is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It is the second installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series, and the direct sequel to the original Kamen Rider. It was a production of Toei, and was shown on Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET 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, 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 Hongo and Hayato Ichimonji to turn him into a Kamen Rider. Although they initially declined, after he sacrificed himself to save them, they had no choice. After turning Shiro into Kamen Rider V3, the Double Riders sacrifice themselves to save Tokyo. Shiro then must fight Destron in Japan with the help of Tobei Tachibana, the Kamen Rider Kid Corps, and later the Double Riders, revealed to have 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 reign of terror, but their leader still survived, meaning someday more of his forces could appear to enact his will.
Characters Kamen Riders : A young college student and sole survivor of his family who fights Destron as the cyborg Kamen Rider V3 ("V3" or "Rider V3", for short). He is host to 26 special powers that he uses to fight Destron, most of which 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 ; it also has a variety of special abilities. : A Destron scientist who is betrayed by General Yoroi. His right arm is burnt off and replaced by a special mechanical one, which gives him special powers to fight General Yoroi as . 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 alive 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 Kamen Rider and also appeared in the following three series. : 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, an organization of young boys who assist Kamen Rider V3. They have members throughout Japan. They wear medallions which are shaped like the head of V3 and contain radios, which allow them to report suspicious activity to Kamen Rider headquarters. : A Destron Hunter from Interpol, who helps V3 for a few episodes. He is Destron Hunter no. 5 and becomes the last to survive. : Joji Yuki's father figure and mentor who is an important character in the PlayStation 2-exclusive survival action horror game Kamen Rider Seigi no Keifu. He was a professor of Destron who wanted to use his research for what he believed to be for the sake of mankind.
Destron is an international terrorist organization bent on conquering the world. 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 monsters of the organization 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 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 faction from the Transformers 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 final episode, he was revealed to be a monstrous skeleton with a living heart, calling himself God of Death. Immediately afterwards, the Destron headquarters self-destructed, but V3 escaped. / - Destron's first general in knight armor from Germany in charge of Japan. In the comics, his scorpion-shaped helmet could transform into a deadly scorpion, but this did not happen on TV. Most of his Destron Inhumanoids are cyborgs that are the same type as Destron Leader's cyborgs. 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. The Destron Inhumanoids 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 Destron Inhumanoids in his Wing Unit are typically mutated versions of flying animals. 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. General 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 Destron Inhumanoids in his Armored Division are mutated versions of armored animals. He frames scientist Joji Yuki for treason, fearing his position in Destron is in jeopardy, creating a rival in Riderman. General Yoroi became the crayfish monster Zariganna in his final battle against Kamen Rider V3. After being defeated by Kamen Rider V3, Zariganna was destroyed by the Destron Leader for failing. In Kamen Rider Spirits, 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. - Destron has an apparently limitless supply of soldiers. They wear identical black, masked uniforms with a white scorpion design. Doctor G's Soldiers wield knives, Baron Fang's Soldiers wield fang-shaped weapons, and Archbishop Wing's Soldiers wear robes similar to his unless they're in combat. - Motorcycle riders that were turned into Destron servants by Lens Ant. They were assigned to kill Shiro Kazami. - Destron Legionnaires that received special training from Mantis Boomerang. After Mantis Boomerang was destroyed, they worked with Heater Cicada. - They appeared only in episode 27. : The female counterparts of the Destron Combatants who appeared only in episode 41. - The scientists who are loyal to Destron. They appear similar to Destron soldiers, but their masks and uniforms are white, with red print, instead of black with white print. They wear white lab coats over their uniforms. They are rarely found outside of a Destron base. Joji Yuki was a former Destron Scientist. - They look like normal Destron soldiers, but they wear a brown military uniform over their Destron uniform that makes them resemble Nazi stormtroopers. Elite troops, they were able to give V3 a hard fight as he made his way to confront the Destron Leader.
Destron Kaijin Destron's Kaijins are sorted into different groups:
The are a group of Destron Kaijins that were first used by the Destron Leader and later led by Doctor G. Doctor G creates the monsters under his command using black magic and technological science. They are cyborgs that resemble a fusion between an animal and an item. : A jaguar monster who uses his scissors-bladed hands. : A turtle monster with a bazooka on its shell. - A squid monster with two propane tanks on its back. Destroyed by V3's V3 Centrifugal Kick. - A fly monster with 2 televisions for eyes. - A cobra monster with a snake-headed machine gun for a lower right arm. - A jellyfish monster with a hammer for a right hand. - An armadillo monster with a knife for a right hand. - A lizard monster with a chainsaw for a right hand. Destroyed by V3's V3 Double Attack. - An ant monster with glasses lens for eyes. Destroyed by V3's V3 Tailspin Kick. - A starfish with a sword blade for a left hand. Destroyed by V3's V3 Tailspin Kick. - A shark monster with an ice pick for a right hand. Destroyed by V3's V3 Return Kick. - A mole monster with a drill for a nose. - A wild boar monster with a magnet for a left hand. - A toad monster with a boiler for a torso. - A burnt-winged bat monster with a gas burner tube in its mouth. - A gecko monster with a missile on its back. - A mouse monster with a spray gun on its right arm. - A ladybug monster with a chain-sickle for a left hand. - A porcupinefish monster with a torpedo launcher on its left shoulder. - A dinosaur monster of indeterminate species with a small guillotine for a right hand. - A spider monster with a syringe for a right hand. - A sea lion monster with a speargun for a left hand. - A buffalo monster with cannons on its shoulders. Destroyed by Kamen Rider #1 and #2's Rider Double Kick and V3's V3 Kick. - A rhinoceros beetle monster with a propeller for a right hand. - A cockroach monster with a spikey device for a right hand. - A mantis monster. - A cicada monster with electric heaters for eyes. - A stag beetle monster that throws rings. The is the Destron Kaijin group led by Baron Fang that is composed of tusked or fanged animals. Its members were cultists practicing an evil magic called Doovoo (not to be confused with Voodoo magic). - A warthog monster. - A walrus monster. - A cryokinetic wolf monster. - A smilodon monster. The is the Destron Kaijin group led by Archbishop Wing that is composed of winged animals except for one plant-like monster. The Wing Unit is an ancient cult of vampires. - A condor monster. - A flying squirrel monster. - A moth monster. - A banana plant monster.