is a Japanese

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series. It is the second installment in the popular

Kamen Rider Series The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media genera ...

, and the direct sequel to the original ''

Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media generall ...

''. It was a joint collaboration between

Ishimori Productions is a Japanese production company that develops works created by, and also serves as the literary estate of manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori, headquartered in Yoyogi, Tokyo. Such works include '' 009-1'', ''Kikaider'', ''Inazuman'', '' Ganbare!! R ...

and Toei, and was shown on

Mainichi Broadcasting System , or MBS, is a radio and television broadcasting company headquartered in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network (JRN), National Radio Network (NRN), Japan News Network (JNN) and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. It i ...

and

NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

from February 17, 1973, to February 9, 1974. Every episode of Kamen Rider V3 begins with the following opening narration: "Kamen Rider V3, Shiro Kazami, is an altered human. Mortally wounded by Destron, he is rebuilt by Kamen Riders 1 and 2, reborn as Kamen Rider V3."

Plot

Starting after the events of

the original series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...

student of Takeshi, Shiro Kazami witnesses a murder by Destron, a new organization created from Gel-Shocker by its previously thought deceased leader. They attempt to kill Shiro and later kill his family. With this Shiro begs Takeshi and Hayato to turn him into a Kamen Rider. After turning Shiro into Kamen Rider V3 the first two riders sacrifice themselves to save Tokyo. Shiro then must fight Destron in Japan with the help of Tobei, the Kamen Rider Kid Corps, and later the first two riders having survived and left to fight Destron in other countries. Towards the end of his war Shiro is joined by ex-Destron scientist, Joji Yuki a.k.a. the Riderman. Eventually, Joji sacrificed himself to save Japan and thus Shiro named him Kamen Rider #4. During the final battle Shiro stopped Destron’s leader and the organization as a whole saving the world from its rein of terror. But their leader still survived meaning

someday Someday or Some Day may refer to: Film and television * ''Someday'' (1935 film), a British film directed by Michael Powell * ''Someday'' (2011 film), a Japanese film directed by Junji Sakamoto * ''Someday'' (2021 film), an Indian Hindi-langu ...

more of his forces could appear to enact his will.

Characters

Kamen Riders

* ("V3" or "Rider V3", for short) is a cyborg who fights Destron. When he encounters a Destron monster, he intones, ''Henshin... V3!'', and transforms into Kamen Rider V3. He is host to 26 special powers that he uses to fight Destron; V3 doesn't know what all of his special powers are, but most of them are revealed during the course of the series. Among his powers are Bulletproof Muscles, the V3 Hopper (a device that allows him to track enemies) and the V3 Reverse Kick. Others, including the V3 Thunder (one of his most powerful), were revealed in stage shows, manga and magazines of the time. His nuclear-powered motorcycle is named "Hurricane"; it also has a variety of special abilities. *: A Destron scientist who is betrayed by Marshal Yoroi. His right arm is burnt off and replaced by a special mechanical one, which gives him special powers. Initially, he distrusts V3, but eventually becomes an ally. V3 declares him to be "Kamen Rider Number Four" in tribute, after sacrificing his life to protect Tokyo from destruction. Riderman appears in some of the sequels. How he survived is not fully explained in the TV show, but it is explained in detail in the Kamen Rider Spirits manga.

Allies

*: Shiro's mentor and advisor. This character appeared in the original ''

'' and also appeared in the

following ''Following'' is a 1998 independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by Christopher Nolan. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London and is drawn into a criminal unde ...

three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

. *: A young woman who has a crush on Shiro. Shiro is aware of her crush, but refuses to let her get close to him, to protect her, because he lives such a dangerous life. Despite this, she assists Shiro, often watching the communications station, and eventually becomes a close friend to Shiro. She often gets into dangerous situations, requiring V3 to rescue her. *: Junko's kid brother and a member of the Boys' Kamen Rider Squad. He sometimes acts as Shiro's liaison with the Boys' Kamen Rider members. *: Also known as The Kamen Rider Scouts. They are young boys who assist Kamen Rider V3. They have members throughout Japan. They wear medallions which are shaped like the head of Kamen Rider V3. The medallions contain radios which allow them to report suspicious activity to Kamen Rider headquarters. *: A Destron Hunter, from

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

, who helps V3 for a few episodes. He is Destron Hunter no. 5 and is the last surviving Destron hunter.

Destron

is an international organization bent on conquering the world with terrorist acts, Destron was formed under the lead of the mysterious Great Leader by surviving members of Gelshocker. Although Destron had branches in every country and sought to dominate the entire planet, its main headquarters was in Japan which Destron focused its attention on. Initially the monster of the Mechanical Army followed the orders of the unseen Destron Leader without any direct supervision, but after repeated failures of the monsters the Destron Leader summoned Doctor G from Destron's German Division to take charge of the day-to-day operations of Destron's Japanese Division. Destron used the scorpion as its symbol but had no scorpion-like monsters. Destron is the only Showa villainous organization in the franchise to appear in the movie '' OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders'' although several of its monsters make appearances; this is most likely due to the organization being formed from Shocker remnants, therefore making its construction unnecessary. Their name is also reused as the Japanese name of the

Decepticon The Decepticons are the main antagonists in the fictional continuities of the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. They are depicted as a faction of sentient robotic lifeforms led by Megatron, identified by a purple face-like insignia. Capab ...

faction from the ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' franchise. * - Another form of the Shocker Leader from the original series, originally thought to have died in a failed kamikaze attack against Kamen Riders One and Two. In the earliest episodes he led directly; later he let one of his generals lead for him. His cyborgs are patterned after a combination of a manmade object and an animal (such as ''Camera Mosquito'' or ''Bazooka Turtle''). In the last few episodes, he appeared in person for brief periods of time, but he wore a robe with a hood which hid all of his features. When his robe was pulled, a man with his head covered by white bandages and a smiling mask was revealed, but he quickly escaped. In the final episode, he was revealed to be a monstrous skeleton with a living heart, calling himself ''God of Death''. V3 destroyed the monster's heart, apparently killing him, just to hear his voice again, from a tape player inside the skeleton's head. He congratulates V3 for finding his true form but reveals that V3 would die alongside himself. Immediately afterwards, the Destron headquarters self-destructed, but V3 escaped. * / - Destron's first general in knight armor from Germany in charge of Japan. He wields a battle axe, a short sword, and a knife. In the comics, his scorpion-shaped helmet could transform into a deadly scorpion, but this did not happen on TV. Most of his monsters are cyborgs that are the same type as Destron Leader's cyborgs. He tends to pronounce his enemy's name as "Kamen Riiiiider V3!". After numerous failures, Doctor G summoned the spirits of his dead, evil warriors to transform him into Kani Laser for his final battle with Kamen Rider V3. Despite putting up a heroic battle, he was destroyed by V3's V3 Tailspin Return Kick. * / - The leopard-skin wearing witch doctor from Africa, second general of Destron, and leader of the Kiba Clan. He wields a spear which could fire explosive charges. His powers are magical in origin. The monsters in his Kiba Clan are mutated forms of wild animals with fangs or tusks that are empowered through blood sacrifices of innocent victims by Baron Kiba. After his Kiba Clan was wiped out by Kamen Rider V3, Baron Kiba later called on the spirits of Doovoo to give him the power to transform into the Vampiric Mammoth so that he could take revenge on V3 in his final battle. He was destroyed by V3's V3 Revolving Triple Kick. * / - The robe-wearing general from Tibet. The monsters in his Wing Unit are all mutated versions of flying animals with the exception of one plantlike monster. He wields a bird-headed spiked staff. Archbishop Tsubasa later takes on his true form called Zombie Bat in his final battle with Kamen Rider V3. He was destroyed by V3's V3 Mach Kick. Marshal Yoroi later revived Archbishop Tsubasa's Zombie Bat form in order to ambush Kamen Rider V3. He was defeated by V3 with several punches. * / - Destron's final general in plated armor who comes from Mongolia. Most of his monsters in his Armored Division are mutated versions of armored animals. He wields an oversized spiked mace in one hand and practices dark magic. Pronounces Destron as "Deeestron". He frames scientist Joji Yuki for treason, fearing his position in Destron is in jeopardy, creating a rival in Riderman. Marshal Yoroi became Zariganna in his final battle against Kamen Rider V3. After being defeated by Kamen Rider V3 and despite surviving the encounter, Zariganna was destroyed by the Destron Leader for failing. In ''

Kamen Rider Spirits is a manga adaptation of the popular '' Kamen Rider'' franchise by Kenichi Muraeda. The story focuses on the ten original Kamen Riders with shifting focus on main characters. The original series ended when ''Magazine Z'' ceased publicatio ...

'', he is restored in a new Crab Inhumanoid body and seeks to eliminate his former rival Riderman. He was ultimately destroyed by Riderman's Machine Gun Arm.

Special guest characters from ''
Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media generall ...
''

*Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1 *Hayato Ichimonji/Kamen Rider 2 *Colonel Zol *Doctor Death *Ambassador Hell *General Black

Episodes

# (Original Airdate: February 17, 1973) # (Original Airdate: February 24, 1973) # (Original Airdate: March 3, 1973) # (Original Airdate: March 10, 1973) # (Original Airdate: March 17, 1973) # (Original Airdate: March 24, 1973) # (Original Airdate: March 31, 1973) # (Original Airdate: April 7, 1973) # (Original Airdate: April 14, 1973) # (Original Airdate: April 21, 1973) # (Original Airdate: April 28, 1973) # (Original Airdate: May 5, 1973) # (Original Airdate: May 12, 1973) # (Original Airdate: May 19, 1973) # (Original Airdate: May 26, 1973) # (Original Airdate: June 2, 1973) # (Original Airdate: June 9, 1973) # (Original Airdate: June 16, 1973) # (Original Airdate: June 23, 1973) # (Original Airdate: June 30, 1973) # (Original Airdate: July 7, 1973) # (Original Airdate: July 14, 1973) # (Original Airdate: July 21, 1973) # (Original Airdate: July 28, 1973) # (Original Airdate: August 4, 1973) # (Original Airdate: August 11, 1973) # (Original Airdate: August 18, 1973) # (Original Airdate: August 25, 1973) # (Original Airdate: September 1, 1973) # (Original Airdate: September 8, 1973) # (Original Airdate: September 15, 1973) # (Original Airdate: September 22, 1973) # (Original Airdate: September 29, 1973) # (Original Airdate: October 6, 1973) # (Original Airdate: October 13, 1973) # (Original Airdate: October 20, 1973) # (Original Airdate: October 27, 1973) # (Original Airdate: November 3, 1973) # (Original Airdate: November 10, 1973) # (Original Airdate: November 17, 1973) # (Original Airdate: November 24, 1973) # (Original Airdate: December 1, 1973) # (Original Airdate: December 8, 1973) # (Original Airdate: December 15, 1973) # (Original Airdate: December 22, 1973) # (Original Airdate: December 29, 1973) # (Original Airdate: January 5, 1974) # (Original Airdate: January 12, 1974) # (Original Airdate: January 19, 1974) # (Original Airdate: January 26, 1974) # (Original Airdate: February 2, 1974) # (Original Airdate: February 9, 1974)

Movies

*1973: ''Kamen Rider V3'': A movie version of episode 2. During a battle against Destron's forces, Shiro Kazami helps a priest who has been attacked by the evil organization's monster Hasami-Jaguar. Little does he know that the church where the priest resides is a front for a Destron hideout. After finding out the organization's latest motive, Kamen Rider V3, along with the Double Riders, must stop Destron from detonating a nuclear bomb in Tokyo. *1973: ''Kamen Rider V3 vs. Destron'' A physicist named Tetsuo Okita discovers a new mineral called "satanum", which is more powerful than uranium and emits destructive effects to anyone exposed to it. However, Destron abducts Okita in hopes of finding the source of satanum and collecting more of it to expedite their run for global domination. Kamen Rider V3 must act fast in rescuing Professor Okita and preventing Destron from collecting more of the deadly mineral.

S.I.C. Hero Saga

Published in ''Monthly Hobby Japan'' magazine from May to August 2003, the S.I.C. Hero Saga story ''Masked Rider V3 & Riderman: Riderman Another After'' featured an alternate history of Riderman's creation. It featured the new character called the . ;Chapter titles # # # #

Manga

A manga adaptation was made by Mitsuru Sugaya during the run of the series.

Kamen Rider The Next

As of 2007, a reimagined Kamen Rider V3 appears in ''

Kamen Rider The Next is a 2007 Japanese tokusatsu superhero film directed by Ryuta Tasaki and written by Toshiki Inoue. The film was released on October 27, 2007. The film borrows elements from the ''Kamen Rider V3'' television series and is a sequel to the '' Kam ...

'', a movie loosely based on the TV series, following the

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

of the franchise started with the 2005 movie ''

Kamen Rider The First is a 2005 Japanese tokusatsu superhero film. The film is a reboot adaptation of the television series ''Kamen Rider'', though there are many differences between the film and the original programme; some of these, however, are due to a closer relia ...

''.

Cast

Hiroshi Miyauchi is a Japanese actor and singer from Chiba Prefecture. Miyauchi graduated from Nihon University. In 1969, he signed with Toei Company and made his film debut with ''Nagasaki Blues''. He first attracted attention after landing a role in a televisio ...

as Shiro Kazami *

Akiji Kobayashi , sometimes credited as Shōji Kobayashi, was a Japanese actor. He attended Nihon University College of Art, but withdrew before completing his degree and joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company in 1949. He made his film debut with ''Satsujin Yogisha' ...

as Tōbei Tachibana * Hizuru Ono as Junko Tama * Hideki Kawaguchi as Shigeru Tama * Jōtarō Senba as Doktor G *

Eiji Gō was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1960 to 1982. Career Following his older brother, Jo Shishido, Gō joined the Nikkatsu studio in 1960 and made his film debut in ''The Warped Ones''. He often played villains on b ...

as Baron Kiba * Sachio Fujino as Archbishop Tsubasa *

Bunya Nakamura Bunya may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Bunya, Queensland, Australia, a locality in the Moreton Bay Region * Bunya Mountains, a mountain range in Queensland, Australia * Bunya, Namibia, a village * Bunya, the Hungarian name for the Romanian villa ...

as Marshal Yoroi *

Ken Kawashima Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

as Ken Sakuma *

Gorō Naya was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Hakodate, Hokkaidō. He and his brother were two of seven children, and was a drop-out of the legal education division of Ritsumeikan University. He was connected to Theatre E ...

as The Destron Leader (voice) *

Shinji Nakae , known by the stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator from Kōtō, Tokyo. He graduated from Kamakura Gakuen Senior High School, and was affiliated with Aoni Production at the time of his death. He was married with fellow voi ...

as Narrator

Songs

;Opening theme * **Lyrics:

Shotaro Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as ''Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), an ...

**Composer:

Shunsuke Kikuchi was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working princi ...

**Vocals:

and ;Ending themes: * **Lyrics: **Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi **Vocals:

Ichirou Mizuki , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...

and the **Episodes: 1-42 * **Lyrics: **Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi **Vocals:

Masato Shimon , also known as Masato Simon, is a retired Japanese vocalist from Meguro, Tokyo. He is most known for his contributions to the theme songs of various anime and tokusatsu series. In his career, he has sung under the names and . "Masato Shimon" is a ...

and the Columbia Yurikago-Kai **Episodes: 43-52

Home Video

Released on DVD in Hawaii by JN Productions/Generation Kikaida in 2008 {{Kamen Rider V3 1973 Japanese television series debuts 1974 Japanese television series endings Television series about revenge TV Asahi original programming 1970s Japanese television series Japanese horror fiction television series