[Kiwami]

This show has excellent style in all departments, fun characters and a very cool story concept. It’s really good so far.

I’m interested to see where this journey is headed, because the freshness will wear off eventually, the early run budget for special effects will wither, and I’m curious how this show might cement its narrative in the long run.

If this was a smaller show or a web special in which they could fire on all cylinders every week for 5-6 times and be done this would be a show for the ages, but they will have to keep this up for an entire year.

With a start this strong it’s hard to imagine what the future will hold for Zeztz. I’m enjoying the current state of excellence while wondering just how the status quo will take shape.

[Frontier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

This show has excellent style in all departments, fun characters and a very cool story concept. It?s really good so far.

I?m interested to see where this journey is headed, because the freshness will wear off eventually, the early run budget for special effects will wither, and I?m curious how this show might cement its narrative in the long run.

If this was a smaller show or a web special in which they could fire on all cylinders every week for 5-6 times and be done this would be a show for the ages, but they will have to keep this up for an entire year.

With a start this strong it?s hard to imagine what the future will hold for Zeztz. I?m enjoying the current state of excellence while wondering just how the status quo will take shape.

I'll be surprised if they can keep up the dream environment manipulation. That might phase out for the form changes/Capsem abilities.

[StardustWhip]

- I'm somewhat disappointed to have no OP still, but it's not that big a deal, really; I imagine it'll probably just be another week before we see the actual OP sequence. And besides, it's hard to think of any scenes I'd cut in this episode to make enough room for it.

- So, we all agree that Nem is definitely gonna turn out to be the main villain, right? /j

- I'm surprised that Baku seems pretty open about his Rider identity with the cops. I'd been kinda expecting that Fujimi's investigation of Baku would be dragged out for a while before they discover his whole dreamwalker thing. Though I guess secret identities aren't really something Takahashi tends to do, huh?

- Between the warehouse battle in the beginning, and the bike chase of the climax, the action of this episode is a big step up from the nighttime fight of Episode 1. It's good to know that wasn't an indicator of what the action of this season is normally like, even if I'm not expecting every fight to be so bombastic as the bike chase.

- Also, obligatory mention that it's really nice whenever we get bike action in Rider. Especially with as many practical effects as this one had!

[Frontier]

Is it just me or have the Nightmares' color schemes so far matched other Heisei Riders?

Quote:

Originally Posted by StardustWhip

- Also, obligatory mention that it's really nice whenever we get bike action in Rider. Especially with as many practical effects as this one had!

I hope they keep it consistent that he uses the bike to ride into other peoples' dreams.

[Leo Novum]

I really like the set design and ZERO's remarks.

I could tell that Fujimi secretly wished for the Bomber Nightmare. He seems like the guy to have a hero complex and would want to stop a mad bomber in real life. Basically, Nightmares so far seem to be the dark, hidden desires of the victims of the week. Kind of like Shadows from the Persona franchise.

Still missing the Happipare gang but hopefully the new guys will grow on me. ZERO the Bike certainly has.

[Zolda]

I have several new hypotheses:
- It's quite likely that Commander Zero would transform into a Rider in mid-season episodes between 25-30. It could be his original CODE Rider #0 form or an entirely new form.
- I hypothesized in my 2nd post in episode 1 thread here that it's quite possible that Nemu is of a species that's the benevolent version of the Nightmares. It means that Nemu could also be a shapeshifter, similar to the Nightmares whose appearances are based on dominant objects from their victims' dreams, i.e. a gun/revolver from Baku's crazy secret agent dreams or a bomb from Tetsuya's suppressed destructive inner desire. Her own remark in episode 2 @ @ 01:57 when she said that she was just playing along to the setting of Baku's crazy dream make this hypothesis even more plausible. Perhaps, many people (have) had their dreams visited by Nemu, and she initially became some kind of an urban legend. Several people (who were not necessarily lucid dreamers) could be having similar or even identical dreams where they were/are visited by a girl (Nemu) with the same appearance/attire/message who told/tell them to cHaSe tHeIr dReAmS aNd mAkE iT cOmE tRuE.
- One of those people could be a realist painter/illustrator/photo editor/3D character artist/etc, and he/she created a fan art based on his/her recollection of his/her dreams that featured Nemu. That artist shared his/her rendition of Nemu's appearance on the internet, and from there Nemu has become a national sensation, not a mere urban legend anymore, based on that particular appearance. People think that she's a real-life celebrity/talent, while she could be a completely incorporeal/imaginary entity from the dream realm like I hypothesized in my 1st post in episode 2 thread here. Since that particular appearance went viral on the internet, people think that that's how her actual appearance is and thus in their dreams she appear just like that, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that has snowballed and turned her into a national celebrity, albeit quite possibly imaginary.
- Nemu's likeness is very likely in public domain, since the original realist painter/illustrator/photo editor/3D character artist/etc who made a fan art of her merely created a depiction of her appearance, not an entirely new character, which means that anyone can use her likeness on ads/commercials/PSA/etc without paying royalty, and it's made her became even more popular. For video ads/commercials/PSA/etc, her appearance could be created via AI-generated videos.
- Even her name alone (Nemu) suggests that she's likely an imaginary character, not a real-life, flesh-and-blood human like Baku, Minami, Tetsuya, or Nasuka. I'd be surprised if she has an actual, real-life, flesh-and-blood appearance with a traditional Japanese full name, address, SSN, traceable pedigree/genealogy/family tree, talent agency, etc.

Mmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyybbbbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeee...