[Locke]

Just caught up on Zeztz.

I think I like Zeztz?

But I don’t know why I like Zeztz.

Let us do a TL;DR up top: I think Kamen Rider Zeztz is an ugly looking suit, in an otherwise functional, yet quite formless, Rider entry, that feels like just another one, rather than one with any real inspiration.

It overcomes a sluggish start, and is arguably at its very best early on when it starts settling into the two part Nightmare story rotation. Technically, it is after this point where the 'real show' begins, but Zeztz lost so much of what made it grow on me as it pivoted into yet another predictable Rider battle royale.

It hits every beat you’d expect from a modern Rider show, but that’s almost the problem. The whole show just feels sorta… safe? Like it is more focused on meeting its modern Rider obligations, than it is really stopping for a moment and actually saying something.

And I know, I saw that preview at the end of this latest episode, it looks like the story is about to take a really sharp, crazy, turn, but I can't really review it on that basis because that hasn't happened yet and while it may end up making the back half of the show more enjoyable, it doesn't retroactively fix the problems in the first half. For me, anyway.

I actually started watching it around launch when I found out it would be on YouTube for free, but I really didn’t like the opening few episodes and bounced off. I came back months later when I saw how much praise this show was getting on socials and gave it another go.

I still think the first seven or so episodes (not a pun) probably could have been condensed down to a couple of episodes and an email, but the show really grabbed me around episode 8 when it felt like it really started to find an identity for itself, leaning into the dream aspects and delivering some really cool action scenes.

Then somewhere along the way, the show lost me again, and I probably would have fallen off again but I kinda figured I was in for a penny at this point so kept going. I know some people will like the later developments of Zeztz, the more serious tone, the more defined stakes, the inclusion of new Riders and forms, but I think this is where Zeztz loses its identity again.

It is basically Kamen Rider 101 at this point to softly onboard you, and then massively ramp everything up, and the show can start "for real" and so like copying that formula is fine I guess, but can you not like maybe... do something with it? I dunno.

Maybe this would have all been fine if hitting all these familiar beats in such a predictable order made Zeztz feel like some kind of greatest hits, but it doesn’t really feel like that either, it just feels very… functional. Like what is uniquely Zeztz?

I think a part of the problem is I felt like a lot of the characters were fairly flat, each with a couple of identifying beats and not much fleshing out beyond that. You’d never find me asking for a Rider show to slow down, but while I think the core of the dynamic between all all the characters is quite pleasant, I wouldn’t have minded more focus on developing these relationships earlier on to give some of the later developments more punch. It is a very charming and likeable cast, so that makes this easier to swallow, but is also probably also part of the reason at the same time that I wish we had more breathing room to just spend more time with these characters.

I think I am going to make a start on Gavv next as I see that has been getting great reviews, and will then carry on watching Zeztz weekly.