[Paladin]

Baku falls into an even deeper sleep following the battle with Nox.

[Frontier]

There's something satisfying in watching Zeztz Catastrom utterly beat the tar out of Nox and using some of Nox's own moves against him so he could beat the stuffing out of him more.

NOX knows what Catastrom is? This "Catastrophe" that was in Baku this whole time? And that this transformation may be something Baku can never walk back from? And the Lady is happy Baku "awakened" and that was ultimately all she's happy NOX delivered to her.

So Catastrom's finisher...summons some kind of hoverboard? I was also surprised it had a Rider Kick, since with those arms you'd think a Rider Punch would be obvious, but the Finisher was cool so...I'll allow it.

Dang, he actually killed NOX!? I mean, he's probably not staying dead, but wow...also Nasuka and Fujimi came in RIGHT after all the Rider fighting so they missed the good stuff.

Wait, did Fujimi tell his superiors everything? Like, about Zeztz and...?

You know it's bad when Baku can't return the usual greeting to Nem and Nem can see that Baku is in a bad way after killing NOX.

The most surreal visual of 3 trying to punch Baku awake only to then witness Fujimi attempting to sneak into Baku's room like always.

So CODE is basically a worldwide organization designed to handle threats no ordinary government organization could...Nightmares are just what they're currently dealing with. But no agent is above being sacrificed for the greater good.

The Catastrophe Nightmare might be why Baku was always injured by something whenever he tried to do good? Like acting opposed to what his Nightmare represented? Though now the Lady has Minami under her thrall, so that's not going to end well.

It's sweet that even when Baku is willing to sacrifice his humanity to fulfill his mission, he still prioritizes helping and saving Nem. To show her that her life of trying to run away from her mysterious past by fulfilling dreams for others doesn't mean she can't be happy. Even if it means he has to use Nightmare tactics to wake them both up.

Baku is gone. Now there is only Code Number: 7, who rides his bike to battle the Disaster Nightmare.

The Disaster Nightmare was not expecting to get as easily manhandled by Catastrom...or to then get hit with a gun empowered by three Capsems at the same time. Although while the Nightmare is defeated, it seems like the collateral damage from Catastrom's use still exists. This is just a taste of it's destructive power.

Lady is Nem's mom!? She definitely wasn't expecting Nem to wake up.

Next week: Is that the leader of CODE? Baku keeps raging out? CODE/Lord 3 turns on Baku!?

[GuardianAngel87]

Just finished tonight's episode and I freaking called it about The Lady being Nem's mom.

[Fish Sandwich]

There's a real tragic irony to ZEZTZ telling the Disaster Nightmare it doesn't belong in the waking world, because this whole episode is about how Baku ends up finally bringing Seven fully into reality exactly the same way -- a bad dream that's come true. He sets out to avert a disaster, and brings about a catastrophe instead.

Like, I think this is easily some of the absolute most powerful drama in this whole show so far? There's even more irony that Nem finally starts calling him "Baku" just in time for Baku to stop recognizing his own worth as a person. She's there to give voice to the doubts viewers such as myself will have about this course of action, but he's simply too broken to be deterred. It's an episode where the hero convinces himself of the righteousness of killing a man, and then decides to kill himself, because he doesn't know how to live with that.

It's all horrible, but it's also delivered beautifully. Dreamlike visuals such as NOX lying dead even in Baku's innermost mind, reflecting the same truth that comes through in his tears, and corrupted bits of series iconography like the slot machine triple seven itself collapsing, the moon that's always represented the dream world being used as a bludgeon to destroy that very world, Seven standing within that same sort of destruction at the end -- they all work immensely well to not only sell the story being told, but to add to it, framing things in a much richer way than just the writing itself can.

Despite this, we also have stuff like the real world debut of Seven scored with the theme song, and shots framing him in as a cool a manner as possible, which is the kind of contradiction I've really come to absolutely adore about this show. The vagueness of the plot is a seperate topic, but the emotional vagueness -- how ZEZTZ isn't always interested in imposing one particular viewpoint on the audience -- I think thats making for a narrative that's *way* more complex and interesting. Even within those scenes with Nem, it's not as simple as Baku no longer being a hero, so it does make a lot of sense for the show to still allow itself those sorts of indulgences even with everything else here telling you this isn't good. It's three-dimensional in a way you just don't see every day?

If I might send my own mixed messages, I'm still not actually sure how much of a fan of ZEZTZ I am? I like to think I "get" this show a lot more now, but like, even next week seems to be doing at least one thing that'll prove I don't know everything about it yet. But I think I'm getting to the point where that isn't an issue? The show is pretty much right on the edge right now where I've seen it do so much interesting stuff that I thought worked great, that even if the whole back half were to somehow squander this momentum in my eyes, I'd probably forgive it? Right now, I'm finding ZEZTZ to be both unique and well-done, but it's the unique part that I've come to care about more.

[DreamSword]

I feel like playing the theme song over what I felt was very much a tragic moment was kind of a misplay. Intentional or not, it really took me out of the moment in and of itself.

Anyway, the short version of my opinion about the four-part "Zeztz-ubo" arc is that I have mixed feelings about it.

And it really does just come down to this episode, specifically. Episodes 20-22 I felt were all done rather well, especially in terms of thematics. With the RPG dream serving to show Baku's' slippery slope into becoming his own sort of Nightmare King, in the end.

But then with this episode... I dunno. Baku essentially committing suicide in order to let Seven take over... it's a subject that other shows have done, and it almost never sits right with me, and not here either. Sure, the next episode preview implies that it's something that could be undone, but it makes me nervous towards a show that I've had the utmost faith in upto now.

I also didn't like NOX "dying" here, as unless they pull some sort of bait-and-switch with someone else getting the NOX Driver, it's pretty obvious that he's gonna return someway, somehow. Especially given the little hint he dropped at Catastrom's' true nature. Alot of what this episode did feels like it goes against my favorite episode so far(14), which was about Baku accepting all that he is. Again, even if it's intentional, it shakes my faith a bit.

The action was still sick as always though, and the atmosphere was(mostly) handled well. So there's that atleast.

[JusticeMagnum]

Excited to see where things go next week since it seems like were in for a big status quo change.

I also found it interesting that it was mentioned that CODE deals with all kinds of supernatural threats including aliens & other types of monsters and not just dream related problems. I don't think anything will really come out of that in Zeztz but I could see a TTFC special touching on that.

[Frontier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

I feel like playing the theme song over what I felt was very much a tragic moment was kind of a misplay. Intentional or not, it really took me out of the moment in and of itself.

I think the intention was that Baku was committing so hard to being the "cool superspy" agent in the "real world" that even the OP came with him. It was meant to look as cool and awesome to contrast how terrible it is that Baku has given up his normal identity. This is what he's sacrificed himself to become.

Quote:

I also didn't like NOX "dying" here, as unless they pull some sort of bait-and-switch with someone else getting the NOX Driver, it's pretty obvious that he's gonna return someway, somehow. Especially given the little hint he dropped at Catastrom's' true nature. Alot of what this episode did feels like it goes against my favorite episode so far(14), which was about Baku accepting all that he is. Again, even if it's intentional, it shakes my faith a bit.

At this point NOX is as "dead" as Lords 5 and 6 are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JusticeMagnum

Excited to see where things go next week since it seems like were in for a big status quo change.

I also found it interesting that it was mentioned that CODE deals with all kinds of supernatural threats including aliens & other types of monsters and not just dream related problems. I don't think anything will really come out of that in Zeztz but I could see a TTFC special touching on that.

I'm sure Takahashi is already planning out the new Outsiders with this in mind!

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think the intention was that Baku was committing so hard to being the "cool superspy" agent in the "real world" that even the OP came with him. It was meant to look as cool and awesome to contrast how terrible it is that Baku has given up his normal identity. This is what he's sacrificed himself to become.

Even then, I feel as if a slowed, instrumental version of the song would've worked better for me.

[JusticeMagnum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think the intention was that Baku was committing so hard to being the "cool superspy" agent in the "real world" that even the OP came with him. It was meant to look as cool and awesome to contrast how terrible it is that Baku has given up his normal identity. This is what he's sacrificed himself to become.

Yeah that's pretty much how I interpreted it too. Throwing away his identity as Baku and fully embracing Seven is clearly the wrong choice and is going blow up in his face eventually, but from Baku's perspective atm this is 100% correct decision. So I saw the OP playing from Baku's perspective of this being the best possible outcome and none of the tragedies that have come from his indecision as Baku will happen again if he's just Seven all the time, Like for Baku this IS triumphant (even if in reality it really isn't).

[Mesnick]

Well, the last few episodes of Zezzz have been quite dramatic and tragic. It allows them to be seen as on par with, and sometimes even outshine, the end of a 50-year franchise and the beginning of a new one. I didn't like everything about it. I've already written that I don't like when characters are introduced and killed off just to develop the main character. But I must admit, from a dramatic standpoint, it works well. And it's not badly executed.
Speaking specifically about this episode, Baku enters its darkest phase. When the hero rejects his mundane, everyday life, it's always a bad thing. Yes, in such shows, the mundane routine always gradually dies out in favor of a fantastical epic, but it's not the same as a conscious rejection of humanity. I wonder if the context will make the Catastrom a form of berserker? Most likely, considering that Birning Agito is also considered a berserker. However, I think it's clear that it's not a matter of Baku's loss of control, but rather his conscious decision. The realization that the consequences of inaction can sometimes be even more dire than those of bad deeds was a very painful blow for a man guilty of inaction for most of his life. And Lady suggests that the cause of Baku's curse isn't external, but within himself.
There's little about Nem in this episode, but her status changes radically. She consciously changes the dream world, awakens, and meets her mother. So now almost all the characters have gathered in the real world. Besides...
NOX died. I'm sure he'll be back. Moreover, I suspect it could all have been staged by Agents Four, Five, and Six, working against both CODE and Lady. But for now, he's been left out of the plot. I hope his fans won't be too sad.
We also learn the decryption of CODE and that Nightmares are just part of the supernatural problems they fight. Given this, and the revealed connection between Nem and Lady, I have the following theory. CODE was hunting Lady for her abilities. That's why she was forced to abandon her daughter and launched the entire plan to destroy the spy organization. So the original evil is still CODE, which further confuses poor Baku.

Finally, I want to add that Fujimi's hypocrisy irritates me. He's outraged (and not for the first time) by Nasuk and Minami's concern for their loved ones and their desire to interfere. And I wouldn't have a problem with his position if he hadn't acted exactly the same way toward Odaka. In other words, Fujimi forbids others from doing what he does himself. Someone should at least point this out to him.
Overall, the story is developing, and secrets are gradually being revealed. And it seems we'll soon discover that reality can be far more terrifying than any nightmare.