Trivia / Shin Kamen Rider (2023)

• Production Posse: Quite a few actors who featured in previous Shin films make a return in this film:
  • Shinya Tsukamoto, who previously appeared as a university professor named Hazama in Shin Godzilla (also co-directed by Anno), appears in this film to portray Dr. Hiroshi Midorikawa, Ruriko's father. Mikako Ichikawa (also of Shin Gozilla and Anno’s live-action Cutey Honey movie), in turn, portrays Shoko Midorikawa, Ichiro's mother.
    • Tsukamoto, himself a filmmaker, previously worked with Sosuke Ikematsu on the former's 2018 samurai film Killing.
  • The Founder of SHOCKER's actor, Suzuki Matsuo, previously appeared in Shin Godzilla as a journalist who was investigating Goro Maki, of which the Founder is an Expy off.
  • Masami Nagasawa (Hiroko Asami, one of the main female leads of Shin Ultraman) is cast in this film as SHOCKER mutant Sasori-Aug.
  • Yutaka Takenouchi, previously Hideki Akasaka of Shin Godzilla and a similarly-high-up government official in Shin Ultraman, also figures here as a government official investigating SHOCKER. The additional twist, however, is that he is in fact this film's version of Tobei Tachibana, who works with Taki, this film's version of Kazuya Taki (himself portrayed by Takumi Saitoh, who recently served as protagonist Shinji Kaminaga/Ultraman in Shin Ultraman).
  • As with the previous live-action entries in the Shin Japan Heroes Universe franchise, some of the crew returns including Anno (who returns as director after sitting out of Shin Ultraman, with Shinji Higuchi helming the film instead) and VFX company Shirogumi.
  • Averted with the film's composer this time. Instead of Shiro Sagisu, Shin Kamen Rider's soundtrack is composed by Taku Iwasaki, who composed music for Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Jormungand and Bungo Stray Dogs.
  • Following Shin Ultraman, Hideaki Anno himself does more mo-cap work for this film. Specifically, he mo-caps Ruriko walking into a stadium in a rather unsettling way.
• Playing Against Type: Also potentially doubling as part of Tom Hanks Syndrome for their careers:
  • Mirai Moriyama, whose filmography tends to be largely-sympathetic heroes (not to mention voicing Jesus in Saint Young Men), serves in the role of the Big Bad.
  • Nanase Nishino, an alumna of Nogizaka46 (and is probably known outside Japan together with her bandmates for the "Mouse" computer ad) plays the Tragic Villain Hachi Aug.
• Prequel in Another Medium: The movie got a manga prequel drawn by Akeji Fujimura and written by Kyuuri Yamada, called There is No True Peace in This World -Shin Kamen Rider SHOCKER SIDE- (or Nulla Mundo Pax Sincera: SHOCKER SIDE as the title was based on the song of the same name). It is about Ichiro's induction into SHOCKER and eventual transformation into the main antagonist of the film.
• Promoted Fanboy: It cannot be understated how much of a Kamen Rider fanboy Hideaki Anno is. He cosplayed as Rider 1 not just for conventions in the 80’s, but in the lead up to his own wedding. His wife has also mentioned that he created his own unit of measurement for their home furniture based on the average size of a Rider toy.
• Troubled Production: Right out the gate, lead actor Sosuke Ikematsu hurt his leg during filming, an ironic callback to Hiroshi Fujioka's infamous accident. Fortunately, Ikematsu's injury was far less severe. The COVID-19 Pandemic also had a hand in pushing the film's release back.
  • During a production feature on NHK, it came to light that Anno had been badgering the action director, and it came to a point where the director walked off the set. Reportedly, Anno apologized and begged him to come back.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The Official Shin Kamen Rider Design Book shows the many designs considered for the characters in the movie. For example, the Kamen Riders went through lots of redesigns that looked pretty different than how they looked originally (with some akin to the designs from Kamen Rider: The First), but there's a special mention for the film's Big Bad Kamen Rider No.0/Ichiro Midorikawa, who instead of a Kamen Rider, was going to be an evil version of Inazuman instead of just sharing the butterfly motifs in the same way K from Robot Detective was turned into a member of SHOCKER.
  • The official Shin Kamen Rider promotional Twitter account released a deleted scene that showcases an earlier version of the fight against the SHOCKER Riders, which begins with a recreation of one of Ishinomori's manga panels where Hongo confronts the SHOCKER Riders on his bike in the rain. A behind-the-scenes documentary aired on NHK also featured a choreographed fight scene between the Double Riders and SHOCKER Riders that took place at an outdoor industrial area. This sequence was entirely cut from the final film, with a completely altered, and primarily CGI-based, battle in the tunnel leading to Ichiro's throne taking its place; apparently, the rain had made incorporating CGI to the live-action footage difficult. Strangely enough, the SHOCKER Rider boss fight in the SD Shin Kamen Rider Rumble spin-off game appears to be based on the cut sequence, though given the nature of the game as a Beat 'em Up with no motorcycle gameplay, it makes sense from a developer standpoint.
  • Early promotional photography of the cast in costume showed Ruriko wearing a red coat, purple sweater, and white boots◊. The final film gives her outfit a more subdued brown and black color scheme.
  • According to the Shin Kamen Rider Design Works book, Chou Aug-01 was going to be Ruriko's older sister before the character was gender-flipped to become Ruriko's younger brother. Casting issues further changed the character into Ruriko's older brother, Ichiro.
  • Several scenes that were cut from the film include: dialogue between Ruriko and Hiromi referring to the failed Sarracenian Aug; another battle between Kamen Rider and the Low-Class Members on the Wasp lair rooftop before the battle with Hachi Aug; and an extended version of Hayato Ichimonji watching Hongo head out to confront Ichiro, in which the second Kamen Rider expresses concerns about the government's interest in prana.

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