Film

Kamen Rider V3: The Movie

Name: Kamen Rider V3: The Movie
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
Released: 1973
Cast: Hiroshi Miyauchi, Hiroshi Fujioka, Takeshi Sasaki, Akiji Kobayashi, Hizuru Ono

Superhero

A 1973 Japanese superhero film where the third Kamen Rider joins forces with his predecessors to stop a nuclear terror plot. It's pure genre entertainment: bright, fast, cheerfully earnest, with rubber monsters and practical stunts. Made for kids but genuinely fun for anyone who enjoys action without irony or pretension.

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The original film that started it all. Tighter and more focused than the sequels, it establishes the motorcycle-riding superhero in clean, direct storytelling. Essential context and thrilling in its own right.

But The budgets are minuscule by any standard, and the action relies on slow-motion and editing tricks that feel quaint now. If you need Hollywood polish, this won't have it.

Ultraman1966

Another foundational 1960s tokusatsu series with the same DNA: man-in-suit action, rubber kaiju, earnest heroism, and practical effects that still delight. A natural entry point to Japanese genre television.

But Episodes are very of-the-moment in their pacing and effects. The monster-of-the-week format can feel repetitive if you're not in the mood to settle into routine.

Mothra vs. Godzilla1964

Toho's monster films operate in the same practical-effects playground as Kamen Rider. This one is playful and visually inventive, with humans and creatures given roughly equal dramatic weight.

But The human subplot is thin and sometimes heavy-handed. You're here for the monsters, and the film knows it, but it still tries to be important.

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Suspiria1977

Both treat the screen as a space for pure visual and sensory experience, where the rules of conventional storytelling bend to serve aesthetic power. They're after the same thing—overwhelming you with style—but to opposite emotional ends.

An Italian horror film that abandons plot logic for pure atmosphere and visual design. Like tokusatsu, it cares more about how something looks and feels than whether the story makes rational sense. Completely committed to spectacle as its own justification.

But It's genuinely unsettling in ways Kamen Rider never is. If you're looking for heroic fun, this film's nightmare logic will feel hostile rather than playful.

Hanuman and the Five Kamen Riders1975

A Thai tokusatsu film that proves the style was a genuine international phenomenon. It has the same rubber-suited action and monster designs, but filtered through a different cinema and sensibility.

But It's harder to find, and the print quality varies wildly. The narrative is loose even by tokusatsu standards, which can frustrate viewers wanting clear plot.

Hanuman and the Five Kamen Riders poster

Spectreman1971

An underrated tokusatsu series about a ghost superhero. Weirder and more visually playful than Kamen Rider, with costume designs that feel almost psychedelic by comparison.

But The weirdness works against accessibility. It's genuinely strange in ways that push past the comfort zone of standard heroic action.