Development In 2021,
Toho,
Khara,
Tsuburaya Productions, and
Toei held a meeting and unanimously agreed to create the Shin Japan Heroes Universe, with the assistance of
Hideaki Anno. Regarding the fruition of the project, Anno stated that it "was conceived in the discussions of the related companies, from the idea of combining characters that are proud of Japanese culture, in a collaborative way, to further expand them around the world and stimulate fun. [...] Originally, projects with a wide range of copyright sources are difficult to adjust, and the commercial benefits are not significant. So it's a plan that can only be made by content holders who prioritize fan service over business cooperation itself." Back in 2016, Khara and Toho had previously collaborated on similar cross-over projects uniting
Rebuild of Evangelion and
Shin Godzilla such as
Godzilla vs. Evangelion and
Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4D. On February 14, 2022, all four companies jointly announced that the collaborative project unites properties that Anno had worked on bearing the title "Shin", such as
Shin Godzilla,
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time,
Shin Ultraman and
Shin Kamen Rider; the project is intended only for merchandise, special events, and tie-in events. That same day, the official logo by
Yutaka Izubuchi and the promotional visual teaser image by
Mahiro Maeda were revealed. In July 2022,
Shinji Higuchi iterated, in an interview with
Looper, that there are no plans for cross-over films and would not be interested in such projects.
Looper elaborated that while the films share "intertextual references", they are standalone features with no indication of being canon with one another or being part of a shared universe. They also pointed out that each series is owned by rival studios, rendering a potential crossover difficult.
Projects In May 2022,
Bandai Namco Holdings announced the first SJHU project titled Shin Japan Heroes Amusement World, an
amusement park set to debut for opening between July and November 2022 in the Bandai Namco Cross Stores located in
Yokohama,
Osaka,
Umeda and
Hakata. In July of the same year,
GungHo Online Entertainment added the
Shin Godzilla incarnation of
Godzilla and the
Shin Ultraman incarnations of
Ultraman, Neronga, Gabora, Zarab, Mefilas, and
Zetton to their mobile puzzle video game
Puzzle & Dragons. In October, a
pachinko game titled
Godzilla vs. Evangelion: G Cells Awakening was announced, which features an
Evangelion mutating into Godzilla. That following month, a Shin Japan Heroes Amusement World commemorative
wristwatch was announced and became available for pre-order from Premium Bandai on November 25 for ¥33,000. That same month, Tamashii Nations announced a new line of figures based on the designs of Eva-01, Godzilla, Kamen Rider and Ultraman. In January 2023, two SJHU products were announced: snack food company Befco announced a special campaign promoting an SJHU-themed
bakauke pack and
Uniqlo announced a new line of
T-shirts for March 2023. In March, an
izakaya inspired by
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time and
Shin Kamen Rider opened in
Tokyo's
Kabukicho district from March 10 to May 28. The ensuing month, the video game
SD Shin Kamen Rider Rumble, featuring a season pass with three
DLC packs was revealed. In May, Bandai Toy Division released "S.J.H.U.PROJECT Shin Universe Robo," a toy consisting of the title characters from each film at the price of ¥23.100. Hiroshi Butsuda directed a promotional video featuring the "Shin Universe Robo", released the same month, which a mecha formed by the combination of Godzilla, Ultraman, Evangelion Unit-01 and Kamen Rider No. 1's motorcycle, the Cyclone. ==See also==