The Fall & Rise of Comic V3: Part 2 of 3

In case you missed the last entry... go back and read that one first, otherwise this is going to be confusing.

Okay, so once we get to the V3 parts of the Sugaya comic, things are a little... odd. For starters, Kazami is actually first introduced during the Shocker Rider storyline, and he saves Hongô's butt only to be repaid by the previously-mentioned yelling-at scene. Following the conclusion of this mess (which involves Ichimonji coming back, and a couple decapitations) the Double Riders easily, and I mean EASILY, defeat Hiru-Chameleon and before you know it, bang- Gelshocker is history and Destron rises in its place. Their first order of business: nuke Tokyo.

Now, if you're familiar with the Kamen Rider V3 TV series, particularly the first two episodes, you know that a big part of the plot is that the heroes are trying to stop Destron from nuking Tokyo. Why it's such an iconic plot, I borrowed was inspired by some elements for Kamen Rider Sigma! But here, they've already managed to do it. And killed Kazami's & Junko's families in the process. So what happens now?

Well, the Double Riders turn Kazami into V3 after the latter gets schooled by Hasami-Jaguar. V3 will later take revenge on the evil cat dude by ripping off his arms. The Double Riders, meanwhile, sacrifice themselves by blowing up along with TV-Bae out over the ocean.

Yeah. TV-Bae.

What about Kame-Bazooka? Well, he gets killed later by V3, who punches him in his mouth and gives him one hell of a headache, if that can be believed. I will fully review these chapters some day, but let's get to the meat of what constitutes the "Fall" of Comic V3.

A couple stories later, we come to the absolute highpoint of OOCness. Destron has kidnapped Junko, Kazami's ally and potential one-sided love interest. As with the show, there's been a lot of funny little "Look! Kazami isn't V3 moments", because Junko keeps thinking they're the same person. I could get into a much bigger discussion about why I think she always knew right from the get-go anyway, but I'll save that for another time. Anyways, as it is right now, she's convinced that V3 is Kazami, and Kazami is V3. Kinda like in episodes #11~12, the highest points of the Kazami/Junko pairing. Got all that?

So Destron has Junko, and Kazami/V3 races off to save her. This eventually leads to a showdown with Doktor G & his goonsquad. Somehow, Junko manages to get away, and we get this cute little panel:



Hehe! Look at V3 sweat.

Ah yes. Junko confesses her love for Kazami/V3, and our hero quakes in his red boots. Again, sorta like on TV, except there, Kazami usually got distacted by something else, like a shiny object, or just ran like hell. In any case, it's Tokusatsu's Cutest Couple That Never Was (can you tell I like the Kazami/Junko pairing yet?)

Apparently, having Junko all over him like that turns our hero's world upside down:



Yeah, I don't know what the hell is going on there either, but what happens next, just threw me for a loop:




Oh, you did not just do that V3...



This bothers me a lot, for two big reasons. One, it's totally out of character for Kazami/V3. Maybe he's afraid of returning Junko's affections because of the whole cyborg thing, but this is a bit much, and TV Kazami would never do something like this. And we're talking about a dude who went toe-to-toe with female Destron assassins, which even Hongô just tried to avoid when the Shocker incarnations showed up.

What's more, he's upset at her because by being kidnapped by Destron, she put herself in a position to be killed and thus leave her little brother Shigeru minus one big sister. Because, you know, it was totally all her fault. Insert a big "WTF" right there.

And the other thing that bugs me? V3, a cyborg, just slapped Junko, a human. By standard Rider Logic™, that should have taken her head clean off her shoulders, and trust me, that's one gory death I can live without, but still... it totally boggles my mind, because if Junko could take a V3 Slap and survive, who's to say she hasn't been a cyborg all along? Now wouldn't that throw Kazami's world for a loop? To add insult to injury, V3 then knocks her out with a punch to the stomach before he Gyaku Double Typhoon's everybody else, aside from Missle-Yamori, who got decapitated by Doktor G for no real reason. Argh...head...hurting...

This is but a small sampling of why, for the most part, Kamen Rider Comics just don't get it right.

But fear not, as next time, Kamen Rider Spirits will redeem V3 by reminding you what a butt-kicking badass Kazami was, is, and should be, as he was on TV. Here, he takes on famous V3 villain Yuki-Ookami. Or rather, Tachibana takes on Yuki-Ookami.