In April it was teased that Bandai was working on a special figure for the Shin Japan Heroes Universe (SJHU). For those of you who actually expected Godzilla, Ultraman, EVA-01 and Kamen Rider to transform into a Super Sentai inspired mech, you can quit your day job and open up a psychic hotline.
"'S.J.H.U.PROJECT Shin Universe Robo' is a robot toy that transforms and combines the four characters that appeared in Shin Godzilla, Shin Evangelion Theatrical Version, Shin Ultraman and Shin Kamen Rider," Bandai announced. "'Godzilla', 'Evangelion Unit 01', 'Ultraman', and 'Kamen Rider' transform from their respective states and combine to become 'Shin Universe Robo' with a total height of about 240mm. It will be a dream united robot product equipped with a weapon that combines the special beam effect of 'Ultraman' and the dorsal fin of 'Godzilla' and the shield of the AT field of "Evangelion".
A special preview was shot for the project using a combination of CG and practical effects. An entire physical costume was built for the ad which you can watch here:
The preview was directed by tokusatsu director Hiroshi Butsuda. Butsuda has worked with the Super Sentai series as far back as 1995's Kakuranger, having recently directed the special effects for Zyuohger (2016-2017). More relevant to the Shin Japan Heroes Universe, Butsuda has lent his talents to twelve different Kamen Rider series including the acclaimed Kamen Rider Fourze (2011-2012) and Kamen Rider Gaim (2013-2014). He also directed the 1993 special, Ultraman vs. Kamen Rider.
Take a look at the individual figures and their combination below:
Pre-orders go up on Bandai, the Evangelion Store, Toei's Online Store and the Godzilla Store by May 19, 2023. The product is expected to ship January 2024.
The Shin Japan Heroes Universe is a project based around the four tokusatsu projects by legendary, Japanese Academy Award winning director Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. The directors inadvertently began this journey writing and directing the 2017 Japanese Academy Award Best Picture winner, Shin Godzilla. Anno also directed Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 (Shin Evangelion in Japan), the fourth and final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion series. The movie was Japan's highest grossing of 2021 and won a Japanese Academy Award for Best Animate Film. Anno also wrote the screenplay for Shin Ultraman, directed by Shinji Higuchi, which went on to win four Japanese Academy Awards this past March. Anno also directed Shin Kamen Rider, which is currently in Japanese theaters.
The films have a loose continuity between them with reoccuring actors Yutaka Takenouchi appearing in Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman and Shin Kamen Rider, as well as Shin Ultraman star Takumi Saitoh appearing in Shin Kamen Rider. The three films also call monsters GULs (Giant Unidentified Lifeforms) and share similar fictional weaponry (MOPIIs).
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Source(s):
Bandai Official Japanese Youtube
Bandai Official
Evangelion Store
Toei Online Store
Godzilla Store
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