The first "The Next"

As 2008 marks the 35th Anniversary of Kamen Rider V3, I'll be doing a weekly rundown of the entire 52-episode series all throughout the coming year, and eventually move onto another Rider series (as for which one, I'm not even thinking about that yet.) But for the next 52 (or 53/54, if I do the movies) weeks, Saturday is V3 day. So let's get rollin'!

Also, in the event that you haven't watched V3 (and honestly, there is no good reason why you shouldn't, unless you're just evil and inherently hate everything that's awesome... or you're strapped for cash at the moment) and still care about being spoiled by a show that's 35 years old, well... Spoiler Warning! Do note that these aren't so much synopses as general thoughts/feelings/reflections, but there's still plenty of plot details given away.

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Kamen Rider V3 episode #1 "Rider #3: The name is V3!"

What is there that can be said about the first episode that hasn't been said before? It's pretty much the perfect opening story, matched only in my book by the original series, Kuuga's, and maaaaaaybe BLACK's if I'm being really generous. The others are all generally pretty good, but those are the top picks. What V3 really has going for it is the fact that it shouldn't work at all, but somehow, amazingly, it does.

Until BLACK RX comes along, it's the most deliberately derivative to the series proceeding it. It's a sequel in all sense of the word, which isn't surprising since at one time it was basically the outline of Kamen Rider episode #99. So a lot of what we're used to crops up here. Which is good, because in case I haven't ever said it before, the last couple episodes of the original series are probably what I'd consider some of the best episodes of Kamen Rider period. There's two oddballs in the middle (which are still fun), but between the legendary Shocker Rider arc and the final storyline, you've basically got everything I love right there. So V3 basically rides off of this wave, and in a lot of ways this episode is really still Rider 1 & 2's show, and the next one sees them handing things over to V3.

I think anybody who has read my long-suffering little story Kamen Rider Sigma will note that the first episode draws a lot on V3's first story. This is entirely intentional, both from a storytelling perspective (history repeats itself) and a more conventional angle (V3's opener is, like I said, one of the best, and one of the most influential.) A lot of the themes I explored there came from here, and even a few scenes are intentionally patterned after those seen here. The opening for example, although I have to admit that V3 probably did it better by putting our main man Kazami right there in the action, whereas I was simultaneously riffing on Kuuga. Also, cutting away right when somebody gets killed is pretty much a guarenteed hook!

Ah yes, Kazami Shirô, played by the "King of Heroes" himself, Miyauchi Hiroshi. There are some out there who would say that Miyauchi is overrated; everybody only gets excited about him just because he's been around forever and has been in everything Toei did at one point or another. He's been a Rider, a Sentai member, a Sentai ad-on member, a Space Sheriff guest-ally, Tachibana Tôbei, one of the best single-series heroes Toei ever put out... heck, he even teamed up with Spider-Man (the Toei version.) That's gotta count for something, right? Anyway, the Miyauchi non-fans would point out that when you get down to it, he's not nearly as diverse as other, less-well-known actors, and basically an example of looking at something through rose-tinted glasses.

Let's get something out of the way right here: Those people are wrong! This isn't an opinion, or even a fact; it's the stone-cold truth, baby. Yes, I admit you can make the argument that post-Zubat, Miyauchi played everything as a spin on Hayakawa, including return appearances as V3 (considering what happened to get him there, Kazami is one happy-go-lucky mofo later on!) But then, that's partly due to the fact that his character in Kaiketsu Zubat was really, really good, and Miyauchi's favorite role, it's easy to see why it woule be hard to shake. Also, there's Kazami Shirô.

Kazami, at least in the original series, is nothing like the later heroes Miyauchi would take on. Yes, he is still surrounded by a perpetual aura of charisma, and he's still larger-than-life as Miyauchi roles tend to be. But he also has an underlying dark edge to him, a vicious streak that really is unlike anything else Miyauchi did. A perfect example of this is the scene in the ambulance in this episode, when Kazami is fully prepared to inject a Destron thug with the very syringe that said goon was just trying to kill him with. You can just feel the utter contempt as he looks totally ready to kill the guy before Hasami-Jaguar literally cuts in. And this is before they even kill his family! I wouldn't say that Kazami is necessarily meaner or morally ambiguous, but he's got a definite edge to him that sets him apart from other Miyauchi roles (where he goes more for the dry humor) and from the other two Riders we've seen at this point.

Hongô & Ichimonji are basically just as we left them, which is as it should be. Fujioka is really the star here; his name is like second in the credits! He gets plenty to do, including the epic Henshin sequence in front of Kazami & Junko. Ichimonji mostly plays second fiddle here, but he'll get his moments to shine later (and after his big appearance in the last episode of the original series, you can't blame them for wanting to pull back for a breather!)

The plot is simple enough; if you've read through this, you already know it! There's plenty of standout moments, including the famous "funeral procession", and the murder of the Kazami family, which is still brutal by today's standards (gotta love the big juicy "THUNK!" whenever Hasami-Jaguar stabs anybody.) And hey— it's amazing now to see Shirô's sister here, especially in light of her portrayal in Kamen Rider THE NEXT. I don't think I really need to tell you which version I prefer.

On the villains' side of things, Destron is introduced masterfully, with plenty of mysterious glimpses of those robed, hooded guys throughout, and then the big reveal of both Hasami-Jaguar and Kame-Bazooka. Both of which, quite honestly, are great costumes, even for this time (where I tend to think nearly all the costumes are great because, well, they are. Especially given what other series were turning out around the same time.) Hasami-Jaguar in particular is a favorite, and it's easy to see why he HAD to be revived for the new movie, even if his roll was severely diminished from what it could/should have been. And it's great to hear Naya Gorô's voice as the Destron Leader, and his immediate resurrection manages to not cheapen the incredibly effective death scene from the end of the original series (thanks in part to the fact that it's such a vague death too; and before we have time to question it, we're assaulted by a montage of stock footage explosions!)

Tachibana's the same as usual too, and I love the first scene with him & Hongô where Fujioka completely rocks out a beret in the way that only he could. It's also hilarious to see Tachibana blow off the foreboding words of Brigadier Lethbridge-Hongô (sorry, that's what I think of when I see it now) and question the concept of why anyone would want to kill Kazami... only to have an attempt on Kazami's life about 3 seconds later.

And then we come to Junko, who if I haven't said it before, is my #1 female character in a Rider series, bar none. Well okay, I think the only ones who might top her haven't been made yet or aren't official, but until then she'll do. There's a lot of reasons I love Junko, as the remainder of the series will show, but her introduction here is a real highlight. The fact that they decided to stick with one main female character as opposed to the bazillion from the first series is one of the things I'll admit V3 does better than its predecessor. It allows for a more interesting and developed character. Granted, it's not that much character development, but it's pretty good for the 70's. I also love the fact that the mid-episode "cliffhanger" actually results from Junko fainting in Kazami's arms; most of the time this spot is reserved for a sudden downturn/upset in the fight or an escape by the good guys/bad guys.

And then there's the whole bit about her seeing Kazami plead his case to the Double Riders, asking him to make them like him. Coupled with the fact that she saw Hongô transform, knows that Kazami & Hongô are buddies, and that (later) V3 & Rider 1 are buddies... I think she put two and two together and figured it out on her own. This comes into play later, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

And in yet another thing I "referenced" in my story, V3 only appears and the end. But what an entrance! Considering he doesn't do anything other than stand there and pose, I think it's still one of the best entrances for a new Rider ever. A definite "less-is-more" approach.

That's about it for this episode. I have to say, it really dates well. Oh sure, they're not going to fool you into thinking it isn't 1973 (especially with the hair), but I'll be damned if 35 years hasn't just made it even more exciting than it was back in the day.

"Toh!"

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Rider Screencaps!











Next Time: The shocking conclusion to this two-parter, so good that they made a movie out of it (hint: it wasn't THE NEXT.)

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