An absolute triumph for the shin series. Anno really does know how to make amazing films on no budget and a hellish production of this time nearly 12 years or so. Every character is played so well in this film. Hongo is a melodramatic, but naive and pure-hearted mess, Kumouri is an eccentric madman. His manic laughter and off-the-wall demeanor is to be expected with the great Toru Tezuka. If you liked his performance in this movie, I'd recommend you watch Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris. He plays a similarly fun and disturbed antagonist with a depraved worldview and charmingly personality. Ruriko is cold, but as the film goes on, she learns to be human, and crack a smile for once. It pains me watching her suffer as bad as she does in this film. Hiromi is an absolute monster with a cute persona, and her confidence eventually becomes her demise. Her death scene is so well-executed. Just the shot where she stumbles over is amazing. Her smug guise is shattered, and she has a look of genuine fear in her eyes, like, "No, no, no, no, no... no, this isn't happening. I wasn't *ready*!!". Not to mention, the fight that precedes it is a delight, one of the best superhero fights I've ever seen. It's electric, the violently quick strikes feel heavy and monstrous, and the way she zips around reminds me of Puss In Boots 2 in a way. And Ichimonji... he is so lovely. His constant, "Ouch!"-es and "Hmm!"-s are so adorable, and his chemistry with Hongo is a joy to watch. Honestly, I could go all day just talking about the characters, and not even mention the story, which is filled with so much heart and fun alongside sadness and grief that I'd probably hit the character limit just talking about it. This movie has a 10/10 score for me for a reason. If you have prime, go watch Shin Kamen Rider. It's one of the best superhero flicks of this year, and that's already saying a lot given this was the year of Mutant Mayhem, Guardians 3, and Across the SpiderVerse.
Review of Shin Kamen Rider
