[GoldenXtreme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Well what is Zeztz driven by, then? And I mean, I'm actually not sure what the answer would be. Are we really sure this show isn't trying to let the characters dictate the story more than the other way around? Something I thought was very strange as I was watching this episode was how quickly it almost totally pivoted away from big the Plot revelations NOX keeps hinting at. I wondered why Baku had no further questions, no scene where he asks Zero about even one little thing... and then I thought, you know, maybe that actually shows how seriously Takahashi was considering Baku's emotions and personality above just feeding more facts about Capsems and Nightmares to viewers? Because there's a pretty solid argument to be made that Baku would actively dodge the subject as much as possible, for a few different reasons, and the episode still puts his whole emotional struggle at the center, mostly waiting until the end to do further shocking twists.

My own take on what I think Zeztz's story is driven by is its sense of mystery and drama I suppose. Both in the episodic plots and overarching narrative the show is often intentionally trying to obscure things in order to create a sense of confusion and intrigue. In the process, I do feel like the cast are often just reduced to pieces Yuuya Takahashi is manuering around so that things can be more and more dramatic and to bring up further questions. Why do characters not ask questions sooner? Mystery. Why did Zero insist on the secret identity thing? Drama. The characters are just there to fuel the mystery in my eyes, they aren't fleshed out much as people beyond some very basic stuff about their motivations so far. This isn't a terrible approach, but man, you better be giving me some DAMN good mystery and drama if you are doing this. I do think my sense of exasperation at having to deal with the same writer every third show for so long is showing, but for as much as I think Takahashi can do some really good character drama I also think he has a tendency to get overly invested in his own twists at the expense of the progression feeling natural.

Mulled this over for a while before posting, I hope it makes some amount of sense. If Zeztz is accomplishing one thing consistently, it is getting confused and disparate reactions out of viewers.