You may have heard that 2016’s Shin Godzilla was directed by Shin Evangelion director and the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hideaki Anno. Anno-san, for those who don’t already know, is also the director of 2022’s Shin Ultraman and the upcoming Shin Kamen Rider.
Keen eye observers would have noticed all these movies have “Shin” preceding the title. “Shin” is basically Japanese for “new”. It is not a coincidence that all four movies have the word “Shin” and all four movies are directed by Anno-san.
They culminate into what is now known as Shin Japan Heroes Universe. I would like to interpret it as Japan’s MCU but it is probably not. The coming together of all these properties means four different companies, namely, Ultraman’s Tsuburaya Productions, Godzilla’s Toho, Kamen Rider’s Toei, and Evangelion’s Studio Khara, will be working for future projects involving all four iconic Japanese properties.
However, what Hideaki and the four studios are cooking is unclear. So far, only a poster and a logo that declared the four as a collective Shin Japan Heroes Universe have been revealed.
My guess is, it will be nothing more than collab events and probably collectibles and toys. The latter is not new to Godzilla and Evangelion. Damn it. I still regret not getting the figure to this day. It costs a bomb now. I don’t think the four will ever cross paths on screen.
Images: Twitter (@shin_ultraman).
