Is Studio Trigger aware that they are not required to produce wack-ass anime ad infinitum? It feels like they take pleasure in discovering new ways to SSSS.hit all over your computer screens, just to see how desperate we are for a new Mecha anime. Perhaps the success of Inferno Cop went to their heads, giving them a false sense of entitlement to shove even worse rubbish up our collective SSSS.hit(holes), in hopes that we would gobble it up like a bunch of mindless, horny drones. I can’t blame a player for wanting to get paid, but I can certainly blame Studio Trigger for wanting to get paid………
…What? Why are you staring at your screen like that? Nothing to see here.
SSSS.Gridman is an anime that utilizes a formulaic approach to present a vapid adventure about a young boy who merges with a Mecha to fight outlandish “monsters” in a no holds barred, explosive battle to the death. The fights, themselves, are standard-fare. Emulating the exaggerated absurdity of Gurren Lagann, but never quite reaching the eccentricity of Kill la Kill. But while the former two attempted to stitch together (see what I did there? **Kill la Kill reference**) an acceptable narrative with their own, unique brand of action-comedy, SSSS.Gridman fails to capture the viewer’s attention in any meaningful fashion. Per the cyclical, episodic framework, each 23 minute offering utilizes a “rinse and repeat” approach, where a new “monster”/Kaiju enters the city only to be defeated by the Gridman and reset everyone’s memories (except for those directly involved), as if the crisis never happened.
By virtue of being repetitious, Studio Trigger, once again, displayed a general lack of ambition and creativity, especially with the addition of a superfluous river rafting episode, to give the staff an excuse to animate the girls in scantily clad outfits. Furthermore, SSSS.Gridman is not funny. The entertainment is lackluster, at best. The concepts and themes are tedious. And dare I mention the plot?…It’s not like the staff cared to mention it in any detail.
Perhaps the worst aspect of the show is the prosaic, uninspired characters. None of them say/do anything worth remembering, nor do they come off as likable or worth caring about. Yuta is your typical “only I can save the day” protagonist, with a plain, “nice guy” demeanor and a distinct red hair color. His rival, Akane Shinjou, is a cold, despondent female with a murderous rage that can only be quelled by generating new Kaiju to terrorize the city and anyone who has wronged her. Why, you may ask: because she’s a psychotic bitch (need I elaborate?). Akane’s manipulator, Alexis Kerib, is the show’s token evil “alien,” to guide events to their ultimate conclusion. Studio Trigger, much to my dismay, seems to excel at producing low quality characters that exude pure nothingness, except for some hackneyed quarks and superficial characteristics.
The only positive aspect about SSSS.Gridman is the OST, not that it was anything spectacular, but it accomplished its goal of being mildly entertaining. But if we consider that an OP/ED are merely shallow, trivial components of what a show truly entails, then it’s quite the condemnation to the substantive portions of the show in question.
Wouldn’t you agree?…
