General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

Crayon Shin-chan: Action Kamen vs. Haigure Mao

Crayon Shin-chan: Action Kamen vs. Haigure Mao (映画クレヨンしんちゃんアクション仮面VSハイグレ魔王, also known in English as Action Kamen vs. Leotard Devil) is a 1993 Japanese animated comedy film and the first theatrical feature based on Yoshito Usui's manga Crayon Shin-chan. It was directed by Mitsuru Hongo, written by Moto Hiraryō, and released in Japan by Toho on July 24, 1993, with a running time of 93 minutes.¹^•²

Key fact	Detail
Japanese title	映画クレヨンしんちゃんアクション仮面VSハイグレ魔王; English title Action Kamen vs. Leotard Devil²
Release	July 24, 1993, Toho; 93 minutes; Japan¹
Position in series	First theatrical film in the Crayon Shin-chan movie series³
Director / script	Mitsuru Hongo (director); script by Moto Hiraryō; original manga by Yoshito Usui¹
Production	Asatsu, Shin-Ei Animation, and TV Asahi; distributed by Toho⁴
Main voice cast	Akiko Yajima (Shinnosuke), Miki Narahashi (Misae), Keiji Fujiwara (Hiroshi), Tesshō Genda (Action Kamen), Nachi Nozawa (Haigure Mao)⁴
Technical format	Color, 35 mm, American vista aspect ratio (1:1.85), Dolby sound⁵

Spoilers

Plot

Shinnosuke wins a golden Action Kamen card, the fabled number 99, from Action Kamen snacks bought with Chocobi, and during summer vacation he goes to the seaside with his parents, Misae and Hiroshi. There, an "Action Kamen Attraction House" appears; when Shinnosuke shows his card, he and his family are placed in a mysterious machine and transported to another world.⁹^•¹⁰

This parallel Earth resembles the Nohara family's own world, but the villainous Haigure Mao (ハイグレ魔王, the "Leotard Devil"), a dictator who wants to put everyone in the world into high-cut leotards, has sealed away Action Kamen's power and begun his invasion, turning the population into haigure-clad subjects. His henchmen include Harakaki Lady (腹巻きレディ) and T-back Baron (Tバック男爵).¹^•⁹

Because Shinnosuke drew the number 99 card, he has been chosen as an Action warrior. He is entrusted with the Action Stone, the item that summons Action Kamen, but he mistakes it for a candy ball and swallows it. The enemy targets Shinnosuke, who dodges them in his usual self-paced manner and finally succeeds in summoning Action Kamen. With the combined efforts of Action Kamen and Shinnosuke, peace returns to the other world.⁵^•¹⁰

Background

Crayon Shin-chan began serialization in Futabasha's Weekly Manga Action in August 1990, and the TV anime adaptation started on the TV Asahi network in April 1992. The following year, the first theatrical anime, Action Kamen vs. Haigure Mao, was released.⁶ Shin-Ei Animation, the studio behind the film, notes that it opened nationwide in Toho-affiliated theaters in July 1993.⁷

The film adapts the TV series' central in-universe fiction: Action Kamen (アクション仮面), the tokusatsu-style superhero whom the five-year-old protagonist Shinnosuke Nohara idolizes. In the movie, Action Kamen, a fictional TV hero in the Nohara family's world, turns out to be a real hero in another world.⁸

Cast and staff

The Nohara family is voiced by the TV series' original cast: Akiko Yajima as Shinnosuke, Miki Narahashi as Misae, and Keiji Fujiwara as Hiroshi. Mari Mashiba plays Toru Kazama and the dog Shiro, and Tesshō Genda voices Action Kamen. The villain Haigure Mao is voiced by Nachi Nozawa.⁴

Director Mitsuru Hongo had previously directed 21 Emon: Uchū Ike! Hadashi no Princess; the screenplay was by Moto Hiraryō. Keiichi Hara, later the director of several acclaimed Shin-chan films, served as episode director (enshutsu).¹^•⁵

Place in the series

The film established the annual Crayon Shin-chan movie tradition. The second film, The Secret Treasure of Buri Buri Kingdom, followed in April 1994, and a new entry has been released nearly every year since; the series' related books have surpassed 100 million copies in cumulative circulation, and the TV anime has been broadcast in 45 countries.⁶^•¹¹

The first film also set patterns the series reused: a plot driven by Shinnosuke's obsession with Action Kamen merchandise, a parallel or transformed world, and the broad lower-body humor associated with Haigure Mao and his minions, which reviewers note recurred in later entries.¹ In international release the film is known under titles such as Action Kamen vs. Leotard Devil, the official English listing used by ADK.²

Availability

In Japan the film is available on subscription streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, and carries a 7+ age rating on JustWatch's listing.⁸ Netflix's Japanese listing describes it as a family comedy anime based on a manga, with Japanese audio and subtitles.¹²

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026