Title: Shin: Kamen Rider Prologue aka True Masked Rider Prologue
Genre: Action/Drama
Director: Tsuji Osamu
Format: Movie; 90 minutes.
Dates: 20 Feb 1992

Synopsis: For the advancement of medical science, Kazamatsuri Shin offers himself as a test subject to his father’s immunology research. He is lucky to have a father willing to keep his son safe at the sight of danger; however, this is a watchful eye that proves blind when it comes to his partner, who has more sinister intentions at hand. The results lead Shin to a horrifying fate, transformed into a monstrous grasshopper creature, who must now fight, not only for his own life, but for his loved ones as well.

The Highlights
Practical effects: Some you can’t take your eyes off; most of them are meh.
Characters: Regretfully one-dimensional.
Story: Much smaller than it makes it out to be.
Editing: Poor.
Gore and horror: Oh my.

On principle alone, it is difficult to review anything related to tokusatsu. By its very nature it is minimalistic, cornball, and just plain tacky at times. And with something like Kamen Rider Shin the challenges only stack up. Just where it stands in conjunction with every other Kamen Rider rendition is a complication situation, being rejected for the lengths it took to lead the franchise in a more mature direction. Now, having about as much familiarity with Kamen Rider at the time comparable to someone whose experience with Star Trek goes little beyond just the Abrams 11th, I have no choice but to give an outsider’s analysis. Now having said that, one should not discount Shin Kamen Rider Prologue for its violence and adult themes. They should do so on the grounds of it being a cheap and awkwardly put together mess of a movie.

There is no denying it, Shin Prologue was a failure, both financially and critically. Taking out the gore and gratuitous sex, there is nothing adult about this. One could even argue that those elements only serve to reinforce the juvenility of it. Because Kamen Rider did not necessarily grow up as its audience did, thematically, this is still a Sunday morning serial, only without the colorful characters and charm. The titular Shin may be in this situation for reasons more complicated than explicitly evil terrorists. It is unfortunate that from there on out, the movie takes a step back towards its sillier roots with cyborg soldiers, doctors with grasshopper fetishes, unnamed secret organizations, and effectively all the things that would have been okay were it not trying to take itself seriously.

As shallow as the story is, it is no match for how utterly forgettable the characters are. If I had to describe Shin in one word, or any character for that matter, I would regretfully say that I couldn’t think of any. Thanks to the lack of personality and flat acting across the board, there really is little to do in terms of elaboration without coming off as redundant. So instead, let it simply be noted that the most memorable performance is by way of cameo from the late Ishinomori Shotaro. It is a real shame that it took such a talented man’s death before his own creation could get back on its feet, but I digress.

So with the drama being nothing worth mentioning, all that remains is the action and effects, something which brings to light everything wrong with this film, while being one of the few things done right. For what’s wrong, well regretfully a noticeable number the set pieces and camera work was probably laughable even when the original show was airing 20 years prior. One too many scenes rely on the camera locking off for stop tricks, most of which fail to give the impression of being seamless. Miniatures equally fail to be convincing, as does effectively everything one can find in a television series.

However, to give credit where credit’s due, the more creative of visual techniques are where this movie does come through. Within the first few minutes one is treated to especially immersive cinematography that does well enough to give the viewer the feeling of being a vicious kaijin. The monster scenes are gruesome, and almost all are memorable. Most notable would have to be Shin’s graphic transformation, a scene that I could honestly watch over and over with the same sense of horror. It’s ironic that these very scenes were what turned off the majority of viewers.

Shin Kamen Rider Prologue is the kind of work that I wish I could recommend, but ultimately cannot. The few thing that work are miraculous. It’s just a shame that they are so rare in the scope of the whole work that one might as well casually pick out those scenes on the internet and not get any less out of it. Take those moments out, and Kamen Rider Shin ends up like any grasshopper faced with a lawnmower, an inconsequential husk of nothing.

The Rating: 3

Reviewed by: Kavik Ryx