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Red alert WARNING: This series contains scenes of graphic violence, gore, body horror, drug abuse, and police brutality. Viewer discretion is advised!

Kamen Rider Black Sun (仮面ライダーBLACKブラック SUNサン, Kamen Raidā Burakku San) is a Japanese tokusatsu web drama series and reboot of Kamen Rider Black, serving to commemorate its 35th anniversary as well as the franchise's 50th anniversary overall. The series premiered on October 28, 2022 with all ten episodes releasing at midnight in each countries' specific timezones.

Production

Development

An adult-oriented reboot of a Showa-era Kamen Rider had been in the planning stages since 2019 in preparation for the franchise's 50th Anniversary in 2021. Director Kazuya Shiraishi had expressed interest in joining the potential project after hearing about the plans from Taisuke Furuya, one of Toei's producers. Shiraishi was later offered the role by Shin-ichiro Shirakura and decided to tackle Kamen Rider Black.

A trademark for the film was registered on March 4, 2021, around one month before any official announcement was made, and a countdown timer was displayed on the franchise's official website, revealing three unrevealed projects. On April 3, 2021, a press conference was held to reveal these three projects, with the second project being Kamen Rider Black Sun. It was introduced by Toei content director Fumio Yoshimura, who after giving a brief history on Kamen Rider Black's popularity, stated it was the final project that franchise creator Shotaro Ishinomori had worked on before his death.

In regards to being the show-runner, Shiraishi expressed his anticipation of rebooting a popular entry of the Kamen Rider series without diminishing the franchise's 50-year long legacy. However as he had never worked on a Tokusatsu project before, he was assisted by veterans in the genre such as Shin Godzilla director Shinji Higuchi for concept designs, and Ultra Series director Kiyotaka Taguchi for special effects direction.

On November 21, 2021, the production staff unveiled concept designs for the show, including artwork for Black Sun, Shadowmoon, and a redesigned Battle Hopper.[1][2][3][4]

Writing

Shiraishi himself rewatched Kamen Rider Black and began developing the overall story with head writer Izumi Takahashi, focusing on the mellow and tragic friendship between Kotaro and Nobuhiko while pitting them against contemporary social issues.

Filming

It was reported in March 2022 that filming had wrapped due to some actors having confirmed they finished shooting their scenes.[5][6]

Post-Production

On October 9, 2022, several actors were announced to have joined the cast.[7]

Plot

Creation King[8] - the pinnacle of Kaijin. At the end of his life, the elected Century King will inherit his power.

The year is 2022. It is an era of chaos, half a century after the government announced the coexistence of humans and kaijins. Aoi Izumi, a young human rights activist calling for the elimination of discrimination, meets a man named Kotaro Minami, the one called "Black Sun", who is a candidate for the next Creation King.

The truth about Creation King and the Kaijin hidden within 50 years of history, and another imprisoned Creation King candidate, Shadowmoon, AKA Nobuhiko Akizuki. His encounter and reunion with Kotaro will eventually break the status quo within society.

Characters

Kamen Riders

Kamen Rider Black Sun Kotaro Minami
Kamen Rider Shadowmoon Nobuhiko Akizuki

Debatable Riders

Mantis Kaijin Aoi Izumi

Allies

Villains

Gorgom Party

Others

Neutral

Episodes

Main article: Kamen Rider Black Sun Episodes
  1. Episode 1
  2. Episode 2
  3. Episode 3
  4. Episode 4
  5. Episode 5
  6. Episode 6
  7. Episode 7
  8. Episode 8
  9. Episode 9
  10. Final Episode

Cast

  • Kotaro Minami (南 光太郎, Minami Kōtarō): Hidetoshi Nishijima (西島 秀俊, Nishijima Hidetoshi)
    • Kotaro as a younger man from 1972 is portrayed by Aoi Nakamura (中村 蒼, Nakamura Aoi)
    • Kotaro as a child is portrayed by Ryusei Iwata (岩田 琉聖, Iwata Ryūsei)
  • Nobuhiko Akizuki (秋月 信彦, Akizuki Nobuhiko): Tomoya Nakamura (中村 倫也, Nakamura Tomoya)
    • Nobuhiko as a child is portrayed by Kanaru Suzuki (鈴木 奏晴, Suzuki Kanaru)
  • Bilgenia (ビルゲニア, Birugenia): Takahiro Miura (三浦 貴大, Miura Takahiro)
  • Aoi Izumi (和泉 葵, Izumi Aoi): Kokoro Hirasawa (平澤 宏々路, Hirasawa Kokoro)
  • Shunsuke Komatsu (小松 俊介, Komatsu Shunsuke): Kaiki Kimura (木村 舷碁, Kimura Kaiki)
  • Yukari Shinjo (新城 ゆかり, Shinjō Yukari): Haruka Imou (芋生 悠, Imou Haruka)
  • Shinichi Donami (堂波 真一, Dōnami Shin'ichi), Michinosuke Donami (堂波 道之助, Dōnami Michinosuke): Lou Oshiba (ルー 大柴, Ru Oshiba)
    • Shinichi from 1971 is portrayed by Oshiro Maeda (前田 旺志郎, Maeda Oshirō)
  • Oliver Johnson (オリバー・ジョンソン, Oribā Jonson): Moctar (モクタール)
  • Isao Nimura (仁村 勲, Nimura Isao): Toshinori Omi (尾美 トシノリ, Omi Toshinori)
  • Secretary General: Minori Terada (寺田 農, Terada Minori)
  • Wataru Igaki (井垣 渉, Igaki Wataru): Hiroki Konno (今野 浩喜, Konno Hiroki)
  • Kazuya Kurokawa (黒川 一也, Kurokawa Kazuya): Junichi Kawanami (川並 淳一, Kawanami Jun'ichi)
  • Nick (ニック, Nikku): Jua (ジュア)
  • Hideo Kawamoto (川本 英夫, Kawamoto Hideo): Hiroshi Yamamoto (山本 浩司, Yamamoto Hiroshi)
  • Rino Kawamoto (川本 莉乃, Kawamoto Rino): Chika Uchida (内田 慈, Uchida Chika)
  • Tasuku Komatsu (小松 佐, Komatsu Tasuku): Akie Namiki (並木 愛枝, Namiki Akie)
  • Shigeo Komatsu (小松 茂雄, Komatsu Shigeo): Takamitsu Nonaka (野中 隆光, Nonaka Takamitsu)
  • Darom (ダロム, Daromu): Baijaku Nakamura (中村 梅雀, Nakamura Baijaku)
    • Darom from 1972 is portrayed by Nao Okabe (岡部 尚, Okabe Nao)
  • Bishum (ビシュム, Bishumu): Yoh Yoshida (吉田 羊, Yoshida Yō)
    • Bishum from 1972 is portrayed by Mana Sakurai (櫻井 麻七, Sakurai Mana)
  • Baraom (バラオム, Baraomu): Pretty Ohta (プリティ 太田, Puriti Ōta)
  • Bat Kaijin (コウモリ怪人, Kōmori Kaijin): Takuma Otoo (音尾 琢真, Otō Takuma)
  • Whale Kaijin (クジラ怪人, Kujira Kaijin): Gaku Hamada (濱田 岳, Hamada Gaku)
  • Flea Kaijin (ノミ怪人, Nomi Kaijin): Daisuke Kuroda (黒田 大輔, Kuroda Daisuke)
  • Anemone Kaijin (アネモネ怪人, Anemone Kaijin): Miwako Kakei (筧 美和子, Kakei Miwako)
  • Spider Kaijin (クモ怪人, Kumo Kaijin): Issei Okihara (沖原 一生, Okihara Issei)
  • Kozo Minami (南 光三, Minami Kōzō): Kou Maehara (前原 滉, Maehara Ko)
  • Soichiro Akizuki (秋月 総一郎, Akizuki Soichiro): Shusaku Kamikawa (上川 周作, Kamikawa Shûsaku)

Suit Actors[9]

Staff

  • Director: Kazuya Shiraishi
  • Script: Izumi Takahashi
  • Art Director: Tsutomu Imamura
  • Concept Visuals: Shinji Higuchi
  • SFX Director: Kiyotaka Taguchi
  • Moldmaker: Kakusei Fujiwara
  • Character Design: Daisuke Kobayashi
  • Costumes: Daisuke Iga
  • Photography: Hajime Baba
  • Lighting: Masayuki Nishimura
  • Audio Engineer: Kazuharu Urata
  • Audio Director: Yujiro Miki
  • Concept Artist: Katsuhiro Fukuzawa
  • Stunt Coordinator: Hiroyuki Yoshida
  • Editor: Hitomi Kato
  • Sound Effects: Kenji Shibasaki
  • Visual Effects Supervisor: Shun Carlos Fukushima
  • Executive Producer: Shin-ichiro Shirakura
  • Planning Producer: Daisuke Furuya
  • Producers: Haruhiko Hasegawa, Hironao Mukuki, Masahiko Sato
  • Production Studio: Kadokawa Daiei Studio
  • Created by: Ishimori Productions, Toei Company, "Kamen Rider BLACK SUN" PROJECT

Music

Ending Theme
Main article: Kamen Rider Black Sun Original Soundtrack

Marketing

The project was announced on April 3, 2021, the 50th Anniversary the franchise and was originally reported to have been developed as a film, but several sources later confirmed this as a series instead. A press conference was announced on October 4th and took place on November 19.[11][12]

On December 5th, 2021, a full replica of the redesigned Battle Hopper was put on display at the Yokohama Hot Rod Show.[13][14][15][16] On March 18, the film’s official webpage unveiled the full costumes for Black and Shadow Moon, as well as the reveal of the Road Sector motorcycle.[17]

On June 12, 2022, a visual was released.[18] On July 12, 2022, a visual was unveiled with the catchphrase, " Who is evil? What is evil?" (悪とは、誰だ。悪とは、何だ。, Aku to wa, dareda. Aku to wa, nanida).[19] On June 16, 2022, a short teaser trailer was revealed during a Bandai Tamashii Nations interview with Kiyotaka Higuchi while also unveiling the completed design of the Black Sun S.H. Figuarts toy.[20]

On August 29, 2022, Toei released a trailer.[21] On October 8, 2022,, a trailer featuring new footage as well as the show's theme song was shown.[22] On October 12, 2022, a trailer was released.[23]

An early screening of the first two episodes was shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 25, 2022.[24]

Release

  • All ten episodes of Kamen Rider Black Sun premiered on October 28, 2022 in each in countries' respective timezones on Amazon Prime Video.

Notes

  • Kamen Rider Black Sun is the second reboot TV series to be oriented towards a mature audience. The first was Kamen Rider Amazons, which was also distributed through Amazon Prime Video.
  • The year this series premiered marks the 35th anniversary of Kamen Rider Black, this series' original source material.
  • As part of the build up to the series, Bandai made a crowdfunding campaign for a remake of the 1987 DX TV Power Henshin Belt called the "DX Henshin Belt King Stone".[25] Since the old belt responded to flashing from a CRT TV, the remake comes with a special DVD of Kamen Rider Black episodes to activate the infrared sensor during Kotaro’s transformation scenes. The crowdfund was successful gaining 140% of its intended goal with almost ¥28 million in funds.
  • In an interview with Variety, Shirakura joked that Black Sun's adaptation of Kamen Rider Black was Toei's "payback" to Saban's Masked Rider, which had failed both critically and commercially.[26]
  • This series contained multiple real-world references, such as Unit 731, Zenkyōtō, Murder of George Floyd, etc.

Differences from Kamen Rider Black

  • Unlike the original TV show, Kotaro and Nobuhiko are just close friends instead of adopted brothers. They were not reconstructed by Gorgom, but were turned into Kaijin by their own fathers when they were children.
  • Nobuhiko Akizuki retained his sense of self after being turned into a Kaijin and wasn't forced to fight against Kotaro from the beginning.
  • In the original show, Gorgom was a cult centered around the Century King and sought out world domination. In this interpretation, Gorgom was a political party aiming to benefit the lives of the Kaijin and sought to seize the Kingstones from the Century Kings. However, they were hypocrites by working with those who wished to harm their kind such as Prime Minister Dounami and turned a blind eye to those suffering in order to maintain a false peace.
  • Black Sun uses attacks more in line with Kamen Rider Amazons, tearing his targets apart while using the Rider Punch and Kick only in the final episode. Black in the original series on the other hand used his Rider Punch and Kick every episode to defeat the monster of the week.

References

  1. https://mobile.twitter.com/KR_BLACKSUN/status/1462240346054746116
  2. https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2021/11/tamashii-nation-online-2021-kamen-rider-black-sun-panel-announced/
  3. https://tamashii-nation.tamashii.jp/station/kamenrider/
  4. https://hobby.dengeki.com/news/1402571/
  5. https://mobile.twitter.com/KR_BLACKSUN/status/1498606474225872899
  6. https://www.instagram.com/p/CbRdUijrnEK/
  7. https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2022/10/09/heroes-are-reborn-in-kamen-rider-black-sun-trailer
  8. https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0B8TH6BBS
  9. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/542232818785320960/1078991708433432687/Screenshot_2023-02-25-18-47-19-85_a252b927494330cdc2c8ba3b3f952e5e.jpg
  10. Uchusen Vol.180
  11. https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0126294.amp.html?__twitter_impression=true
  12. https://youtube.com/watch?v=uHqGEdxxm70&feature=youtu.be
  13. https://mobile.twitter.com/KR_BLACKSUN/status/1462240346054746116
  14. https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2021/11/tamashii-nation-online-2021-kamen-rider-black-sun-panel-announced/
  15. https://tamashii-nation.tamashii.jp/station/kamenrider/
  16. https://hobby.dengeki.com/news/1402571/
  17. https://www.kamen-rider-official.com/blacksun/news/7/
  18. https://twitter.com/KR_BLACKSUN/status/1535781428104863745
  19. https://twitter.com/KR_BLACKSUN/status/1535781428104863745
  20. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=StaLve2rfZo&feature=youtu.be
  21. https://youtu.be/VUrVNgi4g7E
  22. https://youtube.com/watch?v=iyDt017Vhfg
  23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV5ppyigAUg
  24. http://ukiyaseed.weebly.com/ukiyaseeds-other-blog/kamen-rider-black-sun-to-debut-at-the-tokyo-international-film-festival
  25. https://www.kamen-rider-official.com/blacksun/news/2/
  26. https://variety.com/2021/film/global/toei-kamen-rider-1235009716/

External links

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Icon-blacksun Kamen Rider Black Sun
Kamen Riders
Main Riders: Kotaro Minami - Nobuhiko Akizuki
Debatable Riders: Aoi Izumi
Gear
Transformation Belts
Century King Sun Driver - Century King Moon Driver - Aoi's Driver
Vehicles
Battle Hopper - Road Sector
Weapons
Century King Black Blade - Century King Shadow Blade
Terminology
Kingstone - Heat Heaven - Satansaber
Allies
2022
Aoi Izumi - Shunsuke Komatsu - Nick - Koumori - Kujira - Nomi - Sachi Komatsu - Shigeo Komatsu
1972
Yukari Shinjo - Oliver Johnson
Gorgom Party
Three Priests: Darom - Baraom - Bishum
Other: Creation King - Bilgenia
Kaijin
Spider Kaijin - Anemone Kaijin
Other Villains
Shinichi Donami - Michinosuke Donami - Isao Nimura - Wataru Igaki - Kazuya Kurokawa - Hideo Kawamoto
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