| Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DVD cover art | |||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 真・仮面ライダー序章 | ||||
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| Directed by | Makoto Tsuji | ||||
| Written by |
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| Based on | Kamen Rider by Shotaro Ishinomori | ||||
| Produced by | Satoru Kubo | ||||
| Starring |
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| Music by | Ryudo Uzaki | ||||
Production companies | |||||
| Distributed by | Bandai Visual | ||||
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes | ||||
| Country | Japan | ||||
| Language | Japanese | ||||
Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue (真・仮面ライダー序章,Shin Kamen Raidā: Purorōgu) is a 1992 JapaneseV-Cinematokusatsusuperherohorror film serving a reimagining of theKamen rider franchise and commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Kamen Rider Series. Directed by Makoto Tsuji, it is the first standalone film in the series. Toei has marketed the film to English speaking markets asTrue Masked Rider: Prologue.[1] The film was released in Japan on 20 February 1992.[2]
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Doctors Kazamatsuri and Onizuka are geneticists, researching cures for diseases such as AIDS and cancer by performing experiments to strengthen the human body.[3] The test subject, Shin Kazamatsuri, races motorcycles and is Doctor Kazamatsuri's son, who volunteered to help by being the test subject for the Institute of Super Science (ISS).[4] Unknown to the doctors, their operation is funded by a syndicate group who plans to use the research to have the bodies of men strengthened to createmutantcyborg soldiers (改造兵士,Kaizō Heishi) for their own gain. However, they did not count on Onizuka's own secret ambitions: he wants to create a new species of soldiers by fusing theDNA of agrasshopper and test subjects to start a new civilization and be their God.[3] He may have tested it on himself, but seems to be having greater success with Shin.
Meanwhile, a creature is stalking the city, killing people, as Shin dreams of that creature. While Shin believes he is the one causing the murders, he eventually finds Onizuka's plan and discovers that Onizuka is behind the killings. Onizuka has experimented on himself and altered his genes, making him a humanoid grasshopper. The telepathy of grasshoppers allowed him to communicate with Shin, making Shin a witness to the murders.
The syndicate learns of Onizuka's plans and they institutionalize him. ACIA agent tracks Shin and wants him eliminated, for she doesn't know the true threat Shin could pose. Repulsed, Shin investigates all he can about the experiment.
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Before the name "Kamen Rider Shin" was decided, Shotaro Ishinomori originally planned for the character to be called "Kamen Rider Gaia" (仮面ライダーガイア,Kamen Raidā Gaia). The design would have been closer to a traditional Kamen Rider appearance, before later designs switched to a "Kamen Rider Style Reform" version (resembling a man in a motorcycle helmet and modified riding jacket), and then the mutated insect-like human that would become Kamen Rider Shin.[5]
• The film's song "Forever" was performed byNoriko Watanabe, with lyrics byHiroko Kimura, composition by Ryuudou Uzaki, and arrangements by Tooru Yuugawa. The film was released on DVD on 25 April 2008, byBandai Visual.[6] It was later released onToei Company's subscription channel, which featured the film during its Kamen Rider 40th anniversary line up in July 2011.[7][8]
• The OST was released by Nippon Colombia on 6 July 2005 as an Animex Special release with a street price of 1,200 Yen with the tracks composed byRyudo Uzaki andKaoru Wada.[9][10]
• Shin Kamen Rider makes appearances in the films of the laterKamen Rider Decade television series. He is also the primary focus of one of theAll Riders vs. Dai-Shocker comedic webisodes.[11] Kamen Rider Shin also appears as a playable character in the 2011Nintendo DS video gameAll Kamen Rider: Rider Generation.[12]
•Media Blasters licensedShin Kamen Rider; Prologue for a Region 1 Blu-ray release, along withKamen Rider ZO,Kamen Rider J, and the shortKamen Rider World. A limited Collector’s Edition featuring World and a special interview with the movie director of ZO and J, Keita Amemiya was released in the summer of 2024 exclusively on the Media Blasters website, while a Standard Edition of the Blu-ray for the wider market is set to be released in April of 2025. This version of the Blu-ray however does not contain neither the short nor the interview.
• The movie was released worldwide on 5 April 2020 on the Toei Tokusatsu World YouTube channel along with 69 other shows.[13]
On April 2025, a Shin Kamen Rider-themed cologne was released.[14]
