Riderman

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). When he encounters a Destron cyborg, 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 ; 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 to fight Marshal 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. 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, who helps V3 for a few episodes. He is Destron Hunter no. 5 and becomes the last to survive.

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 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 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 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 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 Destron Inhumanoids 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 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 all mutated versions of flying animals with the exception of one plant-like 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 Destron Inhumanoids 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 the crayfish monster 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'', 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. They serve whoever is in charge. Doktor 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 Combatmen 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. Jōji Yūki 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 Great Leader.

Destron Kaijin

Destron's Kaijins are sorted into different groups:

* The are a group of Destron Kaijins that were first used by the Great 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.
* The is the Destron Kaijin group led by Marshal Armor that is composed of armored animals. They are the most powerful monsters used by Destron.
** - An armadillo monster.
** - A snail monster.
** - A turtle monster that can extend his neck.
** - A rhinoceros monster.
** - A coelacanth monster.
** - A starfish monster.
** - A chameleon monster.
** - A chameleon monster with blood-sucking ability.

Returning characters

The following characters return from ''Kamen Rider'':

* 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)

Films

*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 Mutants''

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

In 2007, a reimagined Kamen Rider V3 appeared in '' Kamen Rider The Next'', a movie loosely based on the TV series, following the reboot of the franchise started with the 2005 movie '' Kamen Rider The First''.

Cast

* Hiroshi Miyauchi as Shiro Kazami
*Akiji Kobayashi as Tōbei Tachibana
* Hizuru Ono as Junko Tama
* Hideki Kawaguchi as Shigeru Tama
* Jōtarō Senba as Doktor G
*Eiji Gō as Baron Kiba
* Sachio Fujino as Archbishop Tsubasa
* Bunya Nakamura as Marshal Yoroi
* Ken Kawashima as Ken Sakuma
* Gorō Naya as The Destron Leader (voice)
* Shinji Nakae as Narrator

Songs

;Opening theme
*
**Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
**Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi
**Vocals: Hiroshi Miyauchi and

;Ending themes:
*
**Lyrics:
**Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi
**Vocals: Ichirou Mizuki and the
**Episodes: 1-42
*
**Lyrics:
**Composer: Shunsuke Kikuchi
**Vocals: Masato Shimon and the Columbia Yurikago-Kai
**Episodes: 43-52

Broadcast and Home Video

* In its' home country of Japan, the series aired on Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET every Saturday night at 7:30PM JST from February 17, 1973 to February 9, 1974 with 52 episodes aired. Later on, Toei started releasing the series on home video under their Toei Video brand. A total of 14 volumes were released on VHS for both sale and rental from September 21, 1985 to November 24, 1989. They did release all 52 episodes, but because they were originally intended to be a compilation of the best episodes, the order of the episodes do not match the order of the episodes that were broadcast chronologically. Then later on, a Laserdisc boxset containing all episodes were released on August 25, 1993. Then the series came as individual Laserdiscs between May 21 and September 21, 2000 spreading throughout seven volumes. Each volume contains eight episodes, while the final only contains four. Then later, a DVD box set containing all the episodes were released on December 6, 2002. Then in 2007 from October 21 to December 7, it was re-released again as individual DVDs to commemorate the release of the movie Kamen Rider: The Next in October of that year. There are 9 volumes in total, each containing 6 episodes (Vol. 8 and Vol. 9 contain 5 episodes). Volumes 1-3, 4-6, and 7-9 were released simultaneously. Episode 1 was included in the "Shotaro Ishinomori 70th Anniversary DVD Box Set" released on July 21, 2008. Most recently, a Blu-ray box set featuring all episodes was released from April 11 to August 8, 2018.
*In Hong Kong, the series was broadcast with a Cantonese Chinese dub from 1975 to 1977 on Rediffusion Television's Chinese Channel, which was the predecessor to Asia Television's Hong Kong Channel. On July 26, 1975, during the airing of this series, a tragic event occurred when two children fell from the roof of a six-story tenement building located at 66B Kowloon City Road in To Kwa Wan. They were trying to replicate the "Rider Kick," a well-known move from the Kamen Rider series, which tragically resulted in one child's death and injuries to the other. This incident prompted parents, educators, and various community members in Hong Kong to hold the television station accountable for broadcasting violent content that they believed was negatively influencing local youth. In light of the public backlash and a directive from the Hong Kong government, TVB was forced to heed public sentiment and announced the suspension of Kamen Rider V3 on July 29 of that year. As a result, later Japanese tokusatsu series aired in Hong Kong avoided using the term "superman" in their titles, opting for alternatives such as "hero" or "warrior," exemplified by titles like Android Kikaider and Warrior of Love Rainbowman. When TVB Jade resumed airing the series in October 1976, it was renamed "Iron Masked Hero." The original title "Kamen Rider" was only restored in later broadcasts of Showa-era productions.
* In 2008, the Hawaii-based company JN Productions/Generation Kikaida released Kamen Rider V3 on a remastered six-disc complete series Region 1 DVD set in Japanese with English Subtitles. However following Generation Kikaida’s closure in 2023, their DVD box-set has since been out-of-print.
* In 2024, Discotek Media announced that they had licensed Kamen Rider V3 with plans to release the full 52 episode series on Blu-Ray later that year remastered in HD, along with a brand new English-subtitle translation and many extras included on the set.

Notes

References

{{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