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| Kamen Rider: The First | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Kanji | 仮面ライダー THE FIRST |
| Revised Hepburn | Kamen Raidā Za Fāsuto |
| Directed by | Takao Nagaishi |
| Screenplay by | Toshiki Inoue |
| Based on | Kamen Rider byShotaro Ishinomori |
| Produced by | Kazuo Katō Shinichirō Shirakura Naomi Takebe Kōichi Yada |
| Starring | Masaya Kikawada Hassei Takano Komine Rena Hiroshi Miyauchi Eiji Wentz Ryoko Kobayashi Sada Mayumi Issa Hentona Itsuji Itao Kanji Tsuda |
| Cinematography | Kazushige Tanaka |
| Edited by | Hiroshi Sunaga |
| Music by | Gorou Yasukawa |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Toei Company, Ltd. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Kamen Rider: The First (仮面ライダー THE FIRST,Kamen Raidā Za Fāsuto;Masked Rider: The First) is a 2005 Japanesesuperhero film. The film is areboot adaptation of thetelevision seriesKamen Rider, though there are many differences between the film and the original programme; some of these, however, are due to a closer reliance on the originalKamen Ridermanga byShotaro Ishinomori[vague]. Written byToshiki Inoue and directed byTakao Nagaishi, the film starsMasaya Kikawada as Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1 andHassei Takano as Hayato Ichimonji/Kamen Rider 2.
The film was released theatrically on November 5, 2005,[1] though it had several early screenings aroundTokyo during the previous two months, beginning on October 23, at theTokyo Film Festival. While it was the first Kamen Rider to be released independently, it was not screened on major Toei-affiliated cinemas, and was only shown on around 20 theatres during its first day. It was released onRegion 2 DVD on April 21, 2006. Americananime distributorMedia Blasters released the film subtitled-only onRegion 1 DVD on April 3, 2007, but this version of the film is no longer in print. They did tease the possible release of the movie in 2022.[2]
The film's theme song is "Bright! our Future" byDa Pump, though the opening features a small portion of the originalKamen Rider theme song, "Let's Go!! Rider Kick", sung byMasato Shimon.
The film was produced byIshinomori Productions andToei, who have also produced every previous television series and films in theKamen Rider franchise. It was followed by a sequel,Kamen Rider: The Next.
One year prior, two terminally ill hospital patients Haruhiko Mitamura and his love interest Miyoko Harada are given a chance to live by the terrorist organization Sacred Hegemony of Cycle Kindred Evolutional Realm, otherwise known as "Shocker", who relocate them to their island base to convert them into thecyborgInhumanoids Cobra and Snake.
In the present, Shocker Inhumanoid Bat kidnaps college student Takeshi Hongo to convert andmentally condition him into the Shocker soldier "Hopper". While successfully completing a mission, he meets Shocker's Major Agents, who order him to kill witnesses to their operations, journalist Asuka Midorikawa, and her fiancé Katsuhiko Yano. Amidst an attempt on their lives with assistance from Shocker soldier Spider, Hongo's memories resurface and he fights Spider. However, Yano is killed in the struggle, and Asuka finds Hongo next to his body. Blaming him for Katsuhiko's death, she follows Hongo to figure out why he had changed.
As a result of Hongo's treason, Major Agent Elderly Gentleman has converted the second Hopper and sent him to eliminate their former soldier. While Hongo defeats Spider, Asuka meets a figure who has an uncanny resemblance to Yano, revealing his name as Hayato Ichimonji; instead of killing Hongo, leading to Shocker branding him a traitor as well.
When Bat attempts to kidnap Asuka and turn her into an Inhumanoid, an enraged Ichimonji turns on Shocker and joins forces with Hongo to defeat Bat, Cobra, and Snake at Shocker's base, though Elderly Gentleman and the other Major Agents escape to plan their revenge.
The Inhumanoids inKamen Rider: The First are not non-humans as their name would suggest, but rathercyborgs much like the Kamen Riders. The organization's ranks are depicted as having three commanding characters (seen only on screens), as well as several special-class soldiers and unidentified grunts.
Several actors in this film have appeared in previousKamen Rider productions.Hiroshi Miyauchi playsTōbei Tachibana, a character who has appeared in numerous otherKamen Rider shows, acting as a sort of father figure to the Riders. Miyauchi is known for portraying thetitle character in 1973'sKamen Rider V3. Hassei Takano, who portrays Hayato Ichimonji (Kamen Rider 2) in the film, also starred as Miyuki Tezuka (Kamen Rider Raia) in the 2002 seriesKamen Rider Ryuki.
The crew ofThe First also features many returning names. DirectorTakao Nagaishi is a longtime tokusatsu director who has helmed several episodes of 2006sKamen Rider Kabuto. Nagaishi was also an assistant director on the originalKamen Rider series. The film was written byToshiki Inoue, a popular fixture in anime and tokusatsu screen writing. He has written virtually every theatrical film in theKamen Rider franchise, as well as all the episodes ofKamen Rider Agito (except for one) andKamen Rider 555. He also served as a writer onKamen Rider Kuuga,Kamen Rider Ryuki,Kamen Rider Blade, andKamen Rider Hibiki. Inoue is the son of the lateMasaru Igami, who was the chief writer on the originalKamen Rider series, as well asKamen Rider V3,Kamen Rider Stronger, andNew Kamen Rider.
Hideyo Amamoto, who died in 2003 before the film's release, posthumously reprises his role as Dr. Shinigami through archival footage from the originalKamen Rider series.
The film received a manga adaptation illustrated byTatsuya Egawa and was serialized inTokusatsu Ace. However, it became notorious among Kamen Rider fans for its poor quality. In the 227th episode of the radio showLet's go Manga-chick with Kazuhiko Shimamoto!, Shimamoto, who has done previous works with the Kamen Rider franchise with aKamen Rider ZO manga and a one-shot manga based onKamen Rider Black, criticized the author's lack of motivation about the drawings as if they were preliminary drawings with no background, and the loss of composition. He also criticized the manga's editor for approving the low quality illustrations, quoting, "When I get this manuscript, I'm going to turn my desk over and not take it back".[3]
A sequel was produced in 2007 calledKamen Rider: The Next. The film included the riderKamen Rider V3, who hadhis own show in 1973 and served as a sequel to theoriginal Kamen Rider show.