https://mega.nz/folder/2QFTFKxJ#1qRPjOjMZjIrEAKt8NR2ig

Holy fuck, a lot happened in this ep.

How many times have we ever seen a bad guy (even an expendable mook) get taken out via Henshin?

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What are your pros and cons on Zeztz's 21st episode?

>>23742235
Holy crap, he's a beast. It feels like a while since we had a "base form, but better" super form style upgrade, though I guess the last was Rabbit Rabbit/Tank Tank in Build. Still, this is great design and I can't wait to see Orderum form.

5 got more charm then i thought

>>23742295
Yeah, that was great. I like it when they let the Riders lose. I am shocked that they might kill Krueha off so quickly. I guess female "riders" are still kind of unlucky.

Lordbros... I don't feel so good

>3-parter into the mid-season upgrade
Holy shit, this really is paced like early heisei.

Well this ended in quite possibly the worst situation possible for everybody but I'm glad it happened!

Also, I'm glad 20 episodes in they are still doing stuff to affect dreams like teleporting to different locations and breaking the scenery. I would have thought they would have given up on that by now

I'm kinda headcanoning right now this takes place in the same world as Akibaranger, with the Delusion world being a form of the dream world shaped by conscious desires... and CODE was involved with it behind the scenes, using it to create Zeztz. It's stupid, but I feel like the two shows could mesh really well..

>>23742316
I doubt they will want to get rid of it that quickly. Maybe once we hit the 30s they will only have it around for BIG scenes.
>>23742315
I'm glad they aren't afraid of shaking things up. It was really stupid just getting two episodes to introduce a plot and wrap it up. Really happy they did this and I hope that the final stretch is just one long series of events.

>>23742315
Guess I'm not the only one feeling this show is very early Heisei coded.

>>23742315
>3-part
Literally the start of this show, anon

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>>23742224
Fun episode, but I think it highlighted the biggest problems of the show so far and why it's not really hitting as hard as previous series. And that is the characters not treating their situation like they should and unnecessary vagueness.
Baku gets told that Nox is trying to DESTROY THE WORLD, and he ignores his co-workers like that's a normal thing to say. He just casually ignores two people who are trying to stop the complete destruction of the world because "muh dreamer" when this is something he should take more seriously. A lot of the show treats CODE like this cruel entity that is as bad as Nox and the Lady, yet we keep seeing that they are the only ones who are doing anything to stop them from endangering children and destroying the world. The preview has Baku questioning CODE when its Nox and his boss who just made a bunch of kids transform into a world-ending demon. This is not an appropriate situation to doubt the only organization capable of stopping the end of the world, buddy. When you have to choose between a group that is trying to destroy the world and a shady group that does illegal activities, but ultimately protects the world, then my choice is crystal fucking clear. The whole show just keeps treating this like a grey conflict when the lines are pretty clear for anyone.
Granted, it's probably all building up to some big twist, something about the real world also being a dream or some bullshit like that. But that's when the vagueness is frustrating. Surely it's gonna be a case where Baku and other characters could have avoided conflict had Nox said the truth behind the world, but they saved it till later for the sake of a mystery. Almost all the dialogue with Nox and his head bitch is vague doomposting, and 20 episodes in, that's starting to get dull.

>>23742374
>Baku gets told that Nox is trying to DESTROY THE WORLD
Baku gets told that their mission is to destroy the enemy's base.
Even if they did find the Lady and killed her, that wouldn't have stopped the Nightmare from becoming real

>>23742385
>that wouldn't have stopped the Nightmare from becoming real
Well, going after the Nightmare didn't stop it either, so might as well team up in threes to go to the base and get some answers. And it's less about that and more about how Baku just nonchalantly ignores the two agents pursuing the real threat, and ignores that Nox is trying to destroy the world. Like, I understand he doesn't trust CODE entirely, but he knows 6 enough to know she's not just a brute and they could cooperate to save the day like they have done before. That he doesn't even consider a plan with them in mind when he's in a very dangerous situation is dumb.

I like how Lord 5 fights since he's basically just Valen again

>>23742224
Is Baku the protagonist with the worst case of stranger danger or am I just seeing things differently due to the times since I Showa Riders interacted with kids all the time and I never found it weird?

>>23742413
Its that Baku sees them in their dreams that makes it extra creepy. Showa riders interacted with them in their rider clubs, when they were with their families or rescuing them from an attack. Baku stalks and finds out where the kids study and live, and nobody addresses how weird that is to save face.

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>>23742224

>Genm Corp got taken over by Matt Game Studios
This is as if SEGA had succeeded instead of Nintendo

>>23742419
Yeah I hadn't rationalize how creepy it is how he's able to find out where they study via the cops and CODE

>>23742400
Ah, yes, so you think that he should try to get the people trying to end the world by letting them achieve their objective of making a Nightmare real instead of trying to protect the children. Alright. And how were they supposed to make Nox reveal the location where Lady is making the Nightmares? Beating him up 3 on 1? Your solution is equally as stupid.

>>23742224
Was this episode subbed by another subber from Shout? The subs felt off which is something I hadn't felt with any prior episode

Also Nox's stunt suit was really noticeable this time because of the belt being weirdly flat

>>23742400
>>23742437
Honestly, Baku's problem was not to report to those two that there are a lot of dreamers this time and he might need some help. Nox literally didn't do anything but stall two CODE agents that fell into their trap. If anything, they just needed to let 5 engage Nox and have Kureha help Baku to take the kids out.
Well, at least Nem did something this time instead of just being there. Actually, Nem did more than 5 and 6.

>>23742400
Baku's entire reason for still being an agent is to protect Dreamers from Nightmares, he's not going to leave a bunch of kids to be attacked. Yeah he failed, but he at least tried to help the kids, CODE was fully going to leave them all to hang while they beat up Nox.

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>>23742413
>>23742419
>>23742426
Considering we have Fujimi at any given moment grabs you or invades your personal space without even an introduction, Baku interacting with kids often is the least of your concerns, and it's only a matter of time before he starts hovering around kids with is awkward antics.

>>23742437
>>23742443
He literally saw that this situation was different, and rather than asking the agents for help, he ignored them to do his own thing alone. It's that he knew this dream was different from the rest, and heard that Nox was trying to destroy the world, and still chose to do his shtick, not even considering help from the other agents. If anything, the agents helped out Baku more than he helped them, as they fought Nox before he could interrupt Baku's mission.
I'm not saying he should abandon dreamers, but that he can't even consider asking the agents for help, especially since he knows 6 is cool, is ridiculous. He doesn't inform them of anything, just storms off like this isn't the help he could use.

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>>23742297
>Code 3
>Still doesn't transform
The fuck is his problem? Otherwise good episode, I'm excited as to how the dynamic will change next quarter now that it will be fully serialized

>>23742449
I mean, he clearly didn't like when he saw 6 back with CODE.

>>23742449
You're missing the part where secret agents don't interfere with each others' missions.

>>23742458
Which is also silly because Baku also returned with CODE. So he knows there are reasons to work with them despite their shitty nature. Like, I dunno, being the only company stopping dream monsters from kidnapping children and destroying the world? Very hypocritical of him to criticize anyone rejoining CODE.
>>23742466
Clearly in this situation they did.

>>23742374
But if they had helped Baku protect the dreamers they could have actually stopped Demon Lord from entering reality

>Thought we might get a woman secondary
>She was just a jobber mass production rider

>>23742503
>>Thought we might get a woman secondary
How even? Nox has been a Rider for a while already

>zeztz is already on episode 21
what the fuck

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>>23742527
The previous Reiwa entries' 21st episodes by this point.

>>23742345
>Literally the start of this show, anon
Yeah, but the first episode felt self contained enough to feel like a one off + a two-parter to me. This is a proper 3 episode story.

>>23742533
What was the mood for the seasons by then?

I'm feeling pretty good so far, though I'm shocked Baku is still operating mostly alone right now.

>>23742440
Baku already knows CODE is not going to prioritize the dreamers at this point. Makes sense he doesn't want to waste time trying to convince two of them to help.

>>23742533
FUCK YEAH X SWORDMAN

>>23742520
He’s been an evil Rider tho

>>23742224
>>23742297
Okay episode. The deal with the kids is still fairly ambiguous since they compared their situation to Baku's, so I can't say for sure if I'm right about them being groomed by CODE yet. That being said, the fact that Nem participated in the ads of the game they dreamed about does lend some credence to my theory that The Lady might've been behind her becoming an idol to further her plans.

I actually found myself liking Agent Five more than I expected, dude is the only Agent besides Baku who has a personality that isn't boring stoic guy, and I like that he's willing to call Nox out on his bullshit. He's basically the complete antithesis of Nox, being straight to the point instead of wasting everybody's time with cryptic rambles, and he's willing to sacrifice his own life for the mission whereas Nox's idea of "sacrifice" is killing and endangering innocent people while claiming he has to do it for the greater good. Five's monster gag is the only joke in the episode that actually landed for me, I hope he stays in the show for a while.

(1/2)

>>23742455
Something tells me the three won't all appear together, meaning they just have 2 Lords helmets to go around, so they just respray the helmet later in the show to save money, hence why Code 3 will transform later after Code 5 and 6 "die".

>>23742627
Speaking of Nox, I'm getting real tired of his and The Lady's 2deep4u rambles, mysterious characters like these only work when they show up once in a while, not every single episode. Nox also comes off as a huge hyprocrite when calling CODE out for making kids suffer when he and The Lady are doing the same fucking thing. Also looks like he didn't notice he had a tracking chip on him until his fight with Five ended, so it wasn't part of some strategy on his part or anything, which makes his criticism about Five lacking the wit necessary for an Agent very hollow. I wish he hadn't gotten the upper hand on his fight with Five, and although Five and Six beat him in the rematch, he still managed to escape and got the last laugh. I really hope Catastrom punches his teeth in next week.

I honestly don't know how they can redeem Nox in a way that feels satisfying, even revealing that nothing bad he ever did matters because the "real" world is just a dream or something would feel like a massive cop-out that would retroactively render the stakes of everything that came before meaningless, all just to redeem this clown.

Nem finally did something with her powers, although she didn't accomplish much since the heroes still needed to lose this week for the sake of the plot, and it looks like she's going back to being a damsel in distress the very next episode. I'd still prefer if Minami got more scenes over her.

Speaking of Minami, it seems like they're setting up a meeting between her and The Lady, which doesn't bode well for Baku.

Ultimately, I feel like the B-plot of the episode with Nox and the Agents was more entertaining than the A-plot. I wish Baku had interacted more with the Agents this week, Zero's absence still makes the show feel more lacking than usual in terms of character interactions.

I did like the fights this week though and next episode looks like it's gonna be a good one.

(2/2)

>>23742490
How? Even though Baku rescued all the kids and defeated the Baby Nightmares, the Demon Lord still manifested. Seems like there was no way to actually prevent it.

>>23742560
>What was the mood for the seasons by then?
Much better than the one for Zeztz right now.

>>23742635
>I honestly don't know how they can redeem Nox in a way that feels satisfying, even revealing that nothing bad he ever did matters because the "real" world is just a dream or something would feel like a massive cop-out that would retroactively render the stakes of everything that came before meaningless, all just to redeem this clown.

I think it's more about how CODE clearly has some big secret and the reveal that the world is fake would tie into that, alongside Nox's motivations. The main issue is just him never explaining anything to Baku even when it's clear he's wary of CODE by now.

>>23742413
>>23742419
>>23742426
It's funny because Baku tried to save a little girl from getting kidnapped by a creep in the first episode.

>>23742601
He’s Buffa with the actual Secondary Rider title

Who's gonna be the inevitable new nox knight? Lopo?

>>23742682
Nobody, Nox uses his old belt for his final form....maybe

>>23742533
Fuck the 01 competition arc was so bad.

If Baku doesn't kill anyone with his berserk form then Takahashi is a hack

>>23742684
>Nox uses his old belt for his final form....maybe
No, he uses his Rider belt for it, it has unique standby sounds for his final form electronic Capsem.

>>23742684
Nah the last Capsem is confirmed to be used with NoxDriver, there’s a bundle set of the Driver and powerup Capsem which is the first time for a Secondary Rider.

And the Knight Invoker has been burnt to crisp the last time Nox destroyed Zero’s mecha body. CODE already has the superior Lord Invoker so they won’t bother fixing it.

>>23742641
For starters, could prevent the kids from being kidnapped by having Kureha going to the village and beat those weak nightmares. Baku would go to the demon lord castle and take care of those two. 5 could hold Nox on his own.

>>23742745
>5 could hold Nox on his own

Barely. He had to resort to a suicide attempt to even get Nox and didn’t succeed.

>>23742635 cont.
Forgot to mention that Baku is once again going through some concerning symptoms like he did when he first met The Lady, which are possibly related to his use of Nightmare powers through the Capsems that Nox warned him so much about.

I'm surprised at how much I liked Five.

>>23742535
It's 4-parter, according to the blog.

>>23742635
>>23742646
There’s always kamen rider shows where shit just happens because characters won’t talk to one another, but in most of them the reason is because the characters have this emotional baggage or misunderstanding that prevents them. In this show, that’s not really the case, so characters not talking clearly is frustrating.
Also, the problem with "everything is another dream" is that it raises more questions than it answers. If Nox’s goal is mass genocide so everyone wakes up to the real world unaffected by CODE, and no one really dies, then what is that real world like? Is it like Matrix where its an apocalyptic world or just a regular world like ours? Did CODE put the whole world to sleep for shit and giggles? You walk a thin rope if you put yourself in that situation.

>>23742224
So the lesson from this episode is that Minecraft is evil, right?

>>23743043
The lesson is that Nox is evil.

>>23742811
It's been a while since we've had some hot-blooded rider. He did most of the fighting and is blindly loyal to the cause to the point he would sacrifice himself.

>>23742385
This. Baku was 100% the correct one there and the ending proved it.
To be fair, if the other two didn't go at Nox, he probably would've helped the demon anyways, but Baku was correct in which one was more important.

>>23742413
Showa toku MCs were written as idealized big brothers and Baku isn't.

>>23742682
What was the point of it anyways? Just random PB shit?

>>23743120
The ending proved the agents correct as he failed his mission even when choosing to save the children, so it would have made no difference.

>>23743153
Yeah, clearly Nox's awakening was what caused the whole thing at the end.

>>23742811
He should stop trying to show his muscles because he's not precisely ripped and that breaks the illusion. Otherwise he's great.

>>23742560
I feel it better than Gavv and Gochard. Gavv's villains were a constant disappointment even if the main cast was great. Zezts's villains do things and have apparent long term goals that might pay off even if it's unlikely. I want to believe.
Gotchard was just a disaster with only Chesis being physically attractive as its only strong point.

What are the chances Nem awakens her powers and is turned into the final boss

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>>23742298
>It feels like a while since we had a "base form, but better" super form style upgrade, though I guess the last was Rabbit Rabbit/Tank Tank in Build
That's the most common style of upgrade in the franchise, it hasn't been a while at all.

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So is the twist going to be they're living in a dream world made by CODE to uphold their own order over society and that The Lady was the second in command of CODE but deserted when she realized that, and that she's actually just trying to reset the universe back to normal so everyone can live in reality again, right?

>>23743582
Possibly, but if so I expect CODE to have a decent reason, like earth is/was a blasted wasteland or something. So long ago people went in knowing it would be a dream but it's been like 100 years and now nobody alive knows the truth.

>>23743582
Yes Baku is in the matrix:

>Takahashi: While developing a story with a unique worldview, I suddenly had the thought, "What if the everyday world we thought was ordinary is actually a dream?" I wrote it down as one of the elements in the planning ideas, and it ultimately became the core element.

>>23743587
What if the meteorite that hit Baku as a child actually ruined the Earth as well?

>>23743587
I was thinking maybe something akin to people stopped dreaming because either what you said or the opposite maybe the world got too perfect and they didn't need CODE anymore, so to justify their existence they made it this way. Baku didn't even really like agent stuff until they indoctrinated him in the first place, I just want to know what makes him special and the "one and only" as Zero says, maybe he did like it without the indoctrination and that's what makes him the chosen one.

>>23743582
Probably just be that the real world is impacted heavily by dreams and CODE fucked with shit to get power and shut down real world enemies. It'll be something incredibly unethical, but ultimately justified so that they're still good enough for Baku to keep working with them for probably the majority of the series, but also justify dismantling them by the end of the show (and obviously highlight how the hypnotizing chick is overall in the wrong).

I feel like going all-in on the real world actually being a dream world just opens up too many cans of worms. It would mean there isn't really a point in nightmares taking over a dreamer to come to the real world, since it would just be a dream. That also opens the door for there just being transformations in the "real" world any time. It also means there's a third, actual real reality; so having two dream realities and one real reality is kind of crossing over into being convoluted, and would really just be a twist for the sake of a twist. They've already established both the real world affecting dreams and dreams affecting the real world; showing CODE take advantage of the latter for their own gain is more than enough.

>>23742560
Every single one was far more passionate than the indifference we have right now. Wether its positive or negative, people had feelings and strong opinions on how the current show was handled. Comparatively, this is the most subdued and least interesting show to discuss weekly of the entire Reiwa era because the plot is just a lot of "wait and see". Maybe it can change that if, after the twists are revealed, the show becomes far more exciting. But right now it's an underwhelming response. Same for sales and ratings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYDTh9OVYoM
Episode 21

I don't want Kureha to die...

>>23743582
>>23743660
The staff has mentioned Butterfly's Dream in regards to Zeztz, and so far nothing in the show has approached that (the doubt of what's a dream and what's reality). So, yeah, I do expect the real world we've seen so far will turn out to be a dream too.

>>23743582
>The red blasted moon we see in the dream world is Earth all along

So wait, what's the Nightmare that Baku trades punches with?

>>23743602
>I just want to know what makes him special and the "one and only" as Zero says, maybe he did like it without the indoctrination and that's what makes him the chosen one.
We did see this episode that Baku wasn't susceptible to The Lady's mind control. He's got some sort of innate resistance to mental/dream stuff.
There's definitely more to it, but we're seeing some hints of what makes him special.

>>23744049
>The staff has mentioned Butterfly's Dream in regards to Zeztz, and so far nothing in the show has approached that (the doubt of what's a dream and what's reality)
The glowing butterflies that come out of Nightmares are a reference to that. The Lady literally quoted that parable when she first showed up, though she also said in that scene that the boundary between dreams and reality would disappear, which implies she wants to do something else other than just wake people up to the true real world.

>>23743131
>Just random PB shit?
It was retail.

The replacement boss is a new type of Japanese mutt isn't he?

>>23744217
It could be that The Lady is more interested in destroying the distinction between dream and reality so there's nothing to wake up to. Or more to the point, neither side is truly interested in human's waking up for whatever reason, with Baku being forced into championing that third option. But the plot could go anywhere from here.

Why has it taken nearly halfway through the series for the plot to even begin to go anywhere? It's ridiculous how slow and empty this show is.

>>23742787
What symptoms?

>>23744181
Yanaka himself said that the dream world scene is when that red moon appeared on screen. There will be no "Real" real world shit at all. Maybe another kind of twist.

Think of something in line with western fandom.

>>23744217
she's an anti-hero like kuroto because of his mother.. screencap this

>>23744569
Yanaka wanted the first half to be episodic while making the second to be serialized

>>23744235
Then why was it barely featured?

>>23744703
>>23744680
Thanks for promoting next week's episode. Ghost did the same thing with Mugen in hopes extending the hype would lead to better toy sales
Instead it came off as false advertising

>>23744678
Ask Toei. Who gives a fuck it's just a plastic cover

>>23744655
>What symptoms?
He had a headache and felt dizzy right before meeting The Lady for the first time, and in this episode he felt some sudden dizziness again that put him to sleep earlier than usual.

>>23744723
So do Agents get paid for this or what?

>>23744835
If they did they wouldn't have to be groomed to become agents

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>>23744703
The dreamers

>>23742527
Time flies when nothing is happening.

>>23745299
Takahashi won't be getting much calls from Toei if he keeps up with this procrastination

>>23745301
It's the producer that wants this pacing though.

It's such a shame Nox fucking sucks as a character because I actually like his gear sounds and design. The jester motif really doesn't suit him though.

>>23743094
Seriously last one I can think of is Banjo from Build, actually really like 5's character

>>23743660
>Implying Baku isn't gonna go rouge

He's definitely gonna become a rogue agent, and him and NOX will likely team up to defeat both the lady and CODE calling it now

>>23745398
>Seriously last one I can think of is Banjo from Build
Because you haven't watched any show other than Build.

>>23745413
Who would you say since? Michinaga? He's more of an emo doomer than a hot headed brute

>Lord 5 is just a brainless mook
Kinda disappointing

>moth mini-Nightmares
>Maou's colours
Call me slowpoke but I've only just realized that it's an Inazuman reference.

>>23744680
Are his abs not stuck to the undersuit?

>>23744189
The Catastrophe Nightmare. Baku wasn't just scared of Lightning, he has always had a problem with his rotten luck when helping people. That is what this Nightmare is, Order and Chaos. There must always be a balance to these things and when a Nightmare of this level gets out into the real world, Baku's fear of Catastrophe also becomes realized.

>>23745502
All of the Nightmares have been a reference to other shows. Mostly just past Riders, but now we are getting to Inazumann. Maybe the next will be Kikaider?

>>23745422
Fuwa? Ikazuchi? Touma? Ogami? Ren? Legeiel? Zooous? Vice? Sakura? Hiromi? Houtaro? Hanto? Glotta?

>>23745622
It's a different dynamic entirely than someone like hanto or Fuwa, they're determined because of their tragic backstory 5 is just a hothead gumshoe detective with a chip on his shoulder he's really unique in that regard. Sure Banjo has the tragic backstory too but he has that personality of both being kind of an oaf but also hardheaded and badass where the rest are more motivated by revenge

Hanto especially

>>23745622
There's not enough dumbass punch first ask questions later kind of characters and it's refreshing

>>23745400
>>Implying Baku isn't gonna go rouge
>
>He's definitely gonna become a rogue agent
I dunno, man. I prefer if he sticks to the base 4 green, blue, yellow, purple outfit colors. Sure there's a bit of red with the green, but we don't need a full on red suit.
I prefer we expand on the existing four element suits.

>>23744835
Yes, but Baku isn't.

they are not going to kill kureha before she has an onsen scene with nasuka, right???

>>23745878
>they're determined because of their tragic backstory
How do you know Five isn't? He was probably groomed since childhood into serving CODE and probably had some shady shit done to him.
>gumshoe detective
That's Fujimi.
>Sure Banjo has the tragic backstory too but he has that personality of both being kind of an oaf but also hardheaded and badass where the rest are more motivated by revenge
>Hanto especially
Hanto is hotheaded by nature, he used to be a punk in his younger years. So is Fuwa, who never stopped acting like a gorilla even after he learned he had no tragic backstory.
>>23745622
>There's not enough dumbass punch first ask questions later kind of characters and it's refreshing
>when a bunch from this era just got mentioned
Maybe there's not enough in Zeztz, but there's no shortage of them in this franchise.

I fuckin love Nox, bros

>>23746625
Fair, I'm stepping on my words a bit I mean more someone like Ryo Ogami where he has that air of someone like Kuwabara from yu-yu hakusho just a big brute oafish but principled type guy

I like the character type and 5, shrimple as that

Sex with Kureha.