SSSS. Gridman is actually a reboot of the original of Gridman since the people behind the Gridman series, Tsuburaya Productions collaborated with Kill La Kill and Darling of the Franxx studio Trigger.
Story - The shows prime focus is on Yuta and his friends Rikka and Utsumi. Yuta and his friends discovered a run down computer that has Gridman inside. Ultimately, Yuta and Gridman, alongside with the help of the Neon Genesis Junior High Students, decided to team up to stop giant monsters, also known as "Kaijus" from destroying the city. The person making the kaijus is Akane, who is also a classmate for the Gridman Alliance in school. She is also being manipulated by Alexis Kerib to create these monsters.
It's a very bare bones plot at first, but it does change things around at the last few episodes. Despite the fact that Yuta is Gridman himself, the anime doesn't focus a whole lot on him in terms of plot. He has important roles in the story, but the show focuses more on the other characters. More specifically Rikka and Akane and their relationship with each other. The ending was a great way to end off the series in my opinion.
Characters - The characters did take some time getting used to. Some of them I like but other ones didn't leave a huge impact on me. That's not to say they're bad by any means. They are developed as the show goes on and they do liven up the plot. Akane is honestly my favorite character simply because she stands out from the crowd by just being this evil mastermind who loves to live in her own fantasy world. To a certain degree, I also sort of relate to her. I too want to live in my own fantasy world where I can have as many friends as I want and do whatever I want to do (though I'm not going to send monsters out to destroy things. I'm not that evil.) I loved the chemistry between Rikka and Akane as well. Rikka knows that even with all of the terrible things Akane has done, she still refers to Akane as her friend. It's a touching moment that'll leave an impact on you.
Everyone else though I can't really say a lot about. I think my least favorite character has to be Yuta. I did like him at first but as the show goes on, he really doesn't contribute too much to the series besides becoming Gridman and having amnesia. I did like his chemistry with his friends though, much like with Rikka did to Akane. And he does have his moments with Akane as well, but besides that nothing too noteworthy.
Art & Sound - Since this is Trigger making it, you know what you're in for. The animation looks really damn good. The 3D fight scenes look fun and frantic and the 2D animation is bright and colorful too. I'm a huge sucker for those kind of animes and I will gush about them non stop if I could. And the music is also damn catchy. I do like the OP and the shows soundtrack. They utilize background music perfectly, fitting with the tone of the series. If they released the soundtrack, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
Verdict - I liked this anime. True it has faults but it more than makes it up for it by having a good plot, great animation, and a faithful source to the original Gridman series. If you loved the original Gridman, then you'll have a blast with this one. And even coming from an outsiders point of view, I still enjoyed it.
Score - 7/10
