Shin Godzilla Director Hideaki Anno Is Creating His Own Shin Movie Universe With Kaiju And Robots
You've heard of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the wide, ever-growing interconnected stories that come along (and are still coming along) with its creation. Now it's time for the Shin Japan Heroes Universe (SJHU), described as a "miracle project" in which four iconic works — "Godzilla," "Ultraman," "Kamen Rider," and "Evangelion" — will be brought together in collaboration.
The implications of this mega-crossover are absolutely bonkers and as per Kotaku, the project will bring together properties from Toei, Toho, Tsuburaya Productions, and Hideaki Anno's Studio Khara. Anno, of course, is the creator of the groundbreaking 1995 anime series, "Neon Genesis Evangelion," which shaped the arena of anime and Japanese popular culture as a whole.
The mighty Shin era begins
While the exact details about the project and what it exactly entails remain scant, a graphic and a logo (pictured above) have been released on the project's official website. As per the official description of the project, and how it came about, a joint meeting of the four companies was held, promoting the coming together of four "heroes" representing Japan, which makes sense, as they are their biggest pop-culture icons.
The main image in question features the flagship characters of each studio: Toho's monstrous Godzilla, Toei and Tsuburaya's tokusatsu heroes Kamen Rider and Ultraman, and the Evangelion Unit 01, the lead "mecha" from "Neon Genesis Evangelion." The new illustration has been created by Mahiro Maeda, who previously worked as an animator on the "Evangelion" franchise. On the other hand, the logo has been created by Yutaka Izubuchi, who also worked on Anno's "Evangelion" and multiple entries within the "Mobile Suit Gundam" universe.
Anno made the following comment about the upcoming shared universe:
"It is a project that uses a common item called "Shin" as an expedient. In the future, the word "Shin" will be removed...we hope that the development of SJHU will please our fans as a new pleasure that transcends the boundaries of the character(s) worlds."
Anno is the common link between the four franchises, as he has been personally involved with each of the other three series in the collaboration, apart from his own "Evangelion." In 2017, Anno directed the critically-acclaimed reboot, "Shin Godzilla," and is currently directing "Shin Kamen Rider," while also writing/producing "Shin Ultraman," which is scheduled for release in Japan on May 13, 2022.
Anno's latest release, "Evangelion 3.0+1.01: Thrice Upon A Time" premiered last year, garnering positive reviews and quickly becoming Japan's second highest-grossing film of 2021. Anno's "Shin Kamen Rider," which is now officially a part of the SJHU, is slated for a 2023 release.