Hideaki Anno recently finished working on the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion with the end of the film series dubbed Rebuild of Evangelion, retelling the story of the original series with a number of changes across the four movies that updates the adventures of Shinji and NERV. With the prolific anime creator working on live-action projects in his “Shin Universe” it would appear that Anno himself was the one who had performed motion capture for Shin Ultraman, the latest movie of the universe that gives the giant monster-fighting hero a makeover in a world far different from the one he debuted in.
What makes the “Shin” universe different from the universes that originally gave us Godzilla, Ultraman, and Kamen Rider is that it takes a far more realistic approach to each of their creations, with Shin Godzilla for example taking ample time to focus on the bureaucracy involved in a giant monster attack while simultaneously giving viewers the scariest version of the king of the monsters to date. While Shin Ultraman has already debuted in Japan, a North American release date is still anyone’s guess at this point, with the entry in the Shin universe pulling in around $30 million dollars from the Japanese box office alone.
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Twitter Outlet Catsuka not only shared video of Hideaki Anno performing motion capture for his latest creation in Shin Ultraman, it took the opportunity to share a far older video in which Anno, in his younger years, played the role of Ultraman in a fan film proving just how deep his love for the character is:
The next Shin entry is set to be Shin Kamen Rider, with Anno taking the opportunity to tell the story of a Sentai hero that predated the Power Rangers and has become a staple within Japanese culture. With a poster being released of Godzilla, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Eva Unit 01, fans have been wondering if a major crossover story is in the works that might see Hideaki Anno attempt to unite all of these monsters and heroes under one roof. Needless to say, it would be quite the undertaking and might even rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of sheer ambitiousness.
Are you crossing your fingers for news of Shin Ultraman hitting North America in the future? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Shin.
