AGITO: PSYCHIC WAR marks many things: it’s a sequel celebrating Kamen Rider Agito (2001)’s 25th anniversary, the Kamen Rider series’ overall 55th anniversary, and also marks the first instalment in Toei‘s THE KAMENRIDER CHRONICLE brand of anniversary films aimed at an older audience of fans.
It’s also both a very entertaining cast reunion and an absolute headscratcher of a movie that leaves you wondering, “why”, especially coming off fresh from a rewatch of the TV show.
Speaking of which, perhaps it’s easier to start with a refresher. The original Kamen Rider Agito lasted for 50 episodes, had several specials, and notably also had a film that started the summer movie trend for the franchise: Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4. Being only Kamen Rider’s second TV entry in the Heisei era after its return with Kamen Rider Kuuga, Agito also introduced conventions that are now considered series staples, such as having an ensemble cast of multiple main heroes in a season. The show itself was serious & moody and felt more like a prestige TV drama than a typical superhero show for children. It featured multiple POVs and storylines that gave the show a very distinct feel- sometimes it was a horror show about people awakening to psychic powers being hunted down by monsters, sometimes it was a hardboiled cop show, and sometimes it was a trendy relationship drama with a sprinkle of romance, depending on which of the three main Kamen Riders were being featured in a given episode.
It was also impeccably shot. Despite some special effects arguably not withstanding the test of time by today’s standards, Agito featured a lot of creative cinematography and striking uses of lighting, with “light” itself being a motif used throughout the show. The score and insert songs were also quite memorable, particularly “BELIEVE YOURSELF” sung by Naoto Fuuga of VOCALOID fame.
So it’s a bit jarring to see that AGITO: PSYCHIC WAR features very little of what made Agito so appealing, despite featuring so many returning cast members.
PSYCHIC WAR features a plot similar to one that’s been explored in the TV series: individuals have been awakening to superpowers and using them for horrifying mass murders. Sumiko Ozawa (Toko Fujita), the brains behind the police unit MPD SAUL dealing with such threats, gathers a new generation of G-System users to fight the superhumans. Yet, past allies such as Shoichi Tsugami (Toshiki Kashu) have lost his ability to transform into Kamen Rider Agito, while original G-System user Makoto Hikawa (Jun Kaname) is wrongly incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit.
The movie is very much about getting the gang back together, both production-wise and story-wise. With a major exception, pretty much everyone from the show’s ensemble cast returns in some form, and it’s delightful to see. Jun Kaname’s Hikawa being the star this time also makes sense, given the themes of “power has the potential to turn people into monsters” the movie has going on. However, it’s not exactly treading new ground, and it makes the plot of the movie feel less like a natural progression of the story & characters post-series, and more like it was chosen because it would be the best, safest bet for a new movie featuring all of these characters together.
I understand if the movie was aiming to be a crowd-pleaser for fans of the show, but what feels baffling is that writer Toshiki Inoue‘s script for the movie feels farcical in a way that’s a stark contrast to the often serious tone of the original TV series. Even more baffling, since he was responsible for writing Agito in the first place. Not that Agito didn’t have its sillier, zany moments, but PSYCHIC WAR turns it up to eleven in a way that leaves you scratching your head. It’s such a departure in tone by comparison to the tightly-written serious drama that was the TV show that it feels downright jarring. For example, a character that had a satisfying narrative closure from the series returns from the dead for no apparent reason as an antagonist. And while the action scenes are great, gone too is a lot of the sound and visual language the show had.
The result is that PSYCHIC WAR feels like a cast reunion where the characters, all mostly staying the same and feeling unchanged from the show 25 years ago, are dropped into a new and completely different setting with completely different vibes. It has half of the things that made Agito be remembered fondly, yet lacks the other half that made it work.
All in all, while the result can still be enjoyable to fans, I can’t help but walk out of the theatre thinking about whether there could’ve been a better version of this movie instead.
AGITO: PSYCHIC WAR premieres in Indonesian theatres on 26 August 2026.
The Indonesian Anime Times | Review by Caesar E.S
