Miniseries REVIEW: Kamen Rider Zeztz: Series of Sister's Substory Agent Minami

The Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club has been the home of various pieces of Kamen Rider, Super Sentai and now Project R.E.D. spin-off material for many years now, but with most of these taking the form as one-off episodes or limited mini-series few have seemed quite as expansive as Kamen Rider Zeztz: Series of Sister's Substory Agent Minami. Though its episodes may only be two to three minutes long, this companion piece to Kamen Rider Zeztz ran for a whole 50 episodes - with a new episode releasing each week to accompany the main series. Shifting the focus onto Baku's sister Minami (played by Miki Yagi), the series was written by Yusuki Naito (under the supervision of Zeztz head writer Yuya Takahashi) and directed by Tomonobu Koshi.

Minami Yorozu may be the brother of Code Number: Seven, but she's also a hardworking talent agent at Tsurukame Entertainment! As she continues her day to day life of managing the comedian Tsutomu, a strange cat creature keeps appearing to her in her dreams. All of a sudden Minami is also thrust into the world of Nightmares, as she attempts to prevent its rampage by solving various problems in the real world.

Minami's mission doesn't end with her duties as a talent agent though. As her secret past as Code Number: Seventeen resurfaces, Minami is pulled back into the secret organisation and must master the same skills as her brother in order to save her client.

While Minami may certainly count among some of the most likeable characters in Kamen Rider Zeztz, like many others she's one that could have definitely been served better by the main show. Going from being seemingly unaware of the world Baku has stumbled into at the beginning of the series to the reveal that she was a CODE agent all along is one hell of a character trajectory, and whilst the late stage twist certainly amps up the drama at the time it doesn't really change her character in any way outside affirming that her love for her "brother" wasn't ever bound by familial duty. Most will likely agree that she's a character they'd have liked to see more of, which makes Series of Sister's Substory Agent Minami the ideal spin-off. However those hoping that the miniseries would delve further into her backstory as a CODE agent will find themselves disappointed, with it taking a slightly different direction that tries to parallel the events of the main series.

It's also worth emphasising that Series of Sister's Substory Agent Minami is a comedy series first and foremost. Even as it begins to align itself with some of the show's most serious moments, the tone of the spin-off remains light-hearted. Given that the overarching story revolves around Minami's working and personal relationship with a prop comedian, this however shouldn't come as all that much of a surprise. Minami (or rather Miki Yagi) quickly proves to actually be quite well-suited to this, with the episodes often playing up some sort of over-the-top joke or ending on a similarly over-the-top expression of surprise/exasperation from one of the cast. Given that the episodes are only a couple of minutes long, the way each one is able to end on some sort of cliff-hanger is actually quite impressive. The structure works well for weekly viewing alongside the main series, but even when stitched together into the full picture the episodes flow into one another just as well.

The miniseries follows Minami as she takes on several "missions", paralleling Baku's own role as a secret agent in the main show. Though it never outright reveals Minami's true identity before the main show it cleverly foreshadows it in a way the viewer wouldn't realise at first, with the presence of the Cat Nightmare teased throughout. Even Minami's role as a talent "agent" doesn't feel all that subtle with the gift of hindsight. The various missions weave their way around various plot points from the show, even managing to capitalise on the mid-series premonition twist and the slight shift in previously established events it brought out. Other big moments from Zeztz incorporated into Agent Minami include the fallout from Code:Somnia and Nem's dream world, as well as of course her true identity as Seventeen being revealed. Minami's mastery of lucid dreaming also takes focus later on, linking to her ability to do it in the main show. The fact Agent Minami does these things whilst retaining its more light-hearted approach means you do sometimes have to overlook the sense of urgency some of these events had in the main show, but it makes the miniseries feel like more of a fully-fledged companion piece to Zeztz even if it may not necessarily be considered mandatory viewing.

Kamen Rider Zeztz is a series that predominantly deals in the fantastical, the action taking place in a dreamscape where anything can be possible. Though Agent Minami features these elements, it's also very much about every day life. Baku may be a dreamer, but Minami is very much a realist - holding together their life with a steady job and always trying to do the best for her brother. Whereas Baku fights the Nightmares head on as Zeztz, Minami solves problems in the real world in the hope of preventing them from manifesting. After all, he's far too busy to worry about the prospect of them losing their home and having to live in a cardboard box house. It's a great contrast between the two characters, and the sense of a "normal life" is something that runs throughout the miniseries, even when it becomes more focused on the fantastical elements. It takes particular focus in the final mission as Nem joins as a supporting character as she too wishes to finally return to normality, setting things up nicely for how we see the characters at the very end of the series.

The focus may be solely on Minami but she's not alone on her adventures, with members of the Zeztz cast and new characters joining her. With her job as a talent agent being at the forefront for the majority of the miniseries a lot of it centres on her relationship with Tsutomu, as she tries to do the best for her client whilst also juggling what's going on outside of her career. We also meet her boss Kazuki Tsuruta, who also finds himself in a crisis that only Minami can fix. Wisely Baku is used quite sparingly, largely appearing towards the beginning whilst the comical side to his character is still intact. The other members' of Zeztz main cast that are used slot into the comedic setting well too - Tetsuya and Nasuka particularly given how comedic their dynamic could get at times. Similarly Zero also really shines in a more light-hearted setting, using Jay Kabira's English to full effect for hilarious moments like him singing "London Bridge is Falling Down". There's even a brief appearance from Six, giving the series the perfect opportunity to pull off the kind of Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger joke everyone was thinking since Yuzuki Hirakawa first appeared in the role. Then as one last surprise at the very end Takaya Aoyagi (best known as Jugglus Juggler in Ultraman Orb and Ultraman Z, though he also appeared in both Gotchard and Drive as well) makes an appearance as agent Thirteen - bringing his brand of villainous comedy to the mix as well.

The series culminates with Minami transforming not just once but into two slightly different pseudo-Riders - first appearing as Knight Seventeen and then finally as Lord Seventeen as she faces off against Thirteen. Though simply recolours of pre-existing Zeztz suits (however it is lovely to see components of the largely forgettable Nox Knight find use outside of the main show), her transformation makes for the perfect finale to the miniseries - taking hold of everything she's learned throughout and fighting for herself without her brother's aid. Given how Lord Invokers were seemingly just handed out to nearly every agent in the show it's a shame that Minami couldn't transformed in the show proper as well, as it doesn't feel like it would have raised that many questions even without the context from here. On the other hand, seeing it happen without any build up wouldn't have necessarily worked either. Nevertheless many will take this aspect away as being the main reason to watch the miniseries, even if it's the journey to this point that defines it more.

Kamen Rider Zeztz: Series of Sister's Substory Agent Minami isn't the kind of side-story designed to enhance the viewer's understanding of the main series and add context that it didn't have time for. It's one where having fun with the characters comes first, and even when it is adding a bit more context to the main series it doesn't do it in a way that makes it essential viewing. As such some might find it superfluous, but the way it wraps itself around key events in Zeztz whilst being edited down into two-to-three minute chunks makes it quite the curio.