by lhb412 » Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:02 pm
^ ZO and J are terrific. I hope you enjoy them!
They're short, like, under feature length but longer than a short film; that 45-ish minute mark that Japanese media sometimes has when originally intended for theatrical exhibition bundled with one or two other shorts or features. The brevity just ads to the experience, though; each one is a marathon of insane creature designs and gooey effects, chases, stylized fights, crazy optical effects, stop motion animation and with only as much plot and exposition and dialog as is necessary! Hell, these things are like Tom & Jerry cartoons; you can watch them with the sound off and get what's happening.
As for Shin Prologue? Well, it's kinda dull, but it has some nifty creature effects. It was intended to kick off an adult oriented reboot of Rider as a series of direct to video films, but since this one bombed before any sequels could be made (which would introduce more of the classic Kamen Rider elements) the whole thing feels inexplicable. Funnily enough, we should be used to the idea of studios mining IP to produce prequels to movies that won't exist, as we've seen several prospective cinematic universe starters and spinoffs flame out in the last decade. Shin Prologue is the Madame Web of its day!