With this finale, every answer I got led to more questions.

Though one cool tidbit I found out via Twitter is that with everyone having a scar (Yomogi on his hand, Yume on her thigh and Koyomi on his ankle), the scars indicate their defining traumas. Though the only one that I know off the top is Koyomi’s indicating his trauma was running away.

Again, for those who really enjoyed the ride that was Dynazenon, this finale is for sure a wonderful way to end things, with the emotional stakes of the various characters at the absolute forefront, capsized with an incredibly hype final battle that, while not reaching SSSS.Gridman levels, is still really well played for the most part.

I'll get into it more in my final thoughts, but I think there's something to be said about while the ending makes it very clear that SSSS.Dynazenon had no intention of ever answering most of the questions it brings up, I think they still could've atleast hit on some major points while leaving things open ended.

Oh man, you and I are like polar opposites on this end. Though I feel I might know the major reason why(again, to be elaborated on in the final thoughts post later on).

That was a pretty cool twist on the classic Rocket Punch move, yeah. I recommend checking out Dai-Guard for anyone who wants to see my favorite twist on the iconic attack.

You and me both man, you and me both.

The scars also match the one that Gauma has on his left cheek, so I more took it as a sign that even though he's gone, Gauma is still with everyone in spirit.

Giganto-post incoming. You have been warned.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON SSSS.DYNAZENON

It's funny how these things tend to line up for me. Earlier in the year, when I was reviewing Blassreiter, I was also at the same time watching Kamen Rider Wizard, two shows that had quite the strong opinions on life, tragedy, and Optimism vs Nihilism. Two shows made years apart from one another, and yet handled alot of the same subject matter in very different ways.

Now, I've just finished three different shows, all of which had a very similar(but to differing degrees) effect on me: Kamen Rider Decade, Kamen Rider Ghost, and the subject of the recent posts of this thread, SSSS.Dynazenon. What's the common link between all of these?

That link being that I am a simpleton, and I do not "get" any of these shows.

And it's not for a lack of trying either! I did some reading to try and figure why people love Ghost, Decade, and Dynazenon, and kept all this reading I'd done in mind as I sat back and let my thoughts try to sort everything out as I reflected back on all three of these shows that left me more cold and/or confused than anything.

Looking back, I think I can sum up why many people seem to jive with these sorts of shows alot more than what I ever could, and it has do with how I go about absorbing stories seemingly being different from the "norm."

I've always felt that getting enjoyment out of a story by diving deep, reading between the lines, and looking for symbolism, metaphor, allegory, what have you... it should be a bonus, not a requirement.

I believe I've said before that whenever I experience a tale for the first time, I try to take everything at face value while keeping in mind characters, plot, etc in a greater context. If I end up liking it, then it's upon a revisit that I put in more effort to find various extra aspects I might've missed, or find meaning in things that maybe the author didn't even intend, or put in research into behind-the-scenes elements that give greater context to things.

Not only was SSSS.Dynazenon a show that I ultimately feel is alot smarter than I am, but it also has to contend with being a sequel, a second season(and make no mistake it was advertised as the second season to SSSS.Gridman) of a show that I liked alot despite its short comings. This really hurt the "greater context" of my line of thinking, as it'd be more accurate to say that the show is more akin to what Captain Earth is to Star Driver: A show set in the same universe that is otherwise unconnected.

I'm not exactly sure if this preamble is making any sort of point, but I hope it helps to frame the sort of angle I'm coming from when I reflect back on Dynazenon and why it's a show that, ultimately, was not one made for me. As such, just like I did with Gridman before, I'm gonna highlight what I feel are Dynazenon's' biggest aspects and how they left me. Here we go.

Action Scenes

I imagine this is one of the biggest highlights for many, and I will admit, most of the action sequences in this show are rather good. While the animation was jank at times(chopping explosions in half), there was definitely a great sense of fluidity and choreography to nearly every fight scene, with the final battle in particular really standing out, just as Gridman before it did.

Have I seen better? Sure. But these were by no means bad.

Plot

I'll just cut straight to the point here. It became incredibly obvious that Gridman x Dynazenon was planned right from the outset, and as such the team behind SSSS.Dynazenon knew that didn't need to dedicate their time following through on or fleshing out much of anything in regards to the overall lore, world, or over-arching plot of the season. This leaves a bunch of dangling plot threads that, while interesting, go absolutely nowhere and likely never will. Lots of questions, almost zero answers.

Questions such as: "What even is Dynazenon?" "Who revived Gauma and the Kaiju Eugenicists?" "What constitutes a 'real' Kaiju Eugenicist and why don't they need to sleep?" "What's up with the scars that everyone gets during the final battle?" "Why does Yume look and sound like Rikka?" There's alot.

My personal philosophy is that stories should do what they can to wrap up as clean as they can. You can't always bank on a sequel, or a spin-off, or whatever sort of bonus material to help cover up the holes and hooks you left. Like, yeah, sure, the next entry in the franchise has already been announced, but what if, say, it gets cancelled last minute? That just leaves the story unfulfilled and incomplete, and makes alot of aspects feel like a waste of time.

This ties into an aspect of the show that I have a big problem with.

Pacing

SSSS.Dynazenon is twelve episodes, and it's very rare that I get to say that I felt that a twelve episode show has bad pacing, but, I feel that Dynazenon really does. So much time is wasted on the mundane, or on a romance that I personally didn't get anything out of, or bringing up more plot threads that go nowhere, rather than staying focused on any one thing or atleast balancing screen time between characters. About half of the episodes in this show could've easily been cut in half and nothing of value would be lost. I made the claim that S4 Gridman was designed to be binged, and I feel that for S4 Dynazenon, that's even more true.

Granted, there is a sort of counter-argument to be made for these claims, but let me address that now.

Emotional Attachment To Characters

Dynazenon really, really banks on you forming an near instant attachment to these characters, and, unfortunately, I did not. Yomogi's' arc went into a much different and(in my opinion) far less interesting direction than what I initially thought it would. I felt that Yume's' arc with Kano became wasted with the reveal that Kano didn't actually kill herself, as I felt the "suicide due to online bullying" was a really strong way to follow up on themes and commentary present in the previous season. The Kaiju Eugenicists have basically no backstory, and as much as I liked Gauma, Chise, and Koyomi in terms of personality, their screen time suffers in favor of the romance between Yume and Yomogi. Dynazenon was never once interested in focusing in on the aspects of its storytelling that interested me.

And while the show certainly is all about bridging gaps and making connections, I felt that, especially compared to what came before, there really wasn't much of a distance to close? The characters hit it off, they stay friends, they talk to the villains, it's all simple. Whereas in the first season I actually felt a journey. I felt all of the effort that went into the characters creating the bonds that they did. Akane's' whole deal was a major fumble, sure, but the journey had an overall bigger impact on me than what Dynazenon's' did.

In the end, I had no one but Knight and Second to really attach to, and even then they're just cameos, not main characters. And not once did anything really emotionally grab me like how the previous season did. Infact...

The Missing Piece

I've read many comments, both on these boards and off them, that people managed to find an emotional connection to Dynazenon that they didn't manage to find in Gridman. And I very much have the exact opposite opinion. And let me make this clear here and now, I am by no means trying to say that I'm "above" having a strong connection to a story, or a character, or what have you. Heck, you guys wanna know the exact moment I knew that SSSS.Gridman was a story that was special to me? Right here:


It's a moment that I just kinda glossed over in my initial write ups on S4 Gridman, as I just sort of assumed most would know where I was coming from when highlighting it. But now, after some more life experience and talking about this sort of thing with others, I see that I was wrong to make that assumption. So, what makes this moment, where Yuta and Sho appear to be doing nothing other than just sitting next to eachother on a train, so special? Afterall, they're not even interacting, so what could possibly be the big deal?

It's the mere fact that they're choosing to spend time with one another despite not having anything super "fun" or "interesting" or whatever to bring to the table. They're there to enjoy each other's' presence, and that's all. Infact, that is everything, and it's the type of friendship moment that many don't comprehend.

For many people, extroverts especially, this might seem super boring or awkward, but something that is super undervalued in friendship, as weird as it is to say, is the people involved in them, specifically. For people like me, it doesn't matter if you're not the life of the party. It doesn't matter if you don't have a super eventful life that you can babble for hours on end about. It doesn't matter if you even have any sort of plans for an activity that takes us all day. The only things that matter are you, me, the bond we share, and the mere fact that we desire to be around eachother. To me, the fact that SSSS.Gridman chose to highlight this aspect between Yuta and Sho's' friendship was huge, and I will always appreciate it.

SSSS.Dynazenon, unfortunately, did not have anything like that for me, and as such, I could not create nearly as strong of a connection.

Overall

If it seems like up to now that I've been doing nothing but saying that Dynazenon is a bad show, that's actually not my goal at all. What it essentially comes down to is that Dynazenon is a show that was not made with my tastes in mind specifically. I don't think the show is horrible, or that it's a disgrace to the franchise, or anything of the sort. It's just that, unfortunately, despite what positives I found in it, it overall just didn't do anything particularly well in appealing to me, specifically, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you found value in this story, then that's all that matters.

In the end, I give SSSS.Dynazenon a 3/6. Not a bad show, and I am still looking forward to Gridman x Dynazenon, whenever the time comes.

so.....
what's next?

99% chance of it being Garo: Crimson Moon. I wanna take a week or two break before that though.

You know, it's always nice to hear something about the SSSS series that's not about Anime thighs.

But seriously, there's nothing wrong with not being a fan of something like this. If anything, I'm sorry we might have over-hyped Dynazenon for you. I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I can still follow this at least a little better than you (again, nothing against you or anything, you're opinion is perfectly justifiable).

First off, the producer stated when Dynazenon was announced that it wasn't a Season 2 or sequel, but as you mentioned about Star Driver and Captain Earth (haven't seen either), they are set in the same universe, hence the "Gridman Universe" in the title. Sure, I wasn't expecting Anti to show up, but he's still able to stand in this show well enough without any context to SSSS. Gridman. I know what I'm saying here kind of contradicts what I just mentioned about whether this is a second season or not, but you can see that there's almost no direct reference to the SSSS. Gridman, at least nothing that requires you to have seen it to understand it.

Next: The cast. I can perfectly see why some of these characters didn't quite leave much of an impact for you, but I can definitely see how this cast feels more "developed" compared to their predecessors. Where the Gridman cast were mostly innocent bystanders trying to wrap their head around the situation, with Yuta being the only "driving force" while the others saw themselves as "useless." Nothing wrong with that, they still have some great moments, but when you look at some of the other characters and their role in the story, some of them lacked backstories or motivations, which does work with the style of show SSSS. Gridman was going for, with the cast being more grounded and awkward, in an almost realistic sense, instead of something you normally see in Anime or even Tokusatsu.

The Dynazenon cast were a group that "grew" throughout the season, starting off as these complicated strangers with rocky lives (I know how that feels), to facing their past and scars to unite alongside Gauma, which feels symbolic to the Gattai Mecha that is the title. It's also worth noting, that Gauma never mentions the third thing most important thing, which I've always felt was either something they say in the end (which they didn't), or it was an answer you, the viewer, had to discover for yourself. The popular belief being memories, which is foreshadowed across the show, and even having (mostly) an entire episode based on reliving those memories. This show was not about the title character like last season, but more about the people who make up the mech, which is probably not the best way to say it, but the show demonstrates throughout, that together they are Dynazenon, not it's allies. Even Chise, is a good example of the show's theme on that, where she doesn't feel like part of the team because she's not part of Dynazenon (the mech), which fits for her arc, which even with how much I liked Dynazenon, feel she could have had more.

And of course, we can all agree the action for the Gridman Universe is indeed, the best aspect. It goes beyond what is capable of Tokusatsu, and comes up with the most over-the-top ways to reinterpret it here. Something I enjoy from Trigger's work. We can also agree that we all saw the Gridman X Dynazenon coming a mile away.

Thinking back to my first watch of SSSS. Gridman (which I believe I've mentioned in another thread), I liked the show at first, but then I watched the original Gridman and everything culminated into why these shows were great. They had so much references, callbacks, and love for the source material (and the genre) that every episode is full of that admiration for what it's based off, whether it shows or not. Especially since SSSS. Gridman used lots of ideas and names from the unmade Gridman sequels, even the characters being based off Transformers (which I only recently found out).

I think I've gone on for long enough. But it's perfectly fine if this wasn't to your liking, and your reasons are (even if you're not very smart, like you say) perfectly understandable. There is much this show leaves to be desired, and maybe some things could have been pulled off better, but it was still a fun experience for me, and I look forward to Gridman X Dynazenon for what they bring around this time.

Speaking of the Garo Anime adaptions, I've still yet to finish the original Garo and I don't know if or when I'll see the Anime adaptions. But as of now, I've been watching a clearly Toku-Inspired Anime, Shikizakura. Unfortunately, two episodes in, and I'm not exactly thrilled with it. Aside the action scenes, the CG characters feel robotic, something I feel the Netflix Ultraman did better with MoCap, despite my feelings for the show itself, and the characters and story are not great. Even if there are references to Sentai and Ultraman, I'm not really enjoying it, despite how much I love the aesthetic. Here's a little sample for anyone else who's curious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPfgQE1xxGM

Anyway, hope you enjoy your next series more than this one.

It feels like Gatchaman CROWDS going by the trailer alone. Must be due to how the suits are designed.

...I kind of deliberately avoided mentioning this back in July when you started covering Dynazenon, but I actually have a partially-written big post about it I was planning to put in the show's thread right after it ended, before I ended up abandoning the whole thing when it was like half done. Or maybe a third done. Or a fourth. I have no idea how bloated it would've ended up being, because it was already nearly as long as that post I put in here after you covered Gridman, and yet I had barely started talking about the show itself.

I gave up on finishing that post because I realized all I was talking about in all those words was myself, and once it came to actually analyzing Dynazenon... I just kind of couldn't? Really, I still can't, but I think I at least figured out why that is. Again, I realized I was talking about me, and now I realize that's a sign of how deeply I connected with this show on a personal level. Of course it's hard to put into words! The feelings I have about it are just like, implicit, you know? But still, even though that big post never ended up going anywhere, I will quote a bit from it that I think would probably be most relevant to share:

This show clicked with me to a degree that's almost absurd, and if I'm being completely honest, it made reading you having pretty much the exact opposite experience a little sad at points. If I could point to one instance that sums it up best, it'd be you calling out that bit with the churro in episode 5. Uninteresting for you, but for me... well, here's another quote from what I managed to write about Dynazenon:

...And I wrote that before you ever started watching this show! Dynazenon was this show I wasn't even sure I was going to watch at first, and it ended up being like one huge present to me for not running away. I remember listening to the soundtrack while I was writing that stuff up, and while it isn't 1:1 or anything, the lyrics to All This Time felt weirdly pertinent to my experience with the series. SSSS.Dynazenon is like someone saw all the complaints I had about SSSS.Gridman and decided to make a version of it built entirely around my tastes. Everything it did felt so purposeful to me, and right to the end, I thought it was exactly the masterpiece I remember everyone making its predecessor out to be.

So yeah, it's a bummer those same decisions Dynazenon made with its storytelling didn't have the same resonance for you. For what it's worth, though, despite you claiming to be a simpleton, I think you've done a good job getting at your own feelings about the show, and it certainly takes some intelligence to recognize how subjective these things can be instead of just leaving at it "SHOW AM BAD 0/10" or whatever. It was a bummer that you didn't end up liking Dynazenon all that much, but it was still fun reading your thoughts on it all the same.

Oh no, no one is really to blame for over-hyping it for me. If anyone did that it was me. I went into Dynazenon mostly cold.

Yeah, definitely, but on the other hand, Dynazenon was announced/teased with this image:

https://i.imgur.com/Fu2Q6Yr.png

Not that it matters either way. The show is what it is, and for many, it worked out great.

The two casts are very much polar opposites of one another, with Gridman focusing on people who are more closed off and take effort to fully understand, while Dynazenon pours out practically everything front and center. Both result in the same ballpark of a message on the theme of why creating bonds is important, they're just executed in different ways.

The problem is that, atleast from my perspective, the show did not do a good job on giving everyone equal amounts of attention in how they contributed to the group as a whole, and instead most time is spent on the Yomogi and Yume romance. Which, if you find them adorable together, great, but there's no reason some time couldn't've been taken away from that aspect in order to give some much more needed focus on everyone else in the main cast.

I really wanted to like these characters, and it was such a shame that balanced screen time wasn't granted to them all. It's part of what made the Goldburn episode so special to me; We were finally focusing on something else.

Yeah, it's one thing that most of these shows have an advantage of when comparing them to their live-action counterparts; Animation can get away with alot more and look much more dynamic alot easier.

Thank you for taking the time to read my thought process on digesting this piece of media. I am also certainly going to be there when Gridman x Dynazenon drops, though I imagine I'll be finishing it months after everyone else, given FUNimation's' track record with Dynazenon's' dub. :lol

Yeeeaaahh, that trailer does not do the show any favors. But hey, if you finish it and feel like sharing your thoughts in this thread, then by all means!

...Well now I'm just curious. :p

Okay so, first off, you put the wording of that post really well, kudos for that. Next, that's all entirely valid! Not only is Dynazenon's' second episode really good, but both it and Gridman are shows that very much want you to make that emotional connection first and worry about the logic later. So if it grabbed you, then hey, the show's doing its job. In other words, reflecting on the show via reflecting on yourself? I think it works out.

Hey man, I spent a chunk of my final thoughts post citing two characters literally just sitting next to eachother on a train as a major highlight; I am by no means above it all, haha.

It's interesting, because the two moments are so similar, but yet so different. The churro thing, while it didn't do anything for me, I can see why it stuck out to you, En-chan, and other people who were enjoying every second of the show.

"All This Time" really does just perfectly capture the emotional weight that the show was gunning for, doesn't it? It's easy to see why the team behind Dynazenon decided to have it remixed so many times for the soundtrack. Heck, I think it makes for a better overall main theme than what "Imperfect" does, though I see the purpose of having that as the OP specifically.

If the next SRW game has Dynazenon in it like I suspect it will but not a single version of "All This Time" that will be a HUGE wasted opportunity.

ah i see die showed you my unposted review of decade :p

In seriousness though, thank you for the kind words, and I'm glad I was able to get across why exactly this sort of show typically doesn't work out for me, specifically. And don't get me wrong, reading everyone else's' thoughts on the show, I did find some other aspects of it to appreciate; You all helped! It's just... yeah, personal taste and a lack of a strong emotional link like what most others had. It happens. And hopefully this thread can find another show that we all love the same.

And with that, I guess that officially wraps up the SSSS.Dynazenon section of this thread! Of course, like with every other show covered, if anyone reading has anything they wanna add, or they watch the show down the road and wish to share their thoughts, then by all means, do so! It's just me doing weekly coverage of the anime is now over.

If you did somehow manage to read through all of the thoughts I had, and are curious as to the kind of show I kinda-sorta was hoping that Dynazenon was gonna be; One about broken homes and/or family dynamics, I actually have a show I can recommend that guns for almost that exact thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgYrJ4AsGio

Brain Powerd is a show by Tomino, the creator of Gundam, and is often called his version of Evangelion by those who've seen it. It's a show that's all about the human connection, to the point that the mecha of the show, the titular "Brains" barely even qualify for the category. It's not one of my all time favorites, but it is one that I always look back on fondly, and I highly recommend checking it out if it at all interests you.

Starting a week or two from now will be Garo: Crimson Moon! I hope to see you all there!