SSSS.Gridman

Yuuta Hibiki wakes up in the room of Rikka Takarada and notices two things: he has no memories, and he can hear a mysterious voice calling his name from a nearby room. On further inspection, he finds a robot—which introduces itself as Hyper Agent Gridman—behind the screen of an old computer. Much to Yuuta's surprise, Rikka cannot hear Gridman, nor can she see the ominous monsters looming over a thick fog as it envelopes the town outside.

Another giant monster materializes in the city and proceeds to wreak havoc. Amidst the confusion, Yuuta is once again drawn to the old computer and merges with Gridman. Suddenly, he appears in the middle of the battle and is forced to fight the monster. Together with Rikka and fellow classmate Shou Utsumi, Yuuta forms the "Gridman Alliance" to defeat the monsters plaguing the city and find whoever is responsible for their emergence.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Takarada, Rikka Main

Miyamoto, Yume Japanese

Shinjou, Akane Main

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Hibiki, Yuuta Main

Hirose, Yuuya Japanese

Gridman Main

Midorikawa, Hikaru Japanese

Utsumi, Shou Main

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Anti Supporting

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Samurai Calibur Supporting

Takahashi, Ryousuke Japanese

Kaijuu Shoujo Anosillus (2-daime) Supporting

Takahashi, Karin Japanese

Borr Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Hass Supporting

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Kamei, Hiroshi Producer

Itou, Hirofumi Producer

Reviews

Dec 22, 2018

RiverRode

Recommended

When SSSS.Gridman first began, people really didn’t like it. I think a lot of the surface-level elements turned people away, especially since the first few episodes were fairly slow and predictable. But once the show actually got going, the actual content there kept us coming back week after week, and it ended up being not just one of my favorite shows of its season, but of the year as a whole.

Gridman is a precarious mix of genres, balancing seemingly everyday school life against giant mecha fights. The former goes against what people expect from mecha anime, and is likely responsible for the show being labeled ... as slow. However, these two disparate halves somehow built off each other, with the tension of the daily life feeding into the catharsis of the action scenes. Since it's the more mundane material that seems to have garnered the most criticism, that'll be the focus of this review.

Interestingly enough, this means I really don’t need to talk about Yuta. While he may pilot Gridman, his amnesiac protagonist bit gets in the way of him having a particularly interesting school life, and instead Rikka steps forward as the protagonist. Rikka is the more emotionally-driven of the two, and while she’s aware of all the kaiju shenanigans going on in the show, it’s never really her main drive.

Instead, Rikka’s conflict is her trying to reconnect with Akane, the antagonist of the series with whom she used to be close friends. Akane creates the kaiju that terrorize the city, and it would be so easy to just view her as the villain, especially since this is how she presents herself. But unlike the other protagonists, Rikka doesn't look at her through this lens. By refusing to play on Akane’s terms of mecha and kaiju, she is the one who is able to genuinely reach out to Akane and save her from her isolation. This story of reconnection could have been treated as secondary to the main action, but instead it’s given the same level of attention, receiving much of the show’s expressive animation and relatable character moments.

Also, the show absolutely nails atmosphere. Though everything seems mostly normal for the first half of the run, the show's use of its claustrophobic camera and tendency for long pauses serve to constantly instill a sense of discomfort in the viewer as they try to figure out why the world seems off. The summer heat is tangible and oppressive, and the rainy days are all the more miserable. The soundtrack goes a long way to sell these scenes, and the opening and ending are both fantastic.

Briefly, I’ll talk about how the show handles homage. I think a lot of the criticism leveled at the show is based on it being too steeped in references to other shows, to the point that animator for the original Gridman Obari Masami complained that they weren’t doing anything new with the material. With that said, I don’t mind having these callbacks as fanservice to fans of the original, especially since they don’t conflict with the story being told. Plus, how upset can I really be over all of the character designs being based on obscure Transformers? That’s adorable.

In conclusion, Gridman is just really good, you know? If you’ve been on the fence about watching Gridman because of the initial negative reception, I'd say it's worth trying for yourself. I'm still not entirely clear why so much of the community is down on this show, but I absolutely loved it, and I hope that more people will give it a chance.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 22, 2018

AndoCommando

Mixed Feelings

(An Abridged Take Inside TRIGGER Studios)

Director [claps hands]: Okay. Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I just wanted to discuss some further details on the series that I thought appropriate.

[Staff members nod their heads and grunt in agreement]

Director [smiling]: Great! Okay. Masaru [Sakamoto], you are in charge of the character designs, right?

Masaru [nodding]: Yes, that is correct.

... Director: Okay. May I see how they look so far?

[Masaru nods and shows him a clipboard containing several designs of the main characters. The director takes his time glancing at each of the female designs.]

Director: Okay. I like what you have here, but I think we can make both of these female characters stand out more.

Masaru [intrigued]: Sure. What would you want to change about them?

Director [pointing at Rikka]: Okay. [leans towards Masaru’s ear and whispers in a serious tone] I want dat ass big and her thighs thicc!

Masaru [choking in absolute shock]: Uhh sir, I mean… are you sure about that?

Director [grabs Masaru by the collar]: Okay listen here bucko, I’ve been in this industry for over a decade. I was an animator for one of the most successful anime from this year, Darling in the FranXX, so I think I know a thing or two about what sells in this business. [Releases his grip on Masaru and returns to a light-hearted tone] And try and make the other girl look cute, but not with thicc thighs. Only one girl gets that.

Masaru [still stunned after what had just transpired]: Wh-what do you mean, “look cute”?

Director [walking away]: Just think what I would look like if I were a high school girl. Okay?

[Masaru has no idea how to respond and decides to ask mechanical designer Shigeto Koyama on his opinion. Koyama sees the designs of both girls and a slick smile forms across his face.]

Shigeto [amused]: Well, when all else fails, you can always make dem titties big!

Masaru: ….

(Inner Masaru [sighing]: What the hell did I sign up for?)
_____________________________________________________________
Regardless of how seriously you take the frankly awful transcript written above, it’s hard to argue just how much attention to detail went into the creation of SSSS.Gridman. While being heavily inspired by the 1993 live-action series Gridman the Hyper Agent, this version is loaded with visual references to numerous tokusetsu series and mecha anime of the past – Space Runaway Ideon, Getter Robo, Evangelion, several iterations of Gundam and more receive stunning rendition scenes that serve as quick but effective throwbacks appealing to nostalgia for the die-hard fans of yesterday. Whilst on the other side of the community, Gridman had managed to conquer the ever-present “best girl” debate of the season, with each week providing more material and support for why each girl and this series is worth one’s attention. Hell, there was even a theory made halfway into Gridman about whether or not Rikka was secretly pregnant with the protagonist’s child the entire time (there’s actually a fair amount of evidence about it, not gonna lie.) But first impressions are usually not what they seem and this saying holds true for Gridman, as the very first episode comes off as anything but the fun mecha shows its constantly compared to.

SSSS.Gridman introduces its audience with several long shots lasting for uncomfortable periods of time – focusing on rather mundane things like a pile of shoes and dozens of students leaving school for the day, with only the sounds of cicadas being heard. Our protagonist Yuta wakes up in an unfamiliar room, with an unfamiliar female sitting across from him. The unfamiliarity continues as shots continue having characters fail to dominate the frames they are in, often outsized by their environment; constrained into small spaces of scenes. And when characters are allowed to dominate frames, the camera often takes weird perspectives placed either above or below their eyelines, almost intimately close to these characters. There’s a strong, distinct direction present that forces the viewer to rarely ever feel comfortable about what is being presented, coupled by a minimalist-style soundtrack that further emphasizes a quiet, environmental atmosphere rarely ever attributed with mecha shows. Its presentation is one that is more inclined to push anime fans away given just how different the show appears to contrast with the majority of anime airing nowadays. Some may call it a series with striking directing techniques that ultimately lacks proper direction. but I would urge otherwise as Gridman still has a lot of upside that helped make it one of the most popular shows of the season.

The story focuses on amnesiac Yuta Hibike, who after finding himself in the home of fellow classmate Rikka Takarada meets a robot known as Gridman inside of an old computer. This has coincided with a sudden appearance of giant unmoving Kaiji, with one abruptly attacking the city causing Yuta to merge with Gridman to battle the Kaiju. In the aftermath however, the city around them appears rebuilt, with those having died being forgotten and people’s memories being reset around this fact, all bar the main characters. Because of this, Yuta attempts to stop the Kaiji from attacking and uncover the truth behind these disappearances. The mystique behind these events is what ultimately drives the story forward, however majority of the first half of Gridman almost rigidly follows a simple formula akin to tokusetsu monster-of-the-week: slight plot development occurs, monster appears, big hero/monster fight ensues with the heroes coming out on top, maybe some followup and repeat. This is not necessarily a detriment to the show as it works well to further establish most side characters and the setting in general, but once again it’s a tool that can easily alienate more viewers looking to see why Gridman is so well-liked.

Gridman’s cast may not be seriously complex in their characterization nor development but still remain a solid aspect of the series, especially with the chemistry between more characters. The way each of the high school students are able to bounce personalities off each other is impressive and the least someone like myself can ask for of characters barely important to the plot. Although there still are some specific characters worth mentioning: Yuta as an amnesiac portrays a relatable human response in trying to carry on as usual to the best of his ability, reflecting how many of us will often try and find a sense of normalcy, coping to the best of our abilities instead of shutting out entirely despite the desire of sometimes wanting to. Meanwhile on the other side of the spectrum, Akane serves as the main antagonist to Yuta and friends, spending most of her time inside her eerie room, creating Kaiji inspired from daily frustrations and petty grudges. Underneath her outward reputation as a talented student lies a psychologically twisted girl barely able to be kept contained. Thematically, the series dangles along threads of memory and connection and both of these characters are integral to these ideas.

As far as Gridman's production value is concerned, this is where the series really shows off its strengths. Distinct character designs and colour palette that never overwhelms a single scene, detailed backgrounds that give off an ominous sense of uncertainty, subtle edits to further keep the audience away from any settled feeling. Its animation is somewhat limited considering the number of stills used in Gridman but does utilize a significant amount of 3D animation in conjuction with 2D animation, and here is where opinions can get easily divisive. From the time of Gridman’s airing, anime still has a long way to go with improving CG animation to looking anywhere near as appealing as traditional-style animation, and when both styles are used in the same show, the consensus thought is that it comes off clunky, immersion-breaking and overall detrimental to the show visually. But Gridman stands as an exception to this, with the CG-animated fights coming across more reminiscent to that of tokusetsu battles. In this way, these action scenes give off a similar sense of scale of larger-than-life monsters duking it out, destroying vehicles and buildings as if they were mere toys. These moments also encapsulate what I feel are the best parts of SSSS.Gridman.

Whenever a Kaiju attacks and Gridman, the hero and giant ass-kicking robot enters the fray, everything regarding the purposeful directing fades out: the unsettling camera angles, the absence of music, the alienation – all of the uncanniness is annihilated for this moment courtesy of the triumphant emergence of the hero confronting the evil. All of the sudden the cameras move into action, the music blares out, frames are completely dominated by the two behemoths. It doesn’t last very long but for this moment we as viewers finally are at ease and it becomes a glorious release of pent-up emotion. Expert manipulation of the audience that while it may sound simple on paper, could only work under the guise of splendid filmmaking ability. And that, is where SSSS.Gridman truly shines.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 22, 2018

HellLyter

Not Recommended

Warning: spoilers and sarcasm are featured below

Hey, are you feeling down because you have this great idea for an anime but keep getting rejected by every studio that you try to sell your pitch to? Well it's time to turn that frown upside down, because Studio Trigger will gladly produce your anime for you, as long as your anime contains a few specific things of course. Here are the three easy steps that you must follow in order to have your anime green lit by Studio Trigger!

1. Make sure to have a LOT of steamy hot fan service. It's best if your main source of ... sex appeal comes from your leading female character, because being hot waifu material > having a personality and depth.

2. Have your main character (who has to be an edgy teen btw) fly around in a giant mecha all the time because BIG ROBOTS ARE AWESOME!!!

3. ADD ALIENS! Especially as twist villains for the final arc of your story, because there's nothing better than kids in giant robots fighting against aliens in FREAKING SPACE!!!

Follow these simple steps and your anime will be practically guaranteed to end up as Trigger's next unsuccessful imitation of great anime like NGE and TTGL just like SSSS.Gridman is!

...On second thought, maybe you should just try your luck with a no-name studio.

I'm starting to think that creativity died at Studio Trigger. Yet although they seem to consistently recycle the same exact ideas, I've still enjoyed their works. I loved Kill la Kill because it somewhat deviated from the traditional Trigger formula and was just a great and fun anime all around. I even really liked Darling in the FranXX up until they butchered the ending because Trigger just HAD to have aliens. But with StopSoundingSoStupid.Gridman (Seriously, are the four S's supposed to mean something?), it just felt hollow. I never got the impression that this anime was trying to stand out and make a name for itself, and it unfortunately ended up being painfully average because of it.

Interestingly enough, my score for this anime fluctuated several times throughout its run time. I actually did find some episodes to be enjoyable and even thought provoking, yet others were the embodiment of mediocrity equipped with bad character interactions and bland scenarios. The only things that remained consistent throughout were Rikka's sexy legs. But even those thick thighs weren't enough to salvage the dysfunctional plotline of this anime.

The setting is quite bizarre. Our protagonist has come down with a rather unfortunate case of amnesia that is poorly explained near the end of the anime and finds himself in a city surrounded by a bunch of giant kaiju that only he can see. But he doesn't really seem too concerned about any of this. In fact, he doesn't seem to care about anything at all except for getting in Rikka's pants. And when other characters finally realize that our hero Yuuta isn't insane and see the kaiju too, they also don't seem to care too much about their situation. And that's one of the glaring issues with this anime. If the characters are completely nonchalant about basically everything, then why should we the viewers care about what's going on? Not that the story itself is anything exciting. It's just a typical monster of the week that Gridman and Yuuta beat up and then everything resets (the damage to the city and the memories of everyone who isn't an important character) because plot. And despite what you may be thinking, there really isn't much more to this anime than that. If anything, it just became even more confusing and convoluted by the end of the show.

For the most part, the characters are pretty stale. Gridman is the most bland sentient robot ever conceived and is piloted by the most uninspired kid imaginable. Utsumi is that typical friend guy who never does anything useful except crack a joke or two every ten minutes. Rikka is the attractive female lead who's personality unfortunately isn't as good as her looks. Alexis is some random alien that's randomly in this anime because Trigger has an alien fetish. The other characters bar one aren't even worth mentioning.

*This short segment contains spoilers as well as positive thoughts on this anime*

The one person who keeps this anime from falling into garbage territory in my eyes would be Akane. She takes the role of the antagonist, making all of the kaiju herself and trying to kill Gridman and people she doesn't like with them, and the anime literally revolves around her since she is, you know, a god. She seems like a fun and energetic girl at first, but after peeling away her mask, her true colors as a heartless, attention seeking psycho are exposed. And the anime even further sheds light on her intricate and delicate psyche later on in the show. The dream sequence episode, while weird, was one of my favorites from the anime simply because of how it portrayed Akane. She's just a really engaging character who I enjoyed watching. She's also pretty hot, I'd say even more so than Rikka's (Yeah, I said it!) Akane is definitely the highlight of SSSS.Gridman for me.

*End of spoilers and positivity*

Despite my obvious displeasure with a decent chunk of this anime, it was still semi enjoyable to watch. Sure, the anime doesn't have much heart, but watching a giant robot beat up giant monsters is always fun, despite how repetitive it gets. And Rikka and Akane were a pleasure to watch (for more reasons than one~), so that's always a plus.

Show'sStorySeriouslySucks.Gridman is underwhelming. It never really went anywhere and just felt sort of pointless. A lot of things didn't make sense and when the anime did try to explain something, it usually just made it even more confusing. Let's hope that Studio Trigger is able to improve with their next project.

And hopefully not include any aliens.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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