Spoiler Warning, if you're 35 years out of synch with the rest of the world.
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Kamen Rider V3 episode #11 "The Devil's Claw Reaches for V3!!"
Here we go. I've spoken about these two episodes (this one and #12) in the past. More times than I can count in fact. So why not do it again, and in full detail?
After a couple episodes of V3 learning about his powers and kickin' evil butt, we finally come to some sort-of advancement of the overall plot. Or rather, the part of the plot which deals directly with the relationship between Kazami and Junko. The part of the plot which, I should mention, really sets V3 apart from other Rider series. For reasons I've gone over here and there.
So far, it's been playfully antagonistic, with the main man telling Junko to stay away from him (fearing for her safety) and her snappy retorts about him needing her more than he thinks. Tachibana's gotten in on the action too, trying helpfully to spur things along. And why not? Moody Kazami Shirô probably gets tiresome after a while when you're hanging out all the time. Plus, he's Tachibana: he just rocks like that.
It all gets going when Destron kidnaps Dr. Nakahara, a marine biologist, and forces him to help complete the cybernetic surgery for Pickaxe-Shark, yet another diabolical Destron Kaijin. No, I don't know how a degree in marine biology = knowledge of cybernetics, but that's TV for you!
No sooner has he done the job then Nakahara is Destron's Most Wanted, because naturally he made a hasty escape from their scenic island base. Which is all part of the master plan of course: the Leader, sensing that Nakahara would try to escape, *allows* him to do so after completing his task just so he can send Pickaxe-Shark to go kill him. What a bastard! Welcome to the days when Rider villains weren't just evil, they were outright ruthless screaming mother@#$%ers. And that's still just small beans compared to what the Leader's responsible for later on in the series.
Speaking of villains, let's talk about the pickaxe-wielding one. Pickaxe-Shark (which yes, sounds like "Pickle-Shark" due to the pronunciation of Pikeru) is an interesting fella. Essentially playing the role of muscle, with the other Kaijin of the episode being the one the drama surrounds, the sharky guy's sole mission (apart from killing Nakahara) is to take down our hero, which he attempts numerous times. Armed with that HUGE pickaxe, aquatic superiority and that neat blinding light attack (an otherwise simple effect that works very well), he gets plenty of time to show off what he can do considering he's going to get totaled midway through #12. But that's jumping ahead.
Nakahara meets up with some Shônen Riders, heads over to the shop and gives Tachibana a letter for Kazami detailing the location of Destron's base. Which I assume he intends Kazami to give to his "friend" Kamen Rider V3, unless he knows that Kazami is V3. Which isn't all that hard to believe when you take into account how much that bit of info gets thrown around soon enough.
Good thing the Doc got to do all that before— surprise! Pickaxe in your chest! This is a pretty intense scene, with a sadistic Pickaxe-Shark going on about how "You know what happens to traitors!?" one minute, and then casually reporting back to the Destron Leader as if he'd just had the dullest day the next.
Fortunately, Kazami shows up soon after he teleports away, and not only finds Nakahara's corpse, but recognizes him as that famous marine biologist who disappeared and a clue to who the killer was (seaweed left nearby.) These were the days when the heroes virtually couldn't go 5 feet without tripping over a victim's body, an orphaned kiddie whose parent(s) were in enemy hands, or with a little luck, a really cute girl who sadly turns out to be a monster in disguise.
There's some good continuity when we once again see the Shônen Rider HQ secret passage/security system (really, who would be caught dead bowling with that ball?) Trying to make sense of the earlier murder, Kazami learns from Tachibana that Junko has the letter and is en route to give it to Kazami.
Unfortunately, she's also being harassed by Kuroda Yuji, a petty crook (he earlier messed about in the sports shop, which Tachibana was tidying up when Kazami arrives.) Kuroda is also your classic creepy-creep stalker, and conveniently enough is infatuated with Junko. But to be fair can you blame him? Well, yes you can, because I don't think there's much harm in saying that he is not exactly the best-looking guy in Kamen Rider history, so naturally Junko tells him where he can stuff it.
Destron shows up at that moment, in an all-time classic twist (it's the guy reading the newspaper back there!) and you get another good time to see the lone "round-eyed mask" Destron thug. Kazami tops even this when he literally jumps out of nowhere; seriously, was he hiding behind that car the whole time or something? Junko runs off but unfortunately Kuroda (who at this point, Destron has no interest in) sees everything: Kazami fight, Kazami transform, you name it.
This plays into the critical next scene, following the fight. Whilst mourning the loss of Nakahara (more flowers-into-the-sea action), Kuroda shows up to reveal to Junko that Kazami is V3. Which is a big plot twist, right? Here's the kicker though: check out the reactions of the regulars.
Kazami, for his part, doesn't try to confirm or deny it. He just walks off grimly. Junko's initial reaction to Kuroda's statement is one of knowing skepticism, as if she's aware but out of dislike for Kuroda, is disposed to think he's nuts anyways. She then follows Kazami which leaves Kuroda alone and easily jumpable by Pickaxe-Shark and the boys, as he's been selected to become a Destron Kaijin out of his intense hatred of Kazami and infatuation with Junko. And this is where things start to get really crazy.
Kuroda of course gets turned into the other new monster of this story, Drill-Mogura. Coming after the freakier-than-freaky Mogurang from the original series (a monster whose howl still unsettles me) and the loveable Mogura-Jûjin in Amazon, Drillmaster D.M. is pretty standard-issue. In fact, whereas most Destron monsters have at least one or two nifty secondary powers to their main gimmick, Drill-Mogura has his head-mounted drill and that's about it. But the reall appeal of the character comes more out of his crazy motivation (revealed next episode.)
That said, the fact that you can see the stunt guy's eyes here works to the design's benefit, as it often did with older Rider monsters. Because it's often easy to forget that the monsters in most of the older Kamen Rider series are/were humans who have been surgically/chemically/ genetically/cybernetically altered into what they are now.
The underlying tragedy of the monsters (and really, all the superhuman participants in Kamen Rider in general) is usually downplayed by the fact that the humans who become the monsters are already amoral, unlikable people. And if not already part of the organization beforehand, then at least those unwilling are corrupt/evil enough so that we don't shed tears when they eventually go boom. If a triple-murderer gets turned into some mutant cyborg, nobody's really going to miss them, which is of course part of the whole disturbing charm of how the villains work: taking the forgotten, the unwanted, the dregs of society and turning them into monsters.
Of course, there's the times when a complete innocent becomes the monster, but often times they're the ones who live at the end; the creatured they've become being viewed almost as a seperate entity that, once defeated, relinquishes control of their body/mind back to them. Kuroda ain't one of those people though, and despite initially being an unwilling participant in the Destron cause, clearly retains knowledge and memories from his pre-converted life as we'll see next time.
I also must bring up the new expert Destron brings in to do the surgery: Doctor Inugami, who unlike Nakhara is one of Destron's in-house surgeons (re: evil), and also wins the award for undisputed Dumbest Evil Organization Scientist , at least until Neoshocker comes along years later with an array of foolhardy braniacs. This isn't so much what he does in this episode (be a creepy lil' guy and chuckle a lot), but next time, when he makes the fatal mistake of staying for the wedding.
So back to Kazami & Junko: our heroine confronts our hero about the truth. I'm watching the unsubbed R2 version as I do these reviews, but unless I'm mistaken Junko basically flat-out tells him that she believed he might be V3, which is in keeping with everything we've seen thus far. Kazami dodges the questions and simply says that he has but one objective: to destroy Destron and bring peace. Which is basically a roundabout way of saying "Yes Junko, I am V3!", right? It gets a bit tricky next episode (as you can tell, a lot of the pay-off comes in that one!)
Oh, and that's a lovely near-silent shot of Junko walking away from the sea as Drill-Mogura comes plowing up from the ground into shot. I also have to say that Junko's outfit in this episode? Niiiiiiiiice.
The remainder of this episode is basically a huge one-on-one duel between Kazami/V3 & Pickaxe-Shark aboard a moving speedboat. There's some cool underwater fight scenes with them hanging off the back of the boat, and if you are amused by this kind of stuff then keep an eye out for the scenes where Pickaxe-Shark is just an empty suit (for obviously reasons; having two stunt guys hold onto each other on the end of a moving speedboat sounds like a recipe for injury.)
Kazami has a nifty in-the-water Henshin, and the continuing battle between V3 & Pickaxe-Shark is all sorts of cool. The underwater scenes are nifty (watch for the enlarged V3 mouthpiece, hiding the breathing gear I'd guess), but it's the above-the-water stuff that really rocks, with waves crashing all around the participants.
Two more Secrets gets deployed here, but one of them goes unmentioned. It's basically V3's extended reserve oxygen supply, since this is the pre-X-Rider days when the heroes could last underwater longer than normal humans, but not indefinitely. It comes back in another episode, much later on. The other is the V3 Barrier, which has one of the more unique special effects to make it possible. It's like a lit-up shag carpet or something! Looks cool though, and it does the job. I like the idea behind it too, that V3 can't fall for the same trick twice.
And then there's the cliffhanger. Well, it's really more of an abrupt break with the narrator asking a lot of questions while the fight continues to rage on. What will happen to Junko (kidnapped by Drill-Mogura when last we saw her.) What will happen to V3? That sorta thing. In these post-Kuuga days, this kind of thing isn't all that jarring, and besides, the next episode's right around the corner!
Okay, let me explain the above: There are times in Kuuga (and other series, but largely in Kuuga's) when a cliffhanger often comes right after Godai has only just transformed. In other words, it's more like the episode just ends rather than something warranting a full-blown "TO BE CONTINUED!" like Kuuga about to get sliced in half (which it must be said, also happens.)
In rewatching Kuuga (something I'll probably do again after V3), I tend to view the episodes two or three at a time, on account of the fact that I feel the show was probably meant to work in a 45 minute/hourlong format. I mean two-parters are nothing new, but the way Kuuga sometimes does them, there often isn't enough time for much action in one part, and the fighting is pushed to the pre-credits scene of the second half. One example of this is episodes #34~35, where a fairly plot-heavy first part has the break being right after Godai's transformed and chased after a dude on his bike for a bit; this is then followed by a cracking second part with THAT fight in it. Of course, this isn't always the case: in #27~28, #27 has one of the best battles in the entire series, and it's still just the first half.
"Toh!"
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Rider Screencaps!
Next Time: It's the Wedding of the Century: Drill-Mogura & Tama Junko... and V3's crashing it!
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