[Paladin]

Baku questions his role as he learns more CODE secrets.

[Frontier]

Oh NOW 03 says the mission parameters.

What does NOX get out of telling Nem that she's being used to create the Nightmares? Returning the favor from her helping him out through his Nightmare?

The Game Nightmare is enjoying this wayyyyy too much.

Fujimi acting like he didn't go rogue when he knew Odakka was involved, but I guess it's probably because Odakka jilted him that he can lecture Nasuka here.

I know it's very Spy movie, but recruiting a teenager fresh out of high school...having her cut off all ties to her personal life...and then decommissioning her when she was exposed to the enemy...not a great look, CODE. I guess at least amnesia better than killing her. And is the "enemy organization" the Lady and the Nightmares? Was Kureha trying to get to the bottom of them before she was caught?

Dang, it's one thing to code into children how to fight Nightmares as secret agents, but to turn them into spy otaku so they're more susceptible to the job? Though I think Baku's desire to protect the dreamer is clearly all his own because I don't think CODE cares about the Dreamers versus stopping the Nightmares.

See, this is why people in Japan don't trust therapists because they're secretly the main villain trying to brainwash you. But Baku can't be mind-controlled, something she wasn't expecting, though it seems like Lady wants to create a Nightmare out of him? And NOX seems like he's regretting this partnership by the episode.

Poor Nem. Finding out she's subconsciously creating the Nightmares and hurting the people dreaming she wants to make happy...I thought for a second she was going to use that knife on herself, instead of challenge the Game Nightmare, but I guess the intent was the same. Luckily Baku was there for her.

Honestly I wouldn't find it reassuring to be "avenged" by NOX if that meant getting possessed and killed by my own Nightmare. I'm not surprised Baku is still opposing him, even if NOX can't believe it.

Game powers are cool and all...but Zeztz has an energy bow/sword!

The Lady questioning NOX's loyalty and commitment. How far will CODE Agents have to go before NOX is really willing to kill them?

Well, at least Nasuka has found her resolve as a Paranormal Affairs investigator, if only for Kureha's sake. Fujimi is definitely happy about that.

So Kureha has been inspired by Baku to rejoin the fold as Code Number 06....and get her driver back from 03. Looks like she's taking the fight straight to NOX.

RPG dream? "Let's clear it with no continues?" They knew what they were doing.

[Fish Sandwich]

I really don't like when ZEZTZ finishes off a monster with a weapon? When you have an idea as great as the whole slot machine thing for the finishers, anything else can only be a downgrade. It takes away part of the uniqueness of the show whenever it happens, and thankfully, it mostly hasn't so far, but it stings a little more this time because ZEZTZ didn't finish off the monster at all in the last two-parter. I guess January just wasn't a lucky month.

That's probably the only thing I have a serious complaint about? There's part of me that wants to say something about how it maybe feels sort of inorganic when plot revelations happen entirely because NOX or somebody decides it's time for them, admittedly. But then it's like, it's also definitely not unjustified, either, and especially with NOX, I generally get the sense the staff always have a picture of why he does what he does and when he does that's much clearer than we get to see.

Crucially, I do like what the episode ends up doing with all this Plot stuff. There's a lot of it that's very transitionary and thus hard to fully gauge, but I do get excited about the possibilities suggested by stuff like NOX and Baku both clearly being just a little too free-thinking at this point to fully fit in with their respective work environments. In the moment, I did quite like the decision to have Seven's relationship with Nem be the thing that gives him the clarity to keep moving forward when it turns out they're both having doubts about themselves. There's a seriousness she always brings out in him that I find adds a lot to his character (I'm always seriously impressed by how many moods his actor can nail in a single episode), and I like the idea that even though they only know each other in dreams, that connection is sort of more real and palpable than a lot of his real ones in this strange way.

Which, I guess, makes it sorta the other side of what I'm liking about this direction for the overall story right now? It's like the uncertainty and ambiguity of dreams bleeding out into reality and forcing all these characters to question fundamental things about themselves, and that sounds pretty dramatically interesting! And it has been so far! So yeah, between all that and the monster that's probably more memorable than usual, I think these past two weeks have been another solid Mission Complete for ZEZTZ.

[DreamSword]

This episode made the whole two-parter really awesome for me.

I loved the dramatic introspection that came about with Baku here, because it's something that many knew was coming eventually, and I think they executed the idea pretty well.

One thing I've noticed that Zeztz has been doing really well throughout its run is its sense of properly building up to its more dramatic character moments. It's due to the steady feed of what came before that the hardships faced by Baku, Nem, and Not-Yua hit so well here.

NOX isn't one to be completely left out here though, as I feel like his actions in this episode make it very clear that he's fighting solely for himself, what with him casually revealing a major piece of what's going on with Nem to Nem herself. Something I can't really see benefitting The Lady at all. It's just another way that NOX makes a great foil to Baku.

Add on that the action climax this episode was really cool in its choreography and I had a total blast with this one.

[GoldenXtreme]

Sorry, but I am totally sinking back into apathy with this show. Poor Zeztz just can't keep my interest high for more than a few episodes!

First of all, I find it weird that Kureha got her memories as an agent wiped for being exposed by the "enemy organization" because the situation seems very different for Baku, who has gotten two random cops and his sister involved, not to mention that both Odaka and The Lady know his civilian identity. Even if we assume the "enemy organization" is another entity we haven't seen yet, it seems like they're being awfully lax with Baku. Nasuka was also completely blocked from having any major interactions with Kureha by Baku, which just kind of sucked? I really feel like Nasuka should have had a more major role in resolving everything, and the whole argument that Kureha knew that being an Agent would be dangerous is again kind of wrong if we consider how little Baku seemed to understand about the risks of being an Agent early on in the story. Another little bit that stuck out to me on, like, a meta level was the whole therapy scene where Baku basically admits that his job has taken over his whole life. It really got me thinking about how little we are shown any of the characters outside of a professional context. We rarely see Baku not doing Agent stuff in some form, Nasuka and Fujimi are completely consumed by their jobs (again, Nasuka isn't even allowed to talk to her childhood friend without it wrapping back around into a conversation about a Black Case!), even Minami only really got involved in the story once she took on the "job" of supporting her brother. Even Nem is consumed by an obsession with playing the roles she is given, with Baku handwaving her concern about being the source of the Nightmare away and encouraging her to keep doing it. Maybe the show is actually trying to make some commentary here given how pervasive the trend is, but man, it really shed some light on why I have a hard time seeing the characters in this show as real people, you know? Maybe alllll these things will make sense in the end, but I just don't have enough confidence in the show to think it will.

The RPG themed episode next week looks fun at least.

[Frontier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I really don't like when ZEZTZ finishes off a monster with a weapon? When you have an idea as great as the whole slot machine thing for the finishers, anything else can only be a downgrade. It takes away part of the uniqueness of the show whenever it happens, and thankfully, it mostly hasn't so far, but it stings a little more this time because ZEZTZ didn't finish off the monster at all in the last two-parter. I guess January just wasn't a lucky month.

It's a cool weapon though!

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

Sorry, but I am totally sinking back into apathy with this show. Poor Zeztz just can't keep my interest high for more than a few episodes!

First of all, I find it weird that Kureha got her memories as an agent wiped for being exposed by the "enemy organization" because the situation seems very different for Baku, who has gotten two random cops and his sister involved, not to mention that both Odaka and The Lady know his civilian identity. Even if we assume the "enemy organization" is another entity we haven't seen yet, it seems like they're being awfully lax with Baku. Nasuka was also completely blocked from having any major interactions with Kureha by Baku, which just kind of sucked? I really feel like Nasuka should have had a more major role in resolving everything, and the whole argument that Kureha knew that being an Agent would be dangerous is again kind of wrong if we consider how little Baku seemed to understand about the risks of being an Agent early on in the story. Another little bit that stuck out to me on, like, a meta level was the whole therapy scene where Baku basically admits that his job has taken over his whole life. It really got me thinking about how little we are shown any of the characters outside of a professional context. We rarely see Baku not doing Agent stuff in some form, Nasuka and Fujimi are completely consumed by their jobs (again, Nasuka isn't even allowed to talk to her childhood friend without it wrapping back around into a conversation about a Black Case!), even Minami only really got involved in the story once she took on the "job" of supporting her brother. Even Nem is consumed by an obsession with playing the roles she is given, with Baku handwaving her concern about being the source of the Nightmare away and encouraging her to keep doing it. Maybe the show is actually trying to make some commentary here given how pervasive the trend is, but man, it really shed some light on why I have a hard time seeing the characters in this show as real people, you know? Maybe alllll these things will make sense in the end, but I just don't have enough confidence in the show to think it will.

The RPG themed episode next week looks fun at least.

I think we need to see the context for exactly what happened to Kureha and exactly what is the nature of the "enemy organization" and how Kureha was exposed to them. I think we're going to get more insight into that because she's taking the fight directly to NOX and it sounds like she's coming back to fulfill her original mission.

Baku seems "special" compared to the other Agents in the sense he's the only one that's a Kamen Rider, he's the only one shown being able to use four different Capsem elements, and Zero seems to have been giving him special treatment if Agent 03's reaction is any indication. And it doesn't seem like Kureha had his affinity for spy stuff so it sounds like his whole process was different from hers. Especially because she was activated as an agent much earlier than he was.

I think this is just the beginning of the Nasuka/Kureha dynamic, same with how Fujimi/Odakka is still unresolved.

I think it kind of makes sense that the characters are really focused on their missions/jobs? Fujimi and Nasuka are police officers, fighting Nightmares and being cool in other peoples' dreams is literally the only thing Baku can do without getting attacked by nature, and Minami's dayjob intersected with Baku's a few times over the course of the show.

[JusticeMagnum]

Overall, I really enjoyed this two parter and I'm looking forward to seeing the Lords in action. Also I'm pretty sure the enemy organization they're referring to is just The Lady since it would make sense to erase someone's memories to prevent information getting leaked if your enemy is a mind reader/psychic. That's also probably why Zero always used Code Zeroider to make appearances (with the only exception being briefly in episode 1) since he can't have his mind read while remote controlling the robot.

I'm also very curious about Baku's development and the revelations we'll certainly be getting. It's clear there's more to Baku compared to the other agents given Nox's comment about how he's more mentally resilient compared to the rest, plus Zero's comment about Baku being his, "One and only agent", which you could say he's lying except for the fact that he says it to himself in episode 15 and there's no reason for Zero to lie to himself, so there's something special going on with Baku and it's why CODE has handled him with kid gloves so far (relatively speaking).

I'm also interested in learning more about what's going with Baku's luck given a producers comments a few months ago about it being a "key to the mystery" and how eagle eyed viewers might have noticed something off about it early on.

[Frontier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JusticeMagnum

I'm also curious about learning more about what's going with Baku's luck given a producers comments a few months ago about it being a "key to the mystery" and how eagle eyed viewers might have noticed something off about it early on.

I wouldn't be surprised if CODE was involved in that too. Like, they potentially instilled in Baku a desire to help others and facilitated a situation where he would end up more motivated in a career where he can actually make a difference without hurting himself.

That plus some of the incidents of him getting hurt turned into an upgrade for himself, like the lightning, so that might be part of it too.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

The Game Nightmare is enjoying this wayyyyy too much.

Royal Straight Flush!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

Honestly I wouldn't find it reassuring to be "avenged" by NOX if that meant getting possessed and killed by my own Nightmare. I'm not surprised Baku is still opposing him, even if NOX can't believe it.

Same feeling as Episode 7 when Nox claimed that getting possessed and killed by the Nightmare is actually "what the dreamer wants" and lectured Seven like he's the bad guy. Getting betrayed by CODE really turned Nox in to a morally incomprehensible lunatic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

There's a seriousness she always brings out in him that I find adds a lot to his character (I'm always seriously impressed by how many moods his actor can nail in a single episode), and I like the idea that even though they only know each other in dreams, that connection is sort of more real and palpable than a lot of his real ones in this strange way.

For Nem, a dream relationship is the only one she can actually have. That makes it real to her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

Sorry, but I am totally sinking back into apathy with this show. Poor Zeztz just can't keep my interest high for more than a few episodes!

I'm curious to see where this new information leads and I have a feeling something shocking will happen soon, but I'll admit, while watching this episode, I couldn't help thinking, "oh boy, here come all of Takahashi's favorite tropes".

Quote:

Originally Posted by JusticeMagnum

I'm also very curious about Baku's development and the revelations we'll certainly be getting. It's clear there's more to Baku compared to the other agents given Nox's comment about how he's more mentally resilient compared to the rest, plus Zero's comment about Baku being his, "One and only agent", which you could say he's lying except for the fact that he says it to himself in episode 15 and there's no reason for Zero to lie to himself, so there's something special going on with Baku and it's why CODE has handled him with kid gloves so far (relatively speaking).

Yeah, Lady's failure to put Baku under her spell only reinforces the evidence of Baku's mental fortitude. Something else I've noticed is that while Baku clearly acts different under his Seven alter ego, Dream-Kureha continues to act the same way after her dream becomes lucid. To me, it doesn't make sense for Baku to enjoy his dreams and act with "aura" if there wasn't a part of him that genuinely loved being an agent and chose to be one on his own terms, despite CODE getting him in to the genre.

[Mesnick]

Well, this episode is full of revelations, most of which, admittedly, I already guessed. Essentially, Baku and Nem need to accept that their actions bring not only good, but also evil. It's bad, but Nem can't change anything for now. As for Baku, he needs to save the Dreamers. The showdown with CODE can wait. Although this isn't a reason to continue trying to find out the truth, since CODE values ​​its secrets very much and protects them at all costs.
I was truly disappointed by how little Nasuka was involved in the plot. However, I still hope that her connection with Kureha will play a role in the future.
As for Kureha herself, aka the upcoming tertiary rider, I get strong Valkyrie vibes from her agent form. It looks like she'll be tasked with eliminating NOX while Baku is busy rescuing the Dreamers. Effectiveness lies in using the right tools to solve problems. And for CODE, those tools are its agents. Actually, it's no coincidence that the next episode is dedicated to RPGs.
Overall, I liked it, but it felt a bit rushed and I expected more. But the next episode really intrigues me. A magical adventure of children threatened by a nightmare is a very interesting theme.
P.S. And the nightmare similar to Nemurin seems to have a very significant role in the further plot. Let's see what secret it's hiding.
P.P.S. I still can't help but notice that Baku wasn't at all concerned with protecting his nameless classmates. I understand that they returned, but there was no evidence that this would happen.
The nightmare must bіl bі captivate them or (to not lose the terrifying picture of the school massacre) Third could send a message to Baku that only the Dreamer need to be rescue.