It wasn’t that long ago that fans of the Kamen Rider franchise outside of Japan felt left behind as Tsuburaya really pushed into acknowledging their international fans, hopefully without losing what make the Ultraman franchise one of Japan’s big superhero staples in Japan and around the world. Sadly I’ve fallen behind in my Ultraman watching and they’re already two shows into the one after the last series I was able to watch. I need to fix that…and a lot of other things…at some point. However, that’s not the Japanese superhero we’re here to discuss. Kamen Rider got two American reworks, Saban’s Masked Rider (a good concept ruined by network meddling) and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight (which frankly I feel is underrated because it’s quite good), and a bunch of subtitles slowly coming together from Shout Factory and their various channels and services. Even Toei’s official YouTube channel only has two episodes per show for some odd reason. Modern Kamen Rider usually takes two episodes to properly set things up, but from there if it isn’t on Shout Factory’s Tokushoutsu section, we lose out in America.

Then came word that Kamen Rider Zeztz would follow recent Ultraman shows in having an international simulcast. As of this writing, this article at the Kamen Rider Fandom wiki has a list for those of you in and outside of Japan and the US who want to enjoy it. For Shout Factory, their “Shout Studios” and “TokuSHOUTsu” YouTube channels, as I write this, are streaming the first episode over and over and over and over…you get the idea. It’s an odd way to do it. Premiere the episode, leave it up there and start posting it to your streaming service and the sites you coordinate with, and that should be fine. It works for Ultraman. I shouldn’t be afraid of being spoiled while trying to find the start of the episode. Word is that live is the only way to see it, with repeats at various parts of the day, in addition to how this episode is currently streaming. Hopefully it changes after the show is done, but that’s their call, I guess, but that’s enough intro. The first episode aired over the weekend, and while I’m hoping the first two episodes will be up on YouTube for a Saturday Night Showcase posting in the future, I can at least discuss my thoughts on episode one. WARNING: Spoilers aplenty, so you might want to watch the episode first!

The Plot

I should note that what I’ll be going over comes from Google’s translation of the official Japanese show page, the Fandom wiki page, my previous article’s research when Zetez was announced, and TJOmega’s own review (that one’s a video), plus the first episode as it’s the only one up as of this writing and this is a review of the episode more than the whole series.

He is the invincible agent Code Seven, rescues the famed Japanese idol Nem with rubber bullets (because it’s a kids show in Japan), cool moves, and a cowlick that doesn’t want to go away. He’s amazing…in his dreams. When he wakes up, Baku Yorozu is a loser. Not by choice. He tries to help people all the time, but for whatever reason he keeps getting hurt when he tries, to the dismay of his sister, Minami. This latest attempt, stopping a kidnapping at the job center he’s hoping will find him work, leads to him getting hit by a car…without a driver, and ending up in the hospital. In the hospital, Baku is attacked by a monster formed from a gun…the gun nightmare!

Something strange is happening in this city, not that the police’s paranormal division veteran detective Kenta Mishima can convince the new girl, Rina Onuki. Kenta calls them “nightmares”, monsters formed from dreams with the goal of killing those dreams in the real world by destroying them in his sleeping dreams. Unfortunately for the bad guys, Baku is really good at lucid dreaming, and is given a device by his spy boss in the dream, Zero, gives him a device that transforms Seven/Baku into Kamen Rider Zetez, with the mission to stop the nightmare. What does this all have to do with Nem, and the mysterious Nox that sent the car and the monster after Baku in the first place?

The Review

Imagine if a superhero challenged Freddy Krueger, who was after dreams instead of lives. I mean, I can. That’s how I roll, but surprisingly somebody in Japan could as well, or something awfully darn close. Already that’s scoring major points with me. The suit-up transformation? Incredible, though I’m not sure what the sprite thing is about. Apparently the toys will be replicating it, but if Baku’s approach is closer to James Bond than Captain N it feels out of place.

Baku is immediately likable. He wants to help others, but life seems to be so against him even his sister thinks the gods abandoned him. She’s just happy he hasn’t gone to join them yet. In his dreams he’s awesome, and since he’s a lucid dreamer (able to control his dreams once he realizes he’s dreaming…a rare talent but some people can actually do it) he gets to be everything he isn’t in the waking world. Invincible agent Seven can take out the bad guys nonlethally, get the girl, be the hero, and just has a slight hair problem. Even then he needs Kamen Rider powers to stop the gun nightmare, given to him by his secret agent boss in the dream (more on him in a later section), so he isn’t going to be a Gary Stu written off as dreaming. Plus he’ll be entering other people’s dreams in the future. More on that in a moment as well.

I love the suit. While it drops the traditional belt in favor of a harness style, it does meld well into the costume design. I’m not sure why they changed it. For their first intentional international release you’d think they’d stick to some kind of norm. I don’t hate it. I just question the choice. This is a toy that adult collectors will be interested in, and belts already are difficult since they have to make a kids and adult size or some kind of extender for a grown up’s body for goofing around, showing off, or cosplay. Apparently each “capsem” capsule will unlock different colors and abilities while the default Impact capsem is one of the physical power bestowers. There will be a bunch before the series is done. Kids show, remember. Got to get more of their parents’ money, but if they make the powers cool enough kids and adults will enjoy it on the show whether they collect the toys or not.

The first monster, the Gun Nightmare, was chosen for Kabu based on his dream as a secret agent, and he makes a good first threat. I’m guessing the other Nightmares will also be themed on dreams of the people they inhabit and some symbol attached to it. Maybe a gardening themes nightmare will create a Shovel Nightmare or something. Curious to see where this goes.

The Characters

Baku is a great modern Rider protagonist, a good man who isn’t a goofball but is kind-hearted and fun. We see him playing with the little girl waiting for his job center interview and later he rushes to help find her. He just wants to help people but something always gets in his way. Possibly Nox, but we’ll see as things go on. I like him. He’s my kind of hero and he isn’t treated as a joke in his first episode, but he also isn’t the “cool guy” (or trying to be and failing) or the guy you expect to be comic relief. Can’t wait to see more of his adventures.

We really don’t know a lot about the other characters going in. Minami is barely in the story. Nox is the big mystery, at least for the first episode. Is he ally or enemy? Is he behind the Nightmares, fighting them, or something else? Tetsuya and Nagumo are possibly there to explain stuff to the audience, as Tetsuya has been in the paranormal affairs division longer while Nagumo, while not a rookie cop, is new to the division. Clearly she has some history and realizes something must be up for them to even exist. They could be fun. Zero isn’t just going to show up here. Why he speaks English in this first episode (and quite well, actually) but not in the trailers I’ve seen is something I’d like to know. Apparently he’s actually the required motorcycle. You can’t be a Kamen Rider without a ride, and they’re going the sentient bike root with a robot mode. I wonder if the toy transforms?

Mem is the interesting one not for what she did in the episode, which was to be the girl the agent has to rescue and to fawn over said agent in the dream, and to be an idol in the real world. She is clearly going to play a larger role in the series as Baku will be meeting her in the waking world. What does she know about all of this, and is it a coincidence that Google translates her name on the official homepage not as “Mem” but as “Sleep”, possibly a more literal translation of the kanji to English?

“Visions”, the Kamen Rider Zeztz theme song performed by NAQT VANE (official YouTube channel)

Final Thoughts

Obviously there’s only so much you can get from the first episode, especially as past shows have needed two just to finish their first storyline. However, I really like what I see here.  The cast looks good for the most part (Minami seems to only be here to represent Baku’s normal life and hasn’t shown much besides the worried sister), the effects and costumes are good for TV, the concept has potential, and I had a good time watching it. I’m looking forward to more episodes.