makes one feel bad for [[TheWoobie Shin]] even more.
** "''No matter how short it was, those days were exciting.''/''Forever. I entrust my wishes to eternity.''/''Forever. I entrust my wishes to eternity.''"
* UglyCute: Some people see Shin's transformed state as this while his form can be downright grotesque, others find his facial features strangely endearing once you get used to it, instead.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Shin's transformation is something to behold, and was pulled off in its entirety with practical effects!
* TheWoobie: Shin. ''Poor, poor Shin''. By the end of the film, this guy ''deserves'' a hug.
** He gave up a promising motorcycle career so that he could participate in an experiment that was supposed to cure disease.
** The experiment also turned him into a HumanoidAbomination. Without him knowing it, nor his consent.
** He has surreal nightmares that seem all too real. This causes him to become a paranoid wreck, as he starts assuming the recent killings around the city are his doing, as well as thinking he's a danger to those he loves.
** People start Gaslighting him, as well as withholding information
** He discovers that Onizuka was the killer, then he gets wrapped up in a government conspiracy
** Then he undergoes possibly some incredibly painful looking TransformationHorror.
** Finally, his girlfriend is gunned down, (He just discovered she '''was pregnant''') by the BigBad, he undergoes the transformation again out of TranquilFury, brutally kills her murderer, and fights another cybernetic experiment. Then he gets hit with a rocket launcher after being captured by the CIA, which kills his father.
** By the end of the film, he's a fugitive, all of his loved ones are dead, and he's also a freak of nature. [[MemeticMutation Poor Shin]]