Hideaki Anno is living the dream of every teenager with a video camera and some action figures. With ¡°Shin Godzilla,¡± ¡°Shin Ultraman¡± and now ¡°Shin Kamen Rider,¡± the director has been handed the reins to Japan¡¯s most beloved special effects franchises and allowed to run wild.
In ¡°Shin Godzilla,¡± Japan¡¯s highest-grossing live-action film of 2016, Anno (best known for anime like ¡°Neon Genesis Evangelion¡±) hit it out of the park. The film was at once a satire of Japanese politics, a reflection on the March 11 disasters and a compelling piece of horror that made the titular monster scarier than any time since its 1954 debut.
Last year¡¯s ¡°Shin Ultraman,¡± which retained Anno as the mastermind but passed directorial duties to his frequent collaborator, Shinji Higuchi, was fun but less weighty than ¡°Godzilla¡± (a film he also worked on). It also suffered from a funky visual aesthetic, with much of the film made up of grainy iPhone footage.
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