[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pokey9513

for the love of god please spare us another year of your essays nitpicking literally everything you don't like and just stop watching if you dislike it all so much

Nobody's forcing you to read them (I assume; I don't know your life).

[skyh0und0028]

Some of those responses prove that certain users have nothing else to do in life. But I get what you mean

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

Nobody's forcing you to read them (I assume; I don't know your life).

[Sh Ranger]

Meztzamero!

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

I think this might be Takahashi's strongest premiere for the Riders he's done?

I second this. The setting is effectively established and the plot has awesome momentum with the intense thriller horror feeling of the Nightmare scenes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Also I was originally worried about Baku being potentially Ace 2 given the vibes when we first saw him. But this episode definitely sold me on him since he is way more than that. Real nice guy and I love the Spy Otaku aspect of him, just the quick shots we see of all his memorabilia really gives us a lot.

I actually see more Tendo than Ace in Baku. The dream world very much belongs to Baku when he becomes the invincible agent, while the real world also kind of revolves around him but in the worst way possible. I think Baku is one of the most relatable protagonists from the start, alongside Touma. He dreams of being an agent, basically a superhero, the same way us fans look up to such characters and wish our own lives were more exciting like theirs. I wonder if the grey eyes of DreamBaku are the main visual cue about which world we're watching, as agents will change their clothes depending on the mission.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Probably not going to comment on every episode thread, but I figured I'd do it this once.

I imagine there'll be more episodes you'll want to comment on eventually.

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Originally Posted by Frontier

Don't worry, it's a kid show so he's only shooting the criminals with blanks! Also, I know it's a dream, but I appreciated how one of the thugs was a woman. Women can commit crimes too!

I mean, the criminals are totally imaginary, so I won't hold it against Baku if he does necessarily have to kill some imaginary criminals at some point, as agents are expected to do anyway. Of course, the non-lethal approach here shows off Baku's professional conduct and skill as the invincible agent, completing his mission with the least amount of death.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

Every time I hear the English in this show I'm going to wonder if it's just in there for the "cool" secret agent factor and because this is trying to appeal to a worldwide audience.

Probably since Zero is based on the in-universe Agent 0, who might be British or something. And since the dialogue occurs in a dream, the language barrier does not exist.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

It feels like we've been getting some great fashion plate Heroines as of late and Nem in that red dress is quite eye-catching.

Kamen Rider Lopo as a beautiful lady cop is pretty on-brand. Rinko would be proud.

Agreed!

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Originally Posted by Frontier

I wonder...was the red dress Nem ever the real Nem at any point? Or will he not meet her until next episode?

Good question. Nem's bio states that she often appears in people's dreams due to her popularity and Baku specifically being her fan. So either the red dress was something she wore for one of her roles, or Baku just subconsciously thought she'd look good in it.

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Originally Posted by Daikaijuman54

The Agent 7 is clearly a reference to James Bond, but I feel like it might also be a nod to him being the 7th Reiwa Rider

Totally and I think it could also be a reference to Drive, who is associated with the number 7.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Again, my first problem with Geats was that there was a lot of Rider and not enough Ace, which made him not feel like the main character. To a lesser extent, Aruto and Emu were also often in the background. But if this show is really going to be built primarily around the main character, then Baku is a good choice.

Now that you mention it, yeah, Takahashi's previous protagonists got little focus at the start of their shows. Perhaps this is the advantage of Takahashi writing Zeztz with only the Primary Rider in mind, as he acknowledged in the conference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Crazy theory: if in the future writers plan to send more people with different interests into dreams, Baku's gunfire can wakes them up. This will also make his bullets anti-death and draw an analogy with waking up from a loud noise.

I could see that! If a Nightmare becomes too strong, then Zeztz can try this to buy the victim some time until the next sleep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

Anyways, like a lot of people I had some apprehensions about Yuuya Takahashi, but honestly this premier was a lot of fun!

I mean, the criticism for Takahashi shows usually comes later. The first halves of EX-Aid and Geats and first quarter of Zero One are generally considered high quality, so I'm not surprised at all that I ended up enjoying this premiere. I hope to continue enjoying Zeztz for as long as it can maintain this level of quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

In real life, Baku is an incredibly unlucky jobless adult who lives with his sister, like someone decided Ryotaro Nogami from Den-O should be played for drama.

Considering the Nightmares' power to affect reality, I suspect that Baku isn't actually cosmic-level unlucky at all, but rather the Nightmares fear his lucid dreaming power and are trying to deter him from the path of a hero through negative reinforcement.

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I mean, the criminals are totally imaginary, so I won't hold it against Baku if he does necessarily have to kill some imaginary criminals at some point, as agents are expected to do anyway. Of course, the non-lethal approach here shows off Baku's professional conduct and skill as the invincible agent, completing his mission with the least amount of death.

I kind of took the non-lethal bullets as a sort of play on how cleanly the violence in the stereotypical glamorous spy movie can be? Like, Baku dreams of being a cool secret agent, and all the cool tropes that come with that, but he absolutely does not dream about watching dudes bleed out from gory wounds or anything gruesome like that.

Obviously on an outside level, it's that way because this is a show for children, but I thought it made logical sense on a character level too, which is nice.

[Frontier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Now that you mention it, yeah, Takahashi's previous protagonists got little focus at the start of their shows. Perhaps this is the advantage of Takahashi writing Zeztz with only the Primary Rider in mind, as he acknowledged in the conference.

I think it's also worth noting that pretty much every Takahashi show has had the Secondary as the co-protagonist early on and how often they tend to dominate or take over focus on the plot. Like I remember people talking about Fuwa feeling like the real main character during certain points of Zero-One and how Keiwa initially seemed like the main POV or relatable protagonist compared to Ace in Geats.

That doesn't seem to be the case here.

Quote:

Considering the Nightmares' power to affect reality, I suspect that Baku isn't actually cosmic-level unlucky at all, but rather the Nightmares fear his lucid dreaming power and are trying to deter him from the path of a hero through negative reinforcement.

The Nightmare definitely seemed to be going out of its way to kill him specifically and also destroy all his self-confidence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I kind of took the non-lethal bullets as a sort of play on how cleanly the violence in the stereotypical glamorous spy movie can be? Like, Baku dreams of being a cool secret agent, and all the cool tropes that come with that, but he absolutely does not dream about watching dudes bleed out from gory wounds or anything gruesome like that.

Obviously on an outside level, it's that way because this is a show for children, but I thought it made logical sense on a character level too, which is nice.

It doesn't even seem like he's destroying the Nightmares in the traditional sense, just putting them to sleep and purifying them.

[Dormamu]

It's been a few decades of watching Rider series openers, and there's been some excellent ones, but I've not felt this kind of thrill since watching Agito or Faiz. The cinematography, camera use, all of it felt more visceral. The way the dream world sequence was set, it cooked.

I think I've watched the live/replays way more than any other KR opener just to catch stuff I didn't the first few times. From the use of 7 and a reversed 7 to make the Z for the finisher, to looking at the suit design to see the Z motif, to the little girl getting rescued, the dream butterfly from the destruction of the nightmare, all of it.

The transformation sequence even with it being that first episode stylized was amazing. I love how the suit just gives such Rider 1 vibes, and the use of the dream world to enhance the fight from moving terrain to literally throwing the nightmare through multiple environments because Baku was able to do that with his control of lucid dreaming was just chefs kiss.

I know there's a lot of comparison with Ace, but I don't feel it, primarily because Ace was already months/years ahead in the game and we were seeing an end result of where he was at. He knew he was winning. Baku's difference is that when he was getting thrashed he immediately went to 'wait a sec, this isn't how this is supposed to go' and then 'nah bruh, I'm gonna choose my own path and this is my landscape'.

The detective angles feel so Faiz.

So far the Rider series 'easter eggs' I've found are:
ZZZ motif for finishers - Roidmude finishers - Drive
Cowlick - Sento's cowlick - Build
Finger snap for the henshin - Ace - Geats
Leg muscle power up during the fight - Stronger
Doorway jump to another location - Gaav
Speed up on the finisher - Clock up - Kabuto

I'll be solidly catching this on the live stream each Saturday. I'm that excited.

[Leo Novum]

All I wish to say is that the series has started off strong. Likeable protagonist, relatable younger sister, the cops aren't incompetent (yet), and the suit looks great.

Will it surpass Gavv? Maybe. I hope it will, even though I am a fan of Gavv. For now, I am just enjoying what we have.

[DreamSword]

I dunno if I'll be keeping up with Zeztz weekly, much less posting regularly in these threads, but given this is a bit of a special event, and that the premise of Zeztz does sound appealing to me, I figured I'd check out the premiere at the very least.

Overall, I think it's alright.

Visually, it's fantastic. Whoever was in charge of cinematography did a great job at using the "dreams" premise to not only direct the story, but make the action on both the human and Rider side of things visually stimulating as well.

Outside of that though? It's all just decent setup. Though I did like the references to Zero-One, Inception, and most surprisingly, Iron Man.

Maybe I'll keep going if I have the time, maybe Zeztz will have to wait for me to binge it in full before I watch it, but hey, if nothing else I didn't find this potential one off episode to be boring, which is alot more than I can say about some of the other seasons that I've recently sat through. Either way, I hope you all have fun with this show over the next year.

[velencourte]

I think it's interesting that Baku's belt sits on his chest -- maybe now it serves as a defibrillator/pacemaker of sorts? The effects when he uses Physicam Impact's powers (where it swells up and gets really brolic) brings to mind the idea of blood vessels and veins, same with the lines running across the suit.

Very funny references in his finisher being lucky 7s to contrast Baku's abysmal luck IRL (or maybe it is good luck considering he's survived every time), plus being the 7th Reiwa entry and the obvious 007 Bond shout out.

HUGE fan of the eyes lighting up slowly during his transformation, it really gives the idea of him opening his eyes and waking up! The translation for "metzamero" being "arize" works for me, and I hope Shout's subtitle localization continues to be good as they were for Kuuga and Ryuki.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Also I was originally worried about Baku being potentially Ace 2 given the vibes when we first saw him. But this episode definitely sold me on him since he is way more than that. Real nice guy and I love the Spy Otaku aspect of him, just the quick shots we see of all his memorabilia really gives us a lot.

When Takahashi did more of nice guy MC than someone like Ace (who is a rarity for KR that there's only two other outwardly similar type), in Emu and Aruto. By looks, even Ikki seem to be the cool type in Revice previews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

This was a lot of fun. It looks to be going for a serious vibe again this season but without the massive dissonance between the plot and visual aesthetic that always bugged me with Gavv.

What about Gaim?

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

Anyways, like a lot of people I had some apprehensions about Yuuya Takahashi, but honestly this premier was a lot of fun!

While you have one season of him that is your least favorite of all, dunno if people's hate for him is too strong or irrational and bordering on irrational to not even think that the premier would be good? Also, the credit may go to Kazuya Kamihoriuchi as the main director.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I think Baku is one of the most relatable protagonists from the start, alongside Touma. He dreams of being an agent, basically a superhero, the same way us fans look up to such characters and wish our own lives were more exciting like theirs.

Heisei protagonists that are as relatable as this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I mean, the criminals are totally imaginary, so I won't hold it against Baku if he does necessarily have to kill some imaginary criminals at some point, as agents are expected to do anyway. Of course, the non-lethal approach here shows off Baku's professional conduct and skill as the invincible agent, completing his mission with the least amount of death.

Often the cool and aura farming characters in media (not talking about toku, but talking about other media like anime or such) are those that are portrayed as the ones that would have no qualms to sacrifice some to accomplish missions or pull off intelligent gambits (seems to be partly the reason they're praised for being pragmatic, professional, and not sentimental/soft), but this seems to be important to be taken into account where high level of skill should be utilized for control and accuracy as well, as additional power/capability, to live up to one's moral compass more in minimizing killing (like how if you're super powerful, they can minimize force against like, armed human opponents to not kill them because you're not in danger).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I mean, the criticism for Takahashi shows usually comes later. The first halves of EX-Aid and Geats and first quarter of Zero One are generally considered high quality, so I'm not surprised at all that I ended up enjoying this premiere. I hope to continue enjoying Zeztz for as long as it can maintain this level of quality.

Though not in your case, Ex-Aid is considered high quality all the way around, at worst it'd be occassionally seeing Masamune (main antagonist at that time) as not living up to Kuroto (who almost no one can, I'd think he's the most successful and favorite character in all the KR franchise). Revice also qualifies for first halves being generally considered high quality (even if you disagree, GoldenXtreme is never sold on Geats since start).

Otherwise yeah, my point about explaining something like Zitt's case in Zeztz rumor thread was that the belief that the writer does everything, and every single little grievance or merit the show has is either the merit or the fault of the main writer, is common but not completely right. Zeztz has Kazuya Kamihoriuchi as the main director who is consistent in his work's quality, for the credit in this episode.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Considering the Nightmares' power to affect reality, I suspect that Baku isn't actually cosmic-level unlucky at all, but rather the Nightmares fear his lucid dreaming power and are trying to deter him from the path of a hero through negative reinforcement.

Guess if this happens, this'd be another time if the bad luck to the boy scout (that Takahashi is also infamous about) is deliberate, like Kekera also highlighting negative consequences of 'misery builds character' in Keiwa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I kind of took the non-lethal bullets as a sort of play on how cleanly the violence in the stereotypical glamorous spy movie can be? Like, Baku dreams of being a cool secret agent, and all the cool tropes that come with that, but he absolutely does not dream about watching dudes bleed out from gory wounds or anything gruesome like that.

Obviously on an outside level, it's that way because this is a show for children, but I thought it made logical sense on a character level too, which is nice.

I don't know if characters' righteous morality also qualifies for outside level of accomplishing the task of making the show being accessible to children (or for other reason, outside level of keep selling the medias for those with 'no kill rule', either heroes or villains), as some people'd think and dismiss morality as a childish concept, and that this can be more scarce in more 'mature' shows that has no obligation of catering to children. I think many more stuff are logical on character level, where more morally righteous heroes shouldn't be heartless to bad guys too, like only using necessary force.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think it's also worth noting that pretty much every Takahashi show has had the Secondary as the co-protagonist early on and how often they tend to dominate or take over focus on the plot. Like I remember people talking about Fuwa feeling like the real main character during certain points of Zero-One and how Keiwa initially seemed like the main POV or relatable protagonist compared to Ace in Geats.

Interview with Takahashi on the TTFC app, where he discusses his return to writing a Rider series.

"Some people might be thinking, 'He's writing again?' but this is also a first for me. This time, I get the challenge of writing a story with only one main Rider. I hope everyone who watches and has seen my previous work will enjoy it."

But honestly, for Fuwa being the real main character part, people like to dismiss the 'cookie-cutter and generic' boy scout protagonists and view the ones that are undergoing character development as 'the real main character'. It's just about them being biased to their personal favorite (and people also can have a tendency to think characters have to get development or change). This happens too for like Den-O (who has another bad luck MC), thinking that Yuuto is more actual MC, or that Ryuki previously have Ren being the one seen as real MC due to not being sold with Shinji.