[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.