SSSS Gridman being a loosely related sequel to a tokusatsu show even people within the toku fanbase have largely not seen or taken an interest in randomly being adapted in 2018 raised very few alarm bells - while Trigger did showcase a short that was done in tribute to Gridman a few years prior, Gridman itself was an anomaly in every respect, with only a few curious eyes wanting to check it out in 2018.
Little did people know that what we'd get out of Gridman is the kickstart of a subfranchise that would critically define Studio Trigger, being the most captivating set of series Trigger has done so far.
Gridman's central premise is ironically somewhat hidden in the show's format - playing tokusatsu as well as mecha anime tropes straight albeit as a form of homage - Yuta's the chosen one by Gridman to save the world, Utsumi is the standard friend who cheers him on, Rikka is the aloof love interest and Akane is the popular girl everyone loves who also loves the main character. This betrays a meticulously well-written story about these characters and their relationships to one another - one about their limited agency, self-worth, purpose in their wider world and more importantly, the value of healthy connections instead of blindly giving up on the world in a fit of self-loathing rage.
Our apparent trio - Yuta, Utsumi and Rikka - all embody these elements to various levels. Yuta's initially portrayed as an amnesiac, who due to the resets and forgetfulness questions his purpose in even fighting (or existing) before reconciling that with the fact people are getting erased from existence with each reset, putting it onto himself that he must keep fighting as a result. He's a blank slate, robotic man who does the motions of living but nothing more initially, coming onto his own by the end of the series through both his feelings for Rikka and finding worth in what he does as the setting's savior - even despite the twist at the end involving his identity, Yuta retains the lessons learned through the series and chooses to live as free and honest a life as he can, which is relevant to his budding feelings for Rikka - the reality Yuta must face is that he has to embrace the change in relationship that'll come out of any confession he makes to Rikka, with him over the course of the series getting there.
Utsumi's role is as the emotional crutch of the group, being a sort of representation for the average toku fan watching this show craving an adventure of his own. In reality, he's just a guy wandering aimless through life, hoping for something to happen to him to ease his boredom instead of assimilate into the mold and be yet another boring person - his entire character arc is ironically about him seeing worth in his own emotional role, and not use his passion for tokusatsu as a be-all, end-all. His bond with Yuta despite Yuta’s amnesia is pretty great and his frequent tension with Rikka (only for them to grow closer together as characters) is worth mentioning – Rikka is someone he bonds with outside of tokusatsu, and it’s relevant to his character arc about breaking out of his shell and bonding with people outside of his interests.
Rikka’s role is to act as the disinterested, grounded one of the three – being the one who often points out the absurdity of situations and has no real interest in tokusatsu tropes; in fact, Rikka doesn’t have much of an interest in anything. If Utsumi’s obsession with tokusatsu is supposed to highlight his own tunnel vision involving interests and interacting with the world around him, Rikka’s lack of interest highlights the person she is; someone who keeps a clear distance from everyone around her and lacks explicit emotional attachment to anyone while clearly keeping her distance. Her characterization is directly relevant to Akane’s, for reasons that involve the story’s central premise.
Akane is the real main character of Gridman – she created this entire setting as an escape from reality, and all the different main characters reflect elements of her that she herself has, only the trio reflect positive traits (Yuta her inner altruism, Utsumi her passion for her hobbies but in a more functional person and Rikka being her general ideal for the kind of person she wants to be while also reflecting some of her flaws) and improve as people as they gain sentience away from Akane, and Akane herself slips further and further into a downward spiral as the series goes on; this world is her only escape from depression and suicidality that she lives through in her own life. Ironically, the trio gaining sentience – this including Anti, who debatably is her punching bag for the abuse she suffers in her own life, thereby continuing the cycle of abuse – can be reflective of her subconscious desire for someone to save her, and her own personal desire to finally gain the courage to face reality and be a happier person.
The series’s themes tie also into the struggles involving growing up at all, and the desire to establish connections during puberty/adolescence. This is a more subtly hidden them, but it ties into every major character’s arc and Akane’s especially, with a central point being that Akane isn’t wrong for seeking bonds, but wrong for seeking them in such a manipulative manner in a way that wouldn’t help or save her. Alexis Kerib – his obvious connection to the original Gridman TV show notwithstanding – can be seen symbolically as her darkest desires in clinging to escapism no matter what and a symbol of such an unhealthy relationship, foiling him and Akane properly to the trio’s more natural and convincing friendship with each other (and later into the series, Akane herself).
The side cast don’t get much characterization but are generally pretty fun to see, and the focus largely stays on the main cast (with the exception of Anti, whose characterization as a more humane kaiju with the capability of being a better person through empathy ironically contrasts with what Akane seeks herself). The story’s honestly insanely straightforward, it just hides its best punches insanely cleverly, seeking to lure in the watcher in the last third of the show, which is where everything magnificently comes together.
The animation quality is stunning – while the CG during fights between Gridman and kaiju might be grating to some, it was fine to me and felt like a nice tribute to the style present in tokusatsu live action shows. The facial animations and subtle character movements look gorgeous and add a lot of characterization to the cast – small things like Utsumi and Rikka refusing to sleep during episode 3 or Rikka nervously twitching her fingers behind her back while talking to Yuta do wonders to add to the overall cast. The direction is exceptional – this is especially true in the last four episodes, but the show is a marvel of knowing how to drag the viewer into its pace and atmosphere, episode 9 being an obvious standout but more scenes than I can ever bring out are noteworthy too.
This show requires quite a bit of patience, but damn is it oh-so-worth it.
I strongly recommend it.
Thank you for anyone and everyone who’s read my review to the end, any and all feedback would be appreciated.
