What are your thoughts on Kamen Rider Zeztz 06?

#Tokusatsu #Toku #KamenRider #ShotaroIshinomori #manga

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Why is the subsuit different? Is it just for color consistency? If so, why bother designing multiple subsuits at all? From a storytelling and design perspective — both in-universe and out — I don’t see the logic.

If we’ve got four base forms (Impact, Stream, the purple and green ones coming up), why not use the same underlying suit and just swap the accents? Impact is used for Wing and Transform. That red base suit with the green chest and abs is the classic Rider look. It doesn’t clash. Red and green are even complementary colors. Machine clearly uses the Stream base suit, but it’s not clear why it must. They are both blue so the colors don’t fight each other, so it arguably looks good, but I’m confused about the rules. The helmet only changes the antenna color and the eye color, while keeping that minty, sagey green from early Kamen Rider. There’s clearly some love in the design, but the function of swapping out some of the color blocks isn’t clear to me.

Prison, Parents, and Pink-Blue Clues

Let’s talk plot.

Nem is in a dream prison wearing pink and blue. Is Nox her brother? Those colors suggest something. We learn Nem was adopted by Masumi Bijogi and his wife Reiko when she was around 8 or 10. She came from an orphanage.

Bijogi sees her and is struck by her beauty. That felt weird. It reminds me of the whole child star thing like with Marsha Brady being labeled “the beautiful one” from a young age. Idol culture and talent scouting feels a little uncomfortable and the way it was depicted here didn’t help.

Anyway, in the dream, the Bijogis are Nem’s parents. In real life, they kind of are too. The weird part is that Masumi and Reiko are divorcing in the real world, and we don’t know why. At the end of the episode, Masumi chooses to stay in the prison forever with Nem, who might be dead or close to dying. He even pushes his wife out of the way, knocking her over to run away with his “adopted daughter” and it feels weird…

That prison? It’s a Nightmare. Maybe the Chainsaw Nightmare we saw earlier was a red herring. Maybe both were Nightmares. Either way, Masumi pushes Reiko away and vanishes into the Nightmare’s body. He wants to live in the dream forever.

That mystery and Nem’s silence around it is what drives the story. It’s moody, deceptive, and keeps you guessing. I don’t feel cheated by the lack of a resolution. It’s a cliffhanger. But it feels honest.

Baku Goes Full Smooth Operator

Let’s shift gears. The opening scene? Hilarious.

Baku thinks he’s meeting Nem’s parents and wants to impress them. He totally changes his tone, posture, and attitude. He snaps his fingers, unlocks shackles, changes outfits, and sets everyone free. Just like that.

It’s so over the top, but it’s great. He’s trying to be the suave, confident agent type. The visuals are stylish, funny, and character-driven. He wants to impress her because everyone loves Nem. She’s a superstar. Maybe American pop-star levels of fame. I won’t name names.

He even speculates later in the episode that influencing people in the dream could affect them in the real world. So maybe there’s method to the madness.

Capsules Out of Suit = Awesome

I’ve been critical of the capsules before, but seeing Baku use them out of suit in the dream world? That was great.

He spins them like toys, which is probably how the merch actually works. That’s solid synergy between design and story.

He uses capsules to rescue Reiko and Masumi, puts Nem on his back, and dodges flying saw blades. It’s nuts. But it works. He’s got style. He even uses Stream to block a wave of booby trap arrows, like something out of an old movie or a dungeon video game.

Machine Form Delivers

I loved the Machine form.

It’s has a very Mega Man look to it -he’s got a big ball on his arm, plus a claw, a grapple line, and it can even retract so he can use his left. It is a great toy design that looks and plays so cool in the show.

Final Thoughts

This episode was messy, but in a good way. It layered mystery on top of emotion. It gave us visual flair and strong character moments. Even if I didn’t fully follow everything, I was hooked.

I’m curious about the rules of the dream world. I’m invested in Nem and Nox. And I want to see where Baku’s journey goes next.

What did you think? Was the episode too incomplete for you? Or are you as intrigued as I am?

Drop a comment and let’s talk Zeztz.

Thanks for reflecting with me. What say you, fellow traveler? Drop a comment below or if you’re on Twitter, tag me @MJ_Scribe. 

If you’re looking for something with magical creatures, high stakes, and a whole lot of heart, check out Mockwing Mayhem. Learn more at grobugs.com.

You can find more of my reviews, book reflections, and stories with spine at mjmunoz.com.