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I wonder if another reset is in the cards. A lot of parallels are starting to show up with the end of act 1 and now (things getting in dire straits with the nightmares, a secondary rider is dead at the hands of Baku's new form, Three rolling up to ruin everything), plus I'm REALLY not convinced we're done with Sieg just yet, less than ten episodes for a guy who got the Rider billing over Three, Five, and Six?
I was thinking the same thing for many of the same reasons, but mainly due to act 1's end. Dead Rider. Fighting Code directly. 3 has gun. But where would that take us? If he reset to day one, not much time has passed. He'd beat Seig and the other riders easily. The most it would do is give him a chance to stop Code: Somnia before 3 got his hands on it, and revive Seig.
i think it won't be a reset. but Baku and Three parallel, I don't think is a coincidence, there should be some reveal going on that link his premonitory dream and the events.
Love the back story (although did dying in the dream always kill people?), loved the fight and was the fact that it ended on a beach a Blade homage or just easy location?
In Zeztz, dying in the dream can only happen if the one who killed the dreamer is either another dreamer or their own Nightmare. Sieg was lucid dreaming when he killed the criminals, so it killed them in the real world as well
We technically never seen it cause Baku stopped it but it's implied. The chief from the earlier episodes was dying in the dream causing him to suffer the same in real life. Sieg wanted Baku to kill his sister who had a nightmare which would kill her irl.
Well Exdream now enterd my top 10 final forms. That was awsome fight.
I guess now we know how Seig got sentenced for 1000 years. I only wish he would have stuck around more but this is a Yuya Takahashi season so who knows. Either way it was fun while it lasted.
And now we know what Somina is (well sort of), and Im sure Three will not use it to do anything evil no sir.
Loving ExDream. However cause it's too OP (able to move between reality and dream, to choose different dream scenario that most favourable to him and rewrite reality/dream), I hope it has a very big drawback so it won't use often, or take the ExAid route where now the bad guy has to be creative to make sure he won't able to utilize that form
The best episode in Zeztz so far. From how we finally explored Sieg's backstory and the debut of a powerful final form
That aside, I'm extremely glad that Paranormal Affairs Division is finally back in the game, as they are now believed by the police department following the Nightmares' appearance in the real world. Here's hoping they actively involve themselves more, especially since CODE is now starting the CODE: Somnia
From having Exdream form in the opening, to a beautiful debut, partnered with an actual Final Form BGM (and they even extended it to almost a full song for the fight), this is definitely my dream final form debut!
(Yuya really heard our wishes since we didnt have such a debut for Geats / Gavv)
For those who are confused with Sieg's backstory, here's my breakdown:
Sieg was "seen" as a mental child, which is why he was abandoned by his dad. But the show have established that Nightmares have been around for decades and they are the ones that usually causes humans to sin, by taking control of their subconscious mind. What is seen as "mental" by many, is actually Sieg's nightmare being active in his subconscious mind, and giving Sieg the ability to kill people in their dreams. His goal was just to take revenge on his dad; but like many murderers, the thrill of killing and possessing this ability became an addiction, so he uses this ability to kill more people who are similar to his dad, whom he hates.
Because of his killing spree, Code came to know of his existence, and him saying "Code kept him alive for their experiment" is by making him 001. (Since Code has been looking for ways to eradicate nightmares in dreams, so they cant be a reality, ties in to Sieg's ability) Of course, his motive is not to save people. His motive is killing, so he fused with his Nightmare and went completely rogue instead.
Negai was supposed to be Geats IX debut theme but ended up playing only during Ace's conversation with mother. And not even the real track, only the instrumental version. I wonder how the battle scene would've felt playing Negai instead of Trust Last.
The only thing I might slightly worry about is that this was a bit early for the final form to debut. Given that it might still be some episodes towards the end, will ExDream get a temporary ban to ensure the main storyline can be pushed forward, as well as save the ultimate vibes?
So I'm still confused how Sieg do all the kill. For starter, all of this happened before he become Code Agent / Rider / fusion with Nightmare. We know that the killing happened within White Half Moon normal Dream (Normal Moon =Real World, White Half Moon = Normal Dream, Red Half Moon = Bad Dream aka Nightmare) so no Nightmare Power involved.
So how he did all the killing and made all the money real? Yes we know what happened in the dream can be made to reality, but you need Rider / Nightmare power to do that. Normal human Sieg or Baku did have lucid dream power but that did not make dream into reality. For example, Zeztz room on Baku dream become actual place in reality, but when he lose his Rider power, the room is gone. So how was Sieg that has not become Rider / fusion with Nightmare can make all the kill and all the money he got in the dream become reality?
As mentioned earlier, nightmares have existed since ancient times. It was precisely because Sieg’s dream abilities were so powerful that Code captured him and made him Number 1. What Sieg was referring to was “masayume.” The reason for all this lies in the fact that deep within his psyche, there exists a punish nightmare.
My take is his nightmare has already been giving him the ability to kill people in their dreams, which is why Code made him 001 because they want to utilise this power to eradicate the nightmares instead. But his evil mind decided to fuse with the nightmare within him, which is why he went rogue afterwards.
Does anyone have a high enough capture to make out the caution notice in the CODE: Somnia box? The YouTube stream isn't quite clear enough when I zoom in. It's in English and actually says something custom written and isn't Lorem Ipsum. I want to know what it says and if it provides lore.
Been seeing people say that Baku has official blood on his hands, but imo, this isn't killing someone. Sieg prolonged his life through the Nightmare pact, Baku just erased the pact.
Sieg is a ok kill because bro took the series death count from Zero to Mass murder with all the underground leaders he killed. Bro even killed his own father first.
It's Takahshi, so no. Plus there's confirmation that he's been shooting scenes since last month (his birthday), so even if he doesn't show up in the show, he'll be showing up in one of the movies.
And it can be seen that the actor is fully dressed as Sieg yet doesn't use contacts in the birthday post, which meant that he probably was in a real life scene that day.
It's always possible the photo is from before they finished his makeup. The implication (I don't think the show can really outright say this) may be that his body is gone, as he learned to live in dreams through Punish. CODE would have his original body anyways, and I don't know if they'd really keep his real self alive for any reason.
Baku just got access to Gold Experience Requiem on crack. That Somnia shit better rewrite the laws of reality or Three is the most cooked villain of all time
The Full Rise let Baku not only go back to before Sieg charged his finisher, but also to strike from an angle he wasn't at prior. The way it's shot and framed very much implies that just... Blipped into existence.
Baku charged up Full Rise during the rider kick struggle, undid them doing the kicks, and kicked Sieg from a different place. He essentially went "nah, i actually hit him first AND i was in a different place"
Rise - normal kick
Full Rise - kick that lets his undo actions and change his previous position
It sounds like they want to either turn reality into a dream, or make the dream world/dreaming itself the new reality like its their version of the Matrix as a Simulated Reality so they can monitor the entire world.
So sieg died when he fused with the punish gore nightmare, right? Like he's some sort of dream entity? That's what they meant when Baku said he traded his life, right?
Looks like Exdream has the power of retcon among changing which dream they're in, and that straight aura when the BGM kicked in before Baku entered the dream.
In my opinion Sieg's conclusion is kinda disappointing and with that little episodes left there is almost no chance he's coming back. The flashback where he got beaten up and smiled led to nothing as it has zero ties to his actual backstory and there is still no good explanation on his motivations. I understand that he seeks to "punish" sinners but for what reason exactly? That aside, his fight with Baku both transformed and untransformed was just pure peak.
It felt like they were trying to make seem like a righteous person in a sense by having all his killings be against sinners with the punish Nightmare powers but was still a bad guy. It just felt rushed. Knowing Yuya Takahashi, he will come back somehow.
Well he did say his Dad abandoned him (assuming because he was a mental child), but the nightmare within Sieg made his mental problem a gift. I guese from then on he got addicted to killing sinners, and thats how Code came to know of his existence and made him 001
His dad was a crime boss, he was doing a 50 year sentence already. Its easy enough to put 2 in 2 together that he was the son of a crime boss that got caught then snapped after killing his pops. Did everyone miss him calling his first dream kill Dad ?
Yeah I've though about something like that, but that still doesn't really explain the flashback. It is not really hard to come up with some theory on why he came out like that, but c'mon, there is no rock solid explanation. Maybe we'll get a Sieg spinoff once the show is over though, that would be nice
The spikes on the forearms and shoulders. The black and gold in the color aesthetic. And the lines that came with its' debut; "The ultimate dream. The ultimate agent".
They're being completely transparent with the nod to Ultimate Kuuga. And I LOVE it!
That aside, it looks like I was right; If bad dreams and good dreams are constantly changing to overpower the other, the way to turn the tide, the "ultimate dream", is the dream to surpass and change both.
At the start of the series, I'd wondered if Zeztz could have the power to beat ol' Freddy Krueger, and it looks like he's finally obtained it. With these powers to rewrite bad dreams, I christen Zeztz, "The Dream Master"!
I need that Zeztz OST Volume 2 yesterday. Sakabe (and Takaki if he's also on this track) really managed to update Good Morning to a status that feels worthy of being Exdream's score.
Honestly pretty impressive that Baku, with no education in engineering and physics, was able to create Exdream in his subconsciousness with a bunch of scraps while dying in like 20 years dream time. I would even say it is more impressive than Sento coming up with Genius form because Baku was able to create an 11th dimension generator and manipulator despite not being a genius like Sento.
Baku had the power of lucid dreaming though. I think it's kind of implied it took 20 years plus those powers for him to be able to pull it off. He would not have been able to do it in real life.
Also during cram school they were studying while asleep.and we also have seen kureha whose memory was wiped but the memory was still inside,just locked.maybe he received various knowledge but hidden within his subconscious and locked memories.
Just like how he can operate as and agent and fight could be his training was locked within and when he was lucid dreaming he is actually accessing those skills he already had
Given next episode preview with Three trying to make Baku's premonition come true (Three shooting Baku), it's very thematic I feel that Baku dies which leads to Invincible Agent Zeztz rebuilding/upgrading his dream as opposed to Baku destroying the Dream World with Catastrom which lets the dream being of Ultimate Agent Zeztz into reality who then subsequently kills a traitorous CODE Agent.
Haven't been this hyped about a final form debut since Geats IX. Now my ranking for Takahashi shows' final forms and debut goes to both Ex-Aid and Zeztz at first place. Second place goes to Geats and lastly is Zero One. I'm not saying that Zero-One's was weak, they're all to my liking but Ex-Aid's aand Zeztz's are both otherworldly!
Been a fan of Takahashi's Rider shows since Ex-Aid. I've gotta say that this final form debut of Exdream is phenomenal!
I can see how Zeke/Sieg is going to be redeemed now. Can't wait when all three of them are ganging up on Threaky!
Also, Nox smiling after saying Baku saved Nemu again is just... wow. Nox finally showing he likes our MC. Just not in front of anyone yet though. Lol.
Nemu deserves to be smiling all day! This girl deserves all the love and protection! PROTECC NEMU AT ALL COSTS!!!
I doubt Sieg will be redeemed.
He was a person who didn't hesitate or feel remorse for his actions.
And I think it's better not to resurrect him because his ending was the best.
There are different kinds of redemption. There's a purpose why they've shown Sieg's subconscious and how/who he was before assimilating/fusioned with his gore nightmare. I'm leaning on a villain turned ally type. There's no need to forgive him for his actions, but I do think he's gonna be an ally the way Kuroto was. The latter played with lives but he ultimately became an ally to Emu and team.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, specifically Golden Wind/Part 5. It's one of the most broken abilities ever since it basically removes the principles of cause and effect. (I.e., someone can get killed but not ever actually die)
I think Zeztz is going down as one of the best KR for me. The refreshing variety of Rider Kicks thematically is off the charts (e.g., ExDream, Plasma Booster, Sieg, etc.). I feel like I'm in a dream loop, absorbing the aura of each moment for the first time despite it not being the first time. Yet, I am getting the rewarded context of a plot. I'm so happy this is being released internationally too, so it can be appreciated. Onto the next arc we go.
Fun fact: Sieg's father is portrayed by Tongan wrestler Bad Luck Fale (who's actually younger than Kousei Amano!!!).
We finally see Zeztz's Exdream's real debut, and it's definitely one of the better final form debuts. After spending several episodes tormenting our heroes, it sure is satisfying to see Sieg getting his ass kicked. With that being said, I don't think this will be the last we see of the mad man.
I've searched and he's 4 years younger than him! Though it's not a surprise since Odaka's actor is much younger than Fujimi's. And the former's supposed to be the kouhai. Lmao.
In general, Three is more of an Evolt for Baku than Sieg.
And just because Sieg targeted criminals doesn't mean he was a good person.
I think he targeted them because it was more interesting than anything else, and the results would be more interesting than killing "good" people.
After being disappointed in Gavv's final forms I'm happy with with how op Exdream seems. Only wonder how enemies will power creep it since it debued so early.
It is impressive that Baku made a 11th dimension reality warping Capsem in like 20 years. If I had 20 years worth of time and the same tools of Baku, I still won't be able to understand the 11th dimension thing to manipulate it to create Exdream.
Wait wait wait. Outside of the video essay, this is the first time Fujimi and Nagumo have seen Zeztz. And he shows up in Ultimate Form for like two minutes. I would be outraged too lol.
I honestly loved the beginning of the fight between Sig and Baku when they were using pistols. It was amazing, especially the scene where they were changing magazines. It felt like a real spy scene from a movie.
For now, Geats due to their divine status. The Gaim novels revealed that gods are above human dimensions, so until Zzeztz becomes a god himself, he will be weaker.
Baku almost entered the category of gods in Kamen Rider, as the notes explain that he can manipulate and use the energies of all theoretical dimensions up to the eleventh, according to string theory, thanks to his more reliable manipulation of quantum mechanics. In other words, he can alter reality not only at the base level of the third dimension, but also through time, parallel universes, and, of course, through dreams and the metaphysical realm.
Considering we still have about 15 episodes of show left and Orderm has only made a single appearance, I'm assuming there's some sort of drawback that Baku's enemies can exploit.
God, that final fight was incredible. The fear in Sieg's voice when he realises, too late, that he's been taken back to before he activated his finisher. Tricking your enemy into dreaming they've beaten you only to repeatedly snap them back is honestly kinda crazy; have we ever had a Rider that messes with their enemies' heads like this?
I'm very surprised by the multi-language news broadcasts, that's quite rare for Japanese media, it's honestly amazing. Also, Sieg's assassination montage is brutal, Zeztz has got to be the show with the most "real" gunfights in the whole franchise.
ExDream did not disappoint at all, its abilities and its presentation are the most dream-like among all of Zeztz's forms. ExDream can freely decide what's "just a dream" and what's "real", It really feels like Zeztz is the master of the dream world, it's amazing.
To me they're not Evil, of course it's always the "intention was good, but their methods were damn inhumane"
After hearing what Nightmares are and their nature from Zero and Lady, no wonder CODE took drastic measures. I felt like they gonna took the "Human, Dreams, and Nightmares are inseparable, we have no choice but co-exist with them. That's how we live".
Can someone give me their take on the Nem stuff? It's a lot of vague posting and doesn't make a lot of sense unless I'm forgetting something. I'm aware she's not intentionally causing the Nightmares, but many characters directly state that she is and she "wants" it. Of course, all Nightmares are a twisted form of a person's desire, antagonists/villains are saying it, and her true nature is still a mystery. However, the stuff where Baku says stuff like "I'll preserve your dream" and stuff just leaves me confused in terms of what he means logically that isn't just simply "he's the good guy saying good guy things", because taking it entirely at face value he's saying it's ok she causes nightmares.
Sieg basically being Mr. Frog from Smiling Friends is hilarious. Zero's nightmare is likely also rooted in the fear Zeztz/Baku could end up like Sieg (on top of the fatherly love). Which begs the question and implies there's someone above him that wants to ensure Zeztz's completion. That or it simply is he sees it as for the greater good (stopping nightmares). I could just be over complicating it.
This could be subject to change or further explained in future episodes.
The way I see it, Nem wants to support people's dreams which leads to the Nightmares born from Nem's subconscious since Nightmares are the flipside to humans and their good dreams (Nightmares grow stronger in response to good dreams).
Nem is unwittingly a Trojan Horse for Nightmares being able to infiltrate people's dreams via her idol status and being a pathway for Nightmares to overtake/possess humans.
Well,if this is really how Exdream is then basically I'm not even sure if Baku has a reason to use any of his other Capsems anymore(I'm not even sure if the Capsems are usable on the new Driver)
Also,I might be wrong but is the last time that Baku used his Weapon on Episode 27.I'm not counting Triple Buster since that's mostly a Finisher Weapon than a Weapon for fighting.It seems like we might just be getting fist fight action from Baku for the rest of this series unless he can magically summon his Weapon in Exdream.
Another great episode! Forgot to comment on last week's post, but the buildup from 33 made this final form feel very well earned. Baku and Sieg shone in both pistol duel and their transformed fight. What ExDream may lack in raw power it makes up for with its surreal dream-manipulating abilities, though I'll admit as everything was going so fast and there was so much happening visually it got a bit overwhelming at times 😅 Very interesting to see Sieg enjoying the fight up to the very end, and the ending with Baku and Nem was lovely.
Next episode, the Lords are finally making a return, whoo hoo! Looks like our cast (sans Kensei, rip) are having a picnic together, how fun! Though it seems just as the scans say – Kureha is going up against Baku next week. Gotta give her props for having that much guts for that...we'll see how it goes!
If the previous episode was one of the best Ultimate Form origin stories, then this was maybe THE best Ultimate Form debut in a long while. Holy crap, this episode was pure cinema.
Baku gaining the power to peek into other people’s subconscious was super interesting, and it gave us Sieg’s backstory, which was honestly awesome. Sieg might have been killing corrupt politicians and ganglords, but he was still basically a mass murderer, and that’s a pretty metal backstory for a tertiary Kamen Rider.
Zeztz Exdream having the ability to essentially “rewrite” dreams is super OP in the context of this show, and man, the way they depicted him erasing and replacing Dawn’s killing blows was so creative and satisfying. Speaking of Dawn, has it really been a month since he transformed? I honestly forgot how cool his Rider form is.
The confirmed presence of the Nightmares in the real world has finally led the police to consider reinstating the Paranormal Affairs Division, and it's about damn time. Hopefully this means Nasuka and Fujimi will start being more proactive again.
Three has Code: Somnia, which is apparently a Capsem that can change the logic and flow of dreams, making it an effective counter to Zeztz Exdream, who uses similar abilities.
Now, onto the action scenes: HOLY SHIT.
The out-of-suit gun-kata fight between Baku and Sieg was so damn hype. All of the gun action during Sieg’s flashbacks was insanely good — really well choreographed and shot. Sieg just shot way up on my list of KR badasses after this episode.
The fight between Exdream and Dawn was absolutely incredible. The use of dreamlike CG setpieces mixed with live-action choreography was creative as hell, and that final Rider Kick clash was unbelievable. My god, Exdream is just beautiful in every single way.
Goodbye, Sieg. You were a bastard to the very end. I know he’ll probably be back, but damn, that was a great conclusion to the Dawn arc.
Next week, Kureha and Five return, KR Nox and Lord Three finally transform again, and Code steps in as the next major antagonist. This shit is gonna slap. I’m guessing the Gore Nightmare arc will be the final phase of Zeztz.
Another question is... What happened to Baku's physical body?
Did Baku and Zeztz/ExDream fuse with each other? Baku was able to speak English fluently in the Real World, and move freely between the 2 worlds in ep 34
What I understand from it, ExDream can blur the line between reality and dream. So while he propably cant bend reality, he still have some dream abilities in the real world. Thats why he can speak english and enter people's dreams while in the real world. The difference between the two just doesnt fully matter for him.
I don't think a final form debut fight has ever been this fucking cool. Like holy shit. That was actually the coolest goddamn fight we've ever had. The initial stuff was literally ripped straight from anime. Geats IX can eat it's heart out, for a God of Creation, he didn't do even 1/5th as much world manipulation as Baku did, that was amazing!!!
Fun fact: Exdream essentially has the same ability that Kamen Rider Zero-Two is supposed to have when you read 02's technical specs.
Zero Two had a "quantum leaper" that allowed it to perform dimensional jumps observe the predictions in real time. In quantum computing, possibilities are 'locked' into place and made real when they're observed. 02 had the ability to nullify damage and warp reality to match the best possible result of its calculations, but when it came to portraying this ability they only did it in the debut episode where they tried a similar scenario - Ark-Zero was able to land a few hits on 02, but every time he did, a second 02 would appear completely unharmed and land a counter attack. (In a couple frames, you can even see two 02s at once!)
02 quickly just gets downgraded to only having superspeed + prediction abilities, but it's neat that they learned from 01 and conveyed exactly what's happening much more clearly.
Exdream does the reality-rejection-manipulation in a way that's much easier to understand what's happening without needing to read and decode the spec sheets.
Obviously this is just its first showing but as far as main rider scaling goes I wanna say that Exdream puts Baku right behind any hard reality warpers(think Gaim, Geats, Saber, and Ex-Aid with Mighty Novel X for example) and potentially time manipulators like Kabuto. Zi-O and Decade go without saying.
Regarding the God/Godlike Riders, someone such as Wonder Almighty Saber should imo bypass Exdream’s rewrite because Touma’s reality manipulation is more direct; There is no extra ‘make things happen in a dream’ step, sort of like spell speed 1 vs. 2. Wonder almighty might overwrite Exdream because it doesn’t have to deal with that extra hurdle of being dream based. That and I can’t imagine higher dimensional beings like Geats or Gaim would have to worry about something that falls within their own jurisdiction as creation deities.
The same idea goes for someone like Hyper Kabuto but this entirely comes down to whether or not you think something like Hyper Clockwise Up activates ‘faster’ than Exdream.
Overall it’s sort of like a The World vs. King Crimson from JoJo problem where whoever gets the first hit off one shots unless your name is Ace, Kouta, Tsukasa, or Sougo. Could be completely wrong though
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u/aerodyne91 May 17 '26
No new episode today?