Gridman Universe

Gridman Universe, a crossover between the already somewhat crossed-over SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, delights in its insane and over-the-top mecha/kaiju action and out of the box storytelling. The sheer number of characters on screen unfortunately leaves only a few to receive the development and scenes necessary to let them shine, but by the time the insane, universe shattering final battle is underway, you likely aren’t going to mind too much.

The series as a whole is a reboot/reimagining of Gridman the Hyper Agent, a 1993 Tokusatsu series. With both Gridman and Dynazenon, Trigger aimed to reinvent something that was pretty obscure to most mainstream viewers and ... apply more modern anime/otaku sensibilities. In doing so, they managed to catch the eyes of newer anime fans with the over-the-top mech action and cute character designs while still impressing older-school Otaku with deep cuts and reference to the original series and the animation studio itself. Even still, this is a very genre/trope centric type of show and therefore pretty niche. You’ll know immediately when you see a battle scene if you are very much in or very much out. If you’re someone who has watched and enjoyed SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon and are already along for the ride, I can almost guarantee you are going to find this film very enjoyable.

Without getting into too much detail about the plots of the previous series leading to this film, let’s just say they go there. Time traveling, alternate universes, 4th wall breaking, this is an over-the-top anime made by over-the-top anime fans and things can get very meta. Each of the prior series begin with a mysterious atmosphere as you slowly unravel the “truth” of what’s actually going on. This film is no different. The main plot of the film should impress, while often ridiculous (this is pretty much par for the course) it justifies itself in bringing back pretty much every character seen across both series. This is also inevitably a problem with these types of films, there are just too many dang characters!

The protagonist of Gridman, Yuuta, is the protagonist of this film. The role isn’t shared with Yomogi. While the characters of Dynazenon are important, the GRIDMAN of Gridman Universe comes first and foremost. Yuuta and Rikka’s relationship is developed most and Shou is given some good scenes as well. Gauma is the highlight of the Dynazenon side of things and is given a touching side story. It feels bad faulting the film for not highlighting it’s characters more when it is trying to get so much done in it’s runtime...but if you are a big fan of a smaller character, there’s a chance you’ll be wanting a bit more from them. Still, the characters remain as endearing as they did in the television series. Compared to many other anime, something about the characters in Gridman has always come across as quite realistic despite the fantastical story. They express themselves through their action and mannerisms as much as through their dialogue and always seem to hit the vibe of a bunch of Highschoolers hanging out JUST right. They joke around, tease, flirt, and come by it all very naturally. While robots might be front and center when it comes to the action, the very likeable and believable cast are anything but. Speaking of robots...

The mech/kaiju action is a big selling point of SSSS.Gridman/Dynazenon and the film delivers on this front in spades. The CGI used in Gridman for its colourful kaiju and mechs works to its benefit, as the lumbering movements help emulate the tokusatsu style of a man in a suit really well. This is fused with a very sharp, 80s/90s dynamic style of animation and the results are great. The films first two major action set pieces build upon what was already great about the television series and infuses them with a film budget and staging. Then, we reach the climax of the film....

While the climaxes to both Gridman and Dynazenon were insane and amplified everything that had come before, the climax to Gridman Universe is next level. While Gainax/Trigger DNA could often be seen in certain animation cuts and references in the main series, this final battle is akin to what you might expect from a “Trigger” ending (think Kill la Kill, Promare, Gurren Lagann) with some Evangelion 1.0 plus 3.0 for good measure. They know their audience and they know what nods and references they are going to be nodding their head in approval to. The scale becomes insane, the animation is jacked up, and you are being constantly bombarded with escalating transformations, forms and attacks. It’s all great, celebratory fun for fans of the genre. Very exciting stuff.

So, if you’re already initiated this film is crowd-pleaser and I can almost guarantee you’re going to have a good time here. The crossover of two full casts of characters can feel bloated with some being excluded outright. However, once the film gets firing on all cylinders it’s hard not to have a big stupid smile on your face as we blast through the evils of the universe with our Fixer Beam.

Gridman Universe is THE movie made for SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon fans. I’ll keep this brief because if you’re a fan of Gridman or Dynazenon, this is a movie best viewed blind, I swear. I’ll be as spoiler-free as possible in this review.

I’ll jump to the main point then. GU is a fan service movie to the very core, and it doesn’t try to hide that fact. The writers went ham and busted out everything they had in their arsenal to make for a cinematic ride. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind or want to see that was in Gridman/Dynazenon? Well, there’s a ... high chance the thing you thought about would be in the movie. While the movie put a heavy emphasis on the Gridman casts, the Dynazenon crews also received some amount of love that a YomoYume shipper like me was satisfied.

Secondly, I love how the movie gave more depth to the Gridman casts, especially Yuuta. When I first got into this franchise, Gridman felt inferior when put together with Dynazenon. However, GU fixed this problem by actually making Yuuta a better character. One of my biggest complaint with the OG Gridman was how Yuuta was a very boring MC, but the emphasis on him in this movie helped make him a more interesting character for me. Furthermore, Utsumi and Rikka also gain more recognition.

Thirdly, the osts are really good. It had this nostalgic 90s Ultraman vibes to them, and many of the great tracks including the openings of Gridman and Dynazenon had made a comeback in here. However, I believe the highlight of this movie would have to be “uni-verse” by Masayoshi Oishi. It feels like the cultivation of the experiences from both Gridman and Dynazenon, a song that embodied those two series if you will. I still had it in my playlist.

Lastly, the fights. Gridman and Dynazenon has always delivered with their 3D mixed with 2D fights. This movie was no exception while even exceeding some of the previous works. Yeah, that’s all. I won’t comment much on this but you’ll get your money worth it.

Drawbacks:
1) The plot can be a little clunky at times
2) While I love the fights in here, sometimes there’s too much visuals on screen that it became hard to follow.

Overall, fans of Gridman and Dynazenon are eating good today, holy. Watch it NOW if you can.

Extremely conflicted on its approach to meta commentary. It felt very confused and heavy-handed with the kind of message it wanted to tell with the concept of Gridman. Its message about the beauty of fiction allowing itself to spread and inspire others to make their own creations is something I really admire on paper, but it feels very at odds with the idea it presents earlier of so many ideas collapsing in on itself to the point where it's super overcrowded feels at odds with that, and it doesn't really do enough to make a clear distinction of the difference between the two. It doesn't ... have the balance to its meta that other works I've seen tackle such themes, where there's a much clearer distinction made to the power and beauty of fiction while also showing the danger of getting too lost in it. Without being able to really ground itself in that balance, it feels like it gets lost in its own crowded spectacle. It feels more interested in displaying the power of fiction and creation rather than letting the audience *feel* it. Also the Dynazenon cast deserved better.