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.

//some backstory//
SSSS.Gridman is really important to me, being one of the first seasonal anime I discovered and watched on my own in 2018 (i.e. without a friend's recommendation) and ended up liking ALOT.

I was like 14 back then; for somebody who grew up watching transformers and power rangers this was like the dream show for me. The bombastic soundtrack, entertaining characters and the super interesting stuff which was happening with Akane made the anime leave an everlasting impact on my impressionable brain (even though I was too dumb to completely understand the last part on my own so I hard to resort to reading articles).
Fast ... forward 3 years, after watching alot of different types of shows and movies, I watched Dynazenon as it was airing; which at that time I found to to be even better than Gridman.

Now, before I could watch this movie I decided rewatch both Gridman and Dynazenon as I wanted to give it the sendoff it deserves. And this was unironically one of the best choices of my life, watching these shows and the movie have given me an unpredented appreciation for this frachise. I could now properly understand why Gridman's story of Akane's escapism impacted me so much. I could now see why watching people overcome their past regrets and move on in Dynazenon was so engaging for me.
Seeing these these two stories end on such a fulfilling note made me wonder how were they planning to incorparate a 'finale' movie.

In this time I aso read/watched some stuff regarding the original Hyper Agent Gridman show. So I could appreciate some elements more (like the 5,000 year old mummy episode mirroring dynazenon, final few episodes mirroring gridman and the stuff with Anosilus II).


//the actual review//
This movie primarily deals with Yuta's identity, which was one open plot point from the Gridman anime and it handles it really well. Its also extremely witty and meta in some sections (particularly the first half) when its discussing the relation of humans with the fictional worlds they love creating and exploring.
Watching the characters from both universes interact with each other was such a treat. Seeing them learn from their pasts and each others' and then finally get a deserving sendoff was gratifying.

The animation, both 3D and 2D is exhilirating (that one sequence of Yuta in the school hallway lives rent free in my head). Also the blending of live-action scenes led to some surreal sequences as well.
There is this one scene in the final battle where the OP is playing, which is already hype as you can imagine. But the it suddenly switches and I just lost my shit; unironically one of the most "HOLY SHIT" moments I've ever had watching something.

The finale was extremely sweet, and wraps up everything perfectly.
You just love to see it.


Thank You,
(Special Signature to Save a Soul) Gridman and
(Scarred Souls Shine like Stars) Dynazenon.
I will never forget this.
I hopefully understood what you were trying to tell. And even if I didn't, atleast I laughed.

Personally I don’t think Gridman Universe was as crazy as I was led to believe. Expectations are dangerous things, so my advice is to keep them tempered! However, if you enjoyed SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon and appreciated their characters, it’s easy to recommend seeing how they wrap it all up here without reading on. But if you’re still unsure, I’ll share my thoughts.

This has the casts from SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, and they’re very nice to see again! Unfortunately this many characters means only a handful get time to shine. The characters that are simply There still have fun little moments or animations at least. SSSS.Gridman’s cast ... mainly get the limelight though, but that worked out well since that story was solid.

I ended up as more of a Gridman: The Hyper Agent fan than I thought I would’ve, so I was super excited to see that get properly thrown in with the two anime series for the Ultimate Gridman Crossover. Let’s just say that if you feel the same you should really temper your expectations. Most people probably won’t mind but I will admit the disappointment hit me pretty hard…

As for the movie itself, its first half and ending are nice! I got somewhat lost when the main plot point came in between those, though. On top of me not entirely getting what was going on, it felt a little too asinine for me. It’s possible I just didn’t get it. After all, I really liked the main takeaway point of the story.

In true Gridman fashion, Gridman Universe is primarily about the characters and story more than the fights. However, while I am the kind of person to go “YOOOOO” when a new weapon or transformation happens, I can’t say I did much of that for this movie. By now it goes as you’d expect. The enemies are nothing too interesting either, but it’s always funny to see the suit-like kaiju designs in this series. On top of that, the camera placements and character movements make the fights hard to follow more often than I’d like.

Still, the movie as a whole was pleasant! It wasn’t as exciting or groundbreaking as I was expected. But at the end of the day I did enjoy seeing everyone again, interacting with each other and working things out.

Finally got to watch Gridman Universe, and my GOD, what an ambitious, self-indulgent, and beautiful mess that was, lmao.
So here are my rambling thoughts about it.

A meta-commentary on storytelling, writing, fanservice, and most importantly the stories we tell ourselves to live, the movie tries to do maybe TOO much, but it all makes sense in the context of what the previous two series tried to do.

The movie starts with Gridman's cast living their normal lives after the events of the first series, while the school festival approaches. Yuta is thinking about confessing to Rika, while Rika and Utsumi are writing a script for their class ... play, that will be about Girdman. As they are the only ones who remember what happened, they want to tell the story, but their idea keeps getting shot down by the rest of the class as it "lacks realism".

That script is the main element of the film that allows it to make all the meta-commentary that the first series was so loved for. SSSS.Gridman was both a love letter and a deconstruction of the Tokusatsu genre, while Dynazenon was more about its characters. This franchise is always walking a fine line between realistic character interactions and bombastic Tokusatsu spectacle, and this movie was the perfect way to close the connection between those two disparate elements.

Just as Akane created the world of Yuta as explained in Gridman, Gridman seems to have created the world of Yomugi, Gauma, and Yume. None of them are "real" in an absolute sense, but as the Kaiju girl says in one moment, humans are "the only species with the power to believe in fabrications".

The movie points out how we as humans process everything through storytelling. We love stories for a reason. And even in our daily lives, we tell ourselves stories all the time. We create narratives about the things that happen to us, so we can make sense of them and create meaning in our lives.

But, just as Yuta is doing throughout most of the film, we sometimes think that what "happens to us" is the only thing that can happen. We forget we're the protagonists of our own stories, that we have agency, and that we too can "make things happen".

The movie made me think about so much, both about storytelling and about my own life. Is it perfect? Hell nah. The first half is super funny and sometimes creepy in the best possible way, while the second half veers into the purest form of fanservice you could think of. But it was still fun! And that's also the point.

In the end, they do make the play about Gridman, and people don't really get what Rika was trying to get across, but they laugh a lot!
Stories aren't meant to be understood by everyone, but writing is a means to understand yourself and others better.

Hell, I'm writing this for myself, because I needed to process this film. There's SO MUCH to unpack here!
So yeah. I loved this film. It stands for everything I love (and everything that I don't love so much) in the Gridman franchise. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

This was a perfect closure to one of my favorite franchises in recent years. I loved to visit these characters one more time. And I probably will come back at some point, when I need a narrative about giant robots and fabricated humans to make sense of it all.

I'm going to be short.
I really liked the film and the series overall, it's nice to see everyone together in one film, reminds me of the old Power Rangers crossover episodes from my childhood.
The film may be a little bit chaotic in some parts but as said in the film, a little bit of chaos isn't always a bad thing.
It was good to see a more in-depth view of the Gridman Universe (lol) and some of its character and "close the circle" with SSSS Gridman.

So if you're wondering... give it a shot, it will be a nice one!

Finally Gridman gets a W. The 2 series prior to this film were largely underwhelming, but this time around, as a movie release, this feels right. Instead of a start and stop, start, and stop approach to the series, now we have a focused approach to storytelling, an emphasis on graphics and long fight scenes, and using momentum to bring a great climax that had me smiling.

Animation 10/10
- The best in the series, tons of detail, great color, nice use of CGI.
Sound 10/10
- Nice touch with the nostalgia soundtracks, and great sound design during fight scenes.
Story 5/10
- The story is ... what it is, I enjoyed it for what it was, since it's a movie. Won't spoil, but I was glad to see someone.
Character 6/10
- Again, in movie format, you can't expect the world, but I was happy with the characters and minor character stories we got.
Enjoyment 10/10
- When an anime makes me smile as I watch, I know it's done things right. 2 hours of fun. A great watch.

I recommend this to anyone willing to put the effort into watching SSSS Gridman and SSSS Dynazenon, because they are required for this film. It's not like they are the worst watches.

Man the story maybe mid but the fan service for fans who watch gridman from Tokusatsu series and watch gridman and dynazenon is gonna more happy about this movie the action is so good the music is God and the love story is Perfect art style much good the 2d and 3d balance the animation and fight make 3d make the fight like the Tokusatsu series i enjoy this series like i enjoy watch gridman and dynazenon in the end this series must have sekuel because they have own universe them self to explore i want Tsuburaya to make Collaboration with Ultraman Netflix that gonna ... be good tho