Oh, that's actually pretty subtle. The Fixer Beam was in SSSS too, though it was reinterpreted as Servo just clearing out the rest of the virus that had infected whatever bit of machinery the battle was taking place in that episode.

I never actually noticed this one. Suppose it was only fitting then that they made him the Samurai of the Squad then, huh? :p

Episode 3: Defeat

This episode is great because it introduces my favorite character, Anti.


He's a Kaiju meant to serve as a dark counterpart to Gridman, with his human form serving only to be a... "friend" (in a loose sense of the term) to Akane.

Compared to the previous two episodes, this one is alot more simplistic and straight-forward in terms of what it does, but that by no means makes it bad. Here, well, Akane actually defeats Gridman with the help of Anti's' Kaiju form.


It also helps to establish a couple new details about our characters. For example how Rikka seems to have a fondness for outsiders, based on how she looked after Yuta after he went comatose and how she tried to reach out to Anti after seeing how he eats like a dog.

There's also a moment establishing that Sho doesn't really think about what he says, joking that maybe the Kaiju are all humans who have been transformed, which is partly what causes Yuta to lose the initial battle. It's also a small reference to Syber-Squad, as there were a couple episodes where people's' brains got trapped into Virus Beasts temporarily.


We're also introduced to a new set of characters who all seem to work with Calibur. The girl's' name is Bor, a reference to one of the various vehicles that could combine with Servo. And the masked man, Max, becomes a Tank which serves as a reference to both Tracto from SSSS and also Tanker, one of Sam's' friends from the same show. Heck, when said Tank combines with Gridman, it even has Tanker's' football helmet.


Oh, and their team name? The Neon Genesis Junior High Squad. If it wasn't obvious, this is a reference to both Neon Genesis Evangelion as well as Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad rolled into one.

The fight scene between Gridman Max and Anti is of course great, playing like something out of DBZ, but the biggest takeaway for me was how Gridman's' timer seems to work like Servo's', being an indicator of how much energy he has left. Whereas Anti's' timer seems to work more like the OG Gridman's', being an actual time limit ala Ultraman.

Overall, this episode is alot quicker-paced and alot more focused on the action side of things, to the point that unlike the previous two episodes, both fight scenes are done in a much more Standard Anime Battle(tm) sort of way than how the previous two went for emulating action scenes from old Toku. In terms of plot, I suppose you could say it spends its time more on setting things up for future episodes rather than making huge developments in and of itself. And I am perfectly okay with all of that.

Technically, the “Neon Genesis” translation is purely in the sub and the dub. The intended reference was to the og Gridman’s first episode “A New Century Hero is Born” (新世紀ヒーロー誕生! Shinseiki Hīrō Tanjō!). As far as I can tell, the name is meant to indicate that they’re newer versions of the og assist programs (God Tank, Twin Driller and Thunder Jet)

Again, not much to say here. Just that Anti is this shows equivalent to Shinobilar/Skorn from the original shows, being the first monster to speak and the only one to make more than two appearances besides the big bad.

The Tanker Gridman vs Anti scene still stands as one of my most pleasing fights visually. Especially the scene where they actually clash, trading attacks with each other. It really gave Trigger a chance to play around with CGI, and the end result looks great.

Aaah, I actually didn't know Neon Genesis was localization-only. That makes sense. I suppose FUNimation felt that people wouldn't get the original reference, so they went with something alot more immediately recognizable.

Oh yeah, the fight scene all around is handled really well, playing like something out of DBZ, haha. I especially loved the beam clash.

Forgot to note this in the episode post(gonna edit it in), but I also liked how Gridman's' timer seems to work like Servo's'(indicating when he's low on energy) while Anti's' seems to work more like the OG Gridman's'(a time limit ala Ultraman).

So I was finally getting around to watching Episode 5 of OG Gridman today, and it turns out the Special Dog actually has an origin! It's the favourite food of one of the main characters, and the episode has him learn a lesson (I... think?) about learning to appreciate what food is there and not to be so selfish.

...

And then this happens.



https://i.imgur.com/fqSMF9I.png

https://i.imgur.com/z22ix3p.png

https://i.imgur.com/vbJ2Xox.jpeg

Haha, yeah. The exact same thing happened in SSSS. It's good to see they knew just how good of a moment this was to keep it in the US adaptation.

Also! I'm curious to hear what someone who hadn't seen SSSS and/or OG Gridman before thought of this show? The various continuity nods and references definitely help enhance the experience, but I feel like the anime can certainly stand on its own.

Episode 4: Suspicion

This episode is full on awkward. But like, in the good way!

When Rikka and her friends get invited to hang out with a famous YouTube group, Akane decides that's her best chance to try and find out about Gridman.

Rikka's' reaction to her friends going gaga over e-celebs is priceless.


Same, Rikka. Same.

Meanwhile, Yuta discovers new found feelings for Rikka, as he gets rather jealous and decides to tail the group. Interestingly enough though, Rikka is far more fixated on getting to interact with Akane, as it's apparently been awhile.

Akane, however, didn't think to figure that maybe a large social gathering wouldn't be the best place to have a private conversation, so she keeps getting interrupted. And, well, we all know what happens whenever Akane is even mildly inconvenienced, don't we?


Hey look, that fog from episode 1 is back.

There are of course many bits to this episode that I could see people pointing to as the highlight. Whether it be the battle at the end, the conversation Yuta has with Max, the awkward bus conversation between Rikka and Akane. But to me, the standout is Anti. I loved how single-minded he is in his mission to kill Gridman, to the point that he decides no one else is allowed to.


I also love that he literally uses the Kaiju as a projectile against Gridman, that was great. The fight itself, as always, is entertaining, and the finisher this time is one that many might confuse as a Rider Kick, but the Super Lightning Kick is actually a reference to the Inazuma Kick from Gunbuster; an OVA that many of the Studio Trigger staff worked on in the past. Although me personally I didn't so much care for it.


While I could certainly do without the romance subplot, atleast this show is getting it out there right away, rather than having there be literally no chemistry for the longest time and then going "Yeah they're a couple now." (Hi Terui and Akiko.) And it's not like it ruins the show or drags anything else in the episode down in any way. I guess the only other thing I can really say is to repeat a question Akane asked: "WHY are they talking?" We'll get the answer to that in due time.

I remember hearing this episode had a fun little Easter egg where the karaoke bar scene has the ED for the then-concurrent Ultra Series Ultraman R/B (pronounced Rueb), which was performed by one of the supporting cast for this show. Specifically, the girl with what appears to be a Velocitron Cyber Key in her hair. http://www.tfu.info/2005/Autobot/Hot...splanetkey.jpg

Sadly, I have neither seen that show, nor listened to its endings, so on with the main feature.

* The song playing in the karaoke room was Futatsu no Yuuki, a song from*the original series.
* The 'confused' emote that Rikka sends to Akane also appeared on Junk as a consistent decoration.

Episode 5: Provocation

It's a beach episode! As such, expect alot of fanservice. Most of it on Akane.

And while I definitely could've gone without that, this episode does have alot more to offer. Like even more fog!


Pictured Above: An actual still of me and my friends when we get stuck on a long public ride together.

Speaking of friends, I do like the character interactions in this one! The episode really does show the Gridman Alliance starting to act like actual friends, such as Yuta making fun of Sho's' weight. Lots of nice little moments here. Also, I personally find it both funny and adorable that Yuta is the only one who needs a life jacket for this trip.

Something else to note about this field trip is that Akane moans that the entire thing is just gonna result in "even more work for her." Odd. Guess the Gridman stuff is really getting to her.

In preparation for this, she creates a brand new Kaiju that, well, let's just say that after tradition and stealth didn't work, she kinda went "screw it" and just made one that's literally a mountainside. A mountainside that has giant teeth and shoots fireballs.


Problem though. Yuta needs JUNK in order to Access Flash, so the only solution is to have the Neon Genesis Squad bring it to the mountain. This is actually a callback to the (infamous) final episode of Syber-Squad, where Tanker and Sydney brought the computer on their field trip incase of a virus beast, which did end up showing up. Oh and uh, speaking of Sydney Forrester, her spirit lives on in Buster Gridman.


Yeah, the drill tank Borr is already a machine from SSSS, and its two variants of missiles are references to its pilot, the aforementioned Sydney Forrester. Sadly, unlike Max Gridman, the design itself doesn't have a direct reference to Team Samurai in its design. It would've been incredibly silly, but I would've loved if they'd somehow made a reference to the sunflower hat that Sydney wore all the time in that show.

On the topic of returning characters with questionable fashion sense...


Yeah, Anti is back, and yet again, I love this guy. I love that his copy ability actually morphs various parts of his body, and in terms of just his character, his brief interaction with Akane said alot; Showing that even though she treats him like dirt, he's still trying to care for his creator and fulfill the mission that she gave him. Also he smells bad, meaning that he probably doesn't bathe. Makes alot of sense for a guy who's a walking explosion that does nothing but eat and hunt for Gridman. His final appearance also seems to indicate that he suspects the kids of being connected to Gridman in some way, but it's hard to say.

Overall, this episode is another nice one. Can't complain.

I’ve also not much to say, other than the Volcano monster basically having similar abilities to OG Gridman monster Flamelar (known in SSSS as Plexton), down to the way he shoots fire from his back.

But yeah, this was a nice little breather, before the plot gets really heated.

Oh yeah, it most certainly does...

---

Episode 6: Contact

Remember how I liked the little character interactions in the last episode?

Well this episode is all about that, to the point that Gridman doesn't even show up in this one.

It's also where the plot takes a massive turn, so if you've been following these posts without seeing the show yourself, and you're at all curious about it, I highly recommend actually watching it and seeing for yourself.

So yeah, spoilers ahoy!

Gonna do this one slightly out of order too, as this episode puts every major character and puts them into a pair, and so, I'll be talking about each pair one by one, in terms of what I found to be the least to the most important(note: might or might not also be influenced by my love of Anti).


Pair 1: Sho and Akane.

The two spark up a conversation over their mutual interest in Tokusatsu(or "Kaiju" as they specify here. Is that a dub thing?), specifically even talking about Red King. While Sho is finding joy in having something in common with the girl he's had a crush on, Akane is of course only humoring him to try and get information about Gridman.

Showing off their very different ideologies, Akane emphasizes that Kaiju are the "real heroes" (not her exact words but pretty much) whereas Sho claims both sides create a balance in the medium, which Akane blatantly blows off. When Akane tries to grill him directly, Sho, well, "sho's" what a devoted friend and good secret keeper he is, saying that even if Yuta has changed due to his amnesia, they're still friends and that's not going to change.

Given what we learn in this very episode, that must've hit Akane directly, so the speak.


Pair 2: Anti and Rikka

Again showing her fondness for outsiders, Rikka decides to look after Anti upon finding him literally digging through trash in the search of food. Anti seems to at first rather uncharacteristically just go along with it. But given his earlier scene with Akane at the start of the episode, I think it's pretty clear that he finds himself drawn to Rikka due to her being the first person to actually treat Anti with genuine kindness. Speaking of that scene, good continuity. Last episode Akane threw away Anti's scarf, and it's still gone come this one.

I like to also think that the questions Rikka asked of him, while basic to any normal person, made Anti begin to wonder just what kind of life he was living. Until now, all he'd ever done was literally stand around, eat, and wait for Gridman to show up so he could try to kill him. And all for an ungrateful creator who refuses to be clear cut with him about much of anything, ontop of berating him for trying to do the exact thing that she created him for. It's harsh, and is yet another element that makes me really jive with Anti's' character(did I mention he's my favorite?).

The episode even ends with a quick action scene where the Junior High Squad uses his own single-mindedness against him. I liked that scene.


Pair 3: Yuta and... some girl.

This is the biggest one in the episode, and before I get into it, I real quick wanna say, if FUNimation deliberately decided to not translate the credits on this episode, then good on them, because they give away a big spoiler, that being the identity of the girl in question. Granted, fans of either OG Gridman or Syber-Squad can most likely deduce who she is by the end of the episode, but it's a revelation I feel is alot better saved for later on.

Emphasizing that she's here to throw everything off the rails, the girl in green comes in and reveals real fast that she is, infact, a Kaiju, and that she's here to show Yuta the truth of the world that he lives in. That truth being that there's nothing outside of the city, and everything in it is the product of one lonely heart: Akane Shinjo.


The fog that covers the town from time to time? It's the same fog on the traintracks that causes people to fall asleep. It helps both hide the various Kaiju attacks as well as make sure Akane can reset everything once her tantrums are done. One nice detail of this(one I didn't notice the first time watching) is that it means the entire show started either during or right at the end of one of Akane's' resets.

Interestingly, the Kaiju are what have the Fixer Beams here, rather than Gridman.

It's at this point that viewers, especially fans of the previous shows, can most likely guess about another major twist, but I won't talk about it here for anyone who can't.

With this new information, Yuta finds new resolve in his mission of saving the city and stopping his newfound enemy. When she leaves, the Kaiju Girl says that she owed him, as her "predecessor" was helped by Yuta in the past, and the two separate on good terms.

Would you believe that this isn't even the heaviest episode in the show? Because uh, it ain't. But we'll get to that in due time.

This is a fairly easy episode to talk about in terms of references to the source, since most of them go back to one episode in particular (the one that’ll be on YouTube from this Friday). I won’t talk about it in any great detail, beyond the fact the equivalent episode in Syber Squad was one of the episodes that were added to extend the series (it’s the one where Malcolm tries to destroy the school records so he can get out of Summer school).

Aside from that, there’s two major cameos.

The magazine Sho reads features Andro Melos, another obscure Tsubaraya character (though more connected to the Ultra Series than Gridman, due to the presence of iconic monsters like Baltan and Ace Killer). He was also one of the choices the director was given when he requested to do an anime based on a Tsubaraya show (Ultraman was off limits due to the Netflix series being planned).

The guy buying the keyboard is voiced by the star of the og Gridman in the Japanese version.

Episode 7: Scheme

Yuta is bad at explaining things.

No really, half this episode could've been skipped had he simply said "Kaiju Girl took me to the edge of the city and showed me that there's nothing there except fog."

That aside, I did still overall like this episode. Not just because it features more Anti, but it has some fantastic comedic timing too, ontop of what we've come to expect in terms of character interaction.

Like, seriously, just check this frame.


Seriously, that image alone is comedy gold to me. Other highlights include the awkward silence before Sky Vitter gets deployed, and Anti running away from Yuta... only to run back to grab the Special Dogs that Yuta dropped. It's all simplistic sure, but that's all it really needs to be.

So as you might've guessed from that still, this episode is mainly about Yuta getting to bottom of just about everything in terms of the bigger plot at hand. All while his friends display some interesting skepticism and Akane continues to be the creepy demon she's always been. Her finding nothing wrong in outright murdering people over petty nonsense says it all.

Speaking of demons, Anti is back, and this time he managed to convince Alexis to let him create his own Kaiju.


I found the Kaiju he came up with says alot about Anti. Not only is its method of attack incredibly swift and direct(much like Anti himself), but it's also a puppeteer. I feel this is Anti expressing how he feels like nothing more than a puppet to Akane and Alexis, which is incredibly justified, given how he's treated constantly. Heck, going with him being controlled by others, he apparently can't even transform into his Kaiju form unless Akane gives the order or Gridman is around. He's not even allowed to be himself.

The fight at the end is also pretty cool!


Sky Gridman is the combination done this time, and while it's not exact, Sky Gridman's' helmet resembles the pilot helmets that Team Samurai would wear whenever they'd pilot their various vehicles. Sky Gridman's' attacks are also references to Amp and Lucky, the two pilots of Vitter in Syber-Squad. The Amp Lazer Circus also doubles as a reference to Eureka Seven and its signature Homing Lazers.

Topping everything off, the Gridman Alliance makes an interesting discovery once Sky Gridman flys so high that he hits the skybox.

No, seriously.


Fans will immediately recognize this as the Digital World, the exact city that Servo/Gridman would always fight in in the old shows. And with this another aspect of the plot becomes incredibly clear, and lemme tell ya, as someone who only saw SSSS before this, I found this show's' overlaying question of "What if people actually lived in those digital cities?" incredibly fascinating.

Will it actually fully delve into and deliver interesting responses to that question? Well, we'll see in future episodes.

Well today’s shout outs are remarkably simple. It mostly consists of reused footage from Studio Trigger’s early attempts at a Gridman based animation.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ETpejXR_Bm8

Honestly, I think Sky Gridman is my favourite of the SSSS combinations. I just love how sleek it looks.

Ah, Anti-kun! Love him. Was always unsettling how Akane treats him, throwing stuff on his face, while he stands there firm.

Oh yeah, I remember that video! I remember getting hype way back when thinking it was an announcement trailer, then discovering that it was just a tribute video. Still love it though.

Of the 3 combinations we've seen so far, I actually think I like the Borr combo the most. The missile spam brings to mind great memories of Robotech and Macross.

She's incredibly hypocritical about it too. She murdered the entire Volleyball Club for them accidentally smashing her Special Dog, yet she goes out of her way to purposefully smash Anti's'.

Man I feel so bad for Anti.

Episode 8: Confrontation

This episode is probably the most well known in the entire anime.

It's also the one that I come really close to having a huge problem with. I don't out and out hate the episode or anything like that, but, well... I'll get into it.

Here's the setup. Akane decides to basically create her own Mechagodzilla, and plans to unleash it on the school, possibly killing literally everyone who attends it. Why? Because they dared to host a school festival, and she hates those!

She even goes so far as to challenge the Gridman Alliance directly, showing that she's not having any second thoughts about this and feels no remorse. Despite this, our heroes somehow still feel as though there should be a debate on how to handle the situation? Like, guys, this is dumb for many reasons.

First off, why didn't they just smash the statue that Akane made? I guess it's kinda vague, but she almost blatantly tells them that it is what will infact become the Kaiju, and while yeah, she could just carve another, that'd still set her back some, ontop of basically being a slap in her face. Win-win. But none of them really think to do that so yeah, time limit is on.

Next, Rikka and Sho get into an argument over how to go about combating the oncoming disaster. Rikka wants to try talking to Akane, and Sho basically tells her that that's a stupid idea because frankly, it's idealistic at best and unrealistic at worst. The big problem comes in not only when the other characters say "both sides are valid" but when Rikka storms off... everyone calls Sho an asshole for telling Rikka she's being emotional.

But here's the thing about that.

Sho.

Is.

Correct.

I HATE when stories frame the complainer as the wrong one solely because they voiced their stance. ESPECIALLY when they, infact, turn out to be right, yet we're meant to sympathize with the person they upset. Heck, the Alliance even at one point assumes that Alexis MUST be manipulating Akane... even though there's not really any evidence to say Akane isn't anything other than a psychopath. And lo an behold, when Sho and Yuta try to ask Akane very nicely not to unleash the Kaiju, she laughs in their face and tells them to get lost.

But yeah no, Sho is the dick for not trying to offer the person who's killed tons of people a hug. Yeah, his friggen bad. Honestly the entire thing even seems really out of character for Rikka too, considering she had zero problems helping the Team deal with Kaiju up until now. So what's different, the girl who Rikka herself admitted she hasn't really talked to in years is now proudly declaring she's a killer? Boo hoo. Auuuuuugh.

Yes, I am aware of the twist presented towards the end of the episode, but the entire situation still annoys the heck out of me. It'd be different if the episode didn't frame Rikka as justified, but it does, and, well... let's just say there's something else I can't quite talk about yet.

Enough complaining, let's move onto something I actually like: Anti!


Yeah, he's seen better days. And even though he's not exactly prominent in this episode, what little time he does have speaks volumes. Heck, his first instinct isn't to go to Akane for help, but he actively makes a point to look for Rikka, since she's the only one who's ever shown him any sort of sympathy. Ontop of that, he doesn't even attempt to fight the heroes. And I don't just mean at the shop either. When Gridman shows up, Anti actively chooses to stay out of it for the first time. And man... that was a powerful 6 seconds to me, lemme tell ya. Love this character.

...

Oh yeah I did mention a school festival, didn't I?


That's a reference to the Fusion Dance from Dragon Ball Z, and it's also foreshadowing to how the episode ends.

Know what? Screw it, let's just get right to that.


This is Full-Power Gridman, this show's equivalent to Phormo Zenon(or "God Zenon" in the JP version) from Syber-Squad. It's cool, and how they actually get it to work via cutting the size of every component in half means that it's justified if your action figure of it is the same height as your Gridman figure! Sadly, I'll just say it here, this show does not have an equivalent to Drago. Maybe in season 2?

By the way, that G in the background, as well as how the Kaiju is killed, are both references to GaoGaiGar, a mecha anime that I personally do not recommend, but hey it's popular so what do I know?

With all that said, you might be thinking that it's the references or the big twist Akane gives to Rikka, or even the big fight at the end that makes this episode stand out to everyone who's even heard of this show, right?

Well dear reader, you are mistaken. Allow me to show what is widely considered this anime's' most (in)famous moment:


And believe it or not, the crossdressing IS a callback. See, back in Syber-Squad, there were like 3 episodes where Sam had to crossdress in order to go undercover. Mainly for petty things(like sitting in on an all-girls class), but yeah, it happened, and I found it pretty funny that the anime decided to call back to that specifically. And it's double funny reading the reactions of viewers who don't have that prior context in mind when this scene pops up during the last minute of the episode. Good times.

All in all, I do still like the episode, as it does have good stuff to offer, but it sets an unfortunate precedent for events to come.

Rikka in a captain outfit is so cool, but Yuuta in a sailor uniform is surprisingly cute. Jesus.

Technically, God Zenon was the name of the robot. The actual combination with Gridman was Thunder Gridman.

Anyway, onto the references.

Ghoulgilas coming back as a Mecha version is similar to what the og show did with a few of its monsters in mid season, sticking armour on them to become Mecha versions (the exceptions being Anoglilas, who was reused as a fake version and Shinobilar, who was at first straight up reused, before being painted red and given a nunchuck in his third appearance to become Kung Fu Shinobilar). Syber Squad either acknowledged them as upgrades, or treated them as separate monsters.

While, as stated, the combinations was based on Thunder Gridman, the name Full Power Gridman has been used before for an official combination wherein he combines with all 5 Assist Vehicles (which comes out as Thunder Gridman riding the King Jet and wielding the Dragon Cannon). It only appeared in the post show photo novels and in the boys invent great hero short’s take on the battle with Khan Digifer.

Yeah Yuta does pull it off the best out of the three for sure!

Ah, so OG Gridman was guilty of reuse too? I remember that was something SSSS was pretty bad about, especially in the late episodes; Just straight up reusing monsters and their associated stock footage.

Episode 9: Dream

...I got nothin' for this one.

No, really. This episode did absolutely nothing for me. The best I can really do is just kinda summarize what happens.

Akane uses a Kaiju to put the kids into a dream where she's their BFF. With Yuta it's a repeat of the first episode, with Sho it's a repeat of when they talked about Red King, and with Rikka it's just kinda them hanging at school.

The issue is that this entire episode is designed to try and make the viewer feel sympathy for Akane, which, guess what, I don't. And frankly, why should I? So the Alliance have learned not to be friends with a psychopathic murderer. Oh woe is her. Her life must be so hard.

It's incredible to me that Malcolm from Syber-Squad, a show which wasn't even all that focused on character depth nor drama, did the angle of the tragic loner way better than anything Akane ever could have. I can't go into too many details as of right now, but come the end of the show? Oh yeah, I'll definitely break down why I feel Malcolm is done much better.

But hey, we get to see Zenon, I guess.


And the fight it debuts in isn't even a fight. It's done in one stroke. So even the action side of this episode is lame.

Maybe I'm just a heartless jerk, but this episode did nothing for me. The character moments don't lend anything good, the atmosphere drags, and the action is lame. It's the first episode in the whole show that I just straight up don't like. Maybe there's some hidden gem to it that I missed? Lemme know.

Hey, when the animators go out of their way to have Powered Zenon not having elbow joints to make it more like some DX robo toy, it probably limits the options for complex choreography!

I remember having my mind blown quite a bit when that was pointed out to me. Made me gain new respect for the nerdy priorities the geeks making this show had (f***ing nobody but the hardest of core would think to do this), and also made it seem really silly whenever I saw people criticizing SSSS Gridman merchandise not working in more articulation for Powered Zenon. It's literally canon, guys! :lol

...and, uh, I'll totally back you up that Akane isn't very sympathetic and that I find the way the source material handled its equivalent character better in many ways (though in my case I'm talking about Takeshi), but that's also because I didn't find much to like about any character in this show not named Anti. I've kind of been holding back on saying anything because I'll probably have trouble stopping myself from getting real salty about some of the quirks of SSSS Gridman's writing. I have complicated feelings about this series, but it's been fun reading thoughts from someone with maybe a more overall positive outlook. The last few episodes were the strongest by far, in my opinion, so it'll be especially fun getting to those.

I... actually didn't notice that, wow. That is some dedication to detail. Props to them!

Oh, by all means, feel free to go all out once we reach the end. I know I will. That said, I do seem to like alot of these characters more than you do, but yeah, Anti is definitely THE highlight character in this entire thing.

Will of course go into more detail in due time.

Yeah, I also got nothing on this episode. Both Gridman and Syber Squad had more interesting “trapped in a dream” episodes (the former heavy on the wtf by having the big bad attack the supporting cast with an army of clown minions*, the latter focusing on the horror and mind screw aspects)

Since there’s not much to talk about, I’ll discuss some alternate SSSS combinations that can be done with the toys, but never appeared in the show.

Buster Sky Gridman

As the name implies, it’s just Full Powered Gridman without the arms or chest. Moving on.

Full Powered Gridman Initial ver.

This is Full Powered Gridman recoloured to match the blue Gridman from the first episode, as you can see in this video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ruddnmw1NQI

I love this colour scheme and the only reason I haven’t searched up and bought this variant already is because I have enough trouble as it is justifying buying this set.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wJzINjqQAZY

*when I think “clown minion”, I can’t help but think of the subject of my first regular YouTube video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Skr4Hg67L2I

Yeah I remember that episode. It also brings to mind one of the few Post-Finale episodes of the show I actually liked; The one where Sam finds himself in an alternate timeline. It was alot of fun. Unlike this episode.

As for those combinations, they don't really do much for me, personally.

Speaking of Initial Gridman, I remember when a Figma of him came with the JP Blu-Ray of the anime but not the US one and alot of people were upset by it. And while yeah, sure, it'd certainly be cool to own, I don't find it very "necessary" ya know? I more wish that GSC had made Figmas of all of Gridman's' various combos instead. But sadly it wasn't to be.

I don't know. A escapism-ridden character with a cynical and cruel mindset kinda hit close to home for me. Tho, it's probably just from personal experience with knowing someone who kinda suffered from a similar experience with Akane. The end of the anime and the implications of the music video adds to it too.

I guess the feel I always got from this episode was everything starting to actually come down on Akane. Trying to stay spoiler free, but seeing the Gridman alliance just yeet from the dream world really hurts her for reasons that will become clear by the end of the show. It's not really "you should feel bad for her" but instead "this is what you deserve"

Also fun fact, I missed this episode the first time and had to come back and watch it later.

Episode 10: Collapse

I've already done alot of complaining about Akane, so I'll try to spare you all that.

Instead, something I wanna bring up that I haven't mentioned as of yet is that when I first watched this show, it was of the SimulDub.

For those who don't know what I'm getting at, when it comes to SimulDubs, they often feature first drafts of the script, in order to be able to pump the episode out faster. These scripts then get revised when the show gets a home release.

During this rewatch I've been watching the Blu-Ray release that I bought ages ago but never opened until now. And admittedly, while it has been close to 3 years since I saw the SimulDub, I haven't noticed any major changes to the dialogue. Minor bits, sure, but the show has been mostly the same.

However, I bring this up now because the revised script makes two major changes that I don't approve of. One in this episode, and another in the next. I even went ahead and skimmed previous episodes as well as the next one in order to make sure I wasn't crazy in misremembering this(which also lead me to discovering the other change I didn't like, but that's next episode).

Surprising no one who's been keeping up with these posts so far, both of these changes involve Anti. During the scene in this episode where Anti confronts Full-Powered Gridman, Borr makes a remark akin to "Oh, you again? Don't you ever get tired of losing?" And Anti's' response is "I'll keep going until I finally crush you!" Standard villain dialogue right? Well, that's not actually how the exchange went in the SimulDub. Here's how that went down:

"You again? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Yeah me again! And as a matter of fact, no I don't!"

Which to me is A) Hilarious, and B) speaks alot about Anti's' character and state of mind throughout the entire episode. Whereas before now his sole purpose in life being to kill Gridman was something he embraced, now he does it solely because he knows nothing else, and you can tell by the way he's breathing heavy and how his movements are slower than normal that this is weighing heavy on him. In other words, unlike Akane, he is an example of a tragic loner done correctly. This will be further exemplified later on.

This episode might as well be all about Anti as far as I'm concerned, even though he only takes up maybe a third of it, because yet again, he's the biggest highlight. And his character arc as a whole comes to a head with this:


This is Anti's' final form, Gridknight, and from what I can gather he's based off of the many different concepts for a Gridman sequel that never came to be. And to help differentiate him from Gridman, Gridknight does not fight in the standard way that Gridman has fought all throughout this show, instead focusing on wild movements and high acrobatics. It's a ton of fun to watch via contrast!

So what takes up the other two thirds of this episode? Well, outside of the typical Akane nonsense, I actually kinda dug the first third, though it does have its own issues. Essentially it's the characters talking about the nature of their lives; What their purpose is if they really were born from Kaiju, what the state of the world might mean should their God disappear, and how most of the Gridman Alliance are infact aliens.

The problem is that they jump to alot of conclusions without any real substantial evidence. For example, the Junior High Squad theorizes that they and Gridman were all originally one entity... even though in previous episodes they've displayed knowledge and history with one another as separate beings. They also yet again keep assuming that Alexis is the mastermind and that Akane is innocent, despite how even the audience has seen by now that, frankly, that doesn't really hold much weight.

That aside though I did enjoy the discussion aspect. Is it done better in other shows? Certainly. I've already talked about Android Kikaider in this thread afterall(seriously go watch that), but to make this clear, I am in no way demanding this show go super "deep" with its themes. I'm just glad that there's a follow up at all to the question posed towards Syber-Squad that I brought up in a previous write up: "What if people lived in those virtual cities?"

SO WITH THAT SAID LET'S END ON A NEGATIVE NOTE(SORRY!)

The episode ends in a moment that shocked pretty much everyone who'd been keeping up with the SimulDub at the time... but it kinda just made me roll my eyes. Ignoring the contrivance of the Team leaving the Junk Shop door open and Akane just happening to be there, Akane waltzes in, right up towards JUNK, and just starts taunting everyone. And rather than, I dunno, immediately decking her in the face and restraining her in order to get information, everyone makes the great decision of letting her get the chance to do this:


Certainly makes for a great visual though, I will give it that.

I definitely get what they might've been trying to go for, but I just don't feel it was executed very well.

Not gonna get into it quite yet, but let's just say I too have personal experience with someone of whom this show is trying to represent.

I'd totally be down for that if it weren't for the Gridman Alliance's' constant insistence on trying to save her and feeling sorry for her. Add to that that the anime itself frames her situation as tragic(which, granted, it technically is) and it's something I really can't get behind.

This is another episode I have little to say anything about (a lot of those lately). All I can say is that Gridknight’s original conception was that in the midst of the og show, Digifer would steal Gridman’s data and use it to create his own evil counterpart who would be a recurring boss for a few episodes, before turning good. I’m guessing they didn’t go through with it due to the low episode count (and the fact they didn’t expect the show to be a real hit, so they kept the story simple).

Though I do love that our monster starts off as a rather low quality mascot costume before turning into a creepier “true form”. That may be because I’m a sucker for these types of plots when used in Super Sentai (Carranger, Boukenger and Kyoryuger come to mind).

Uh, interesting. A shame Gridknight wasn't in the old show, but it's understandable. Makes me wonder who'd become him in Syber-Squad. My guess would be Malcolm.

And yeah, the Surprise Kaiju was pretty cool, though the part about it being "Akane's' heart" was odd to me. If I were to give it a generous interpretation, I guess it's meant to represent her desire to change, via putting her negative emotions into a Kaiju for the Alliance to kill?

There’s probably a better thread to put this in, but this is more convenient. Our first look at Dynazenon

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EoezsViV...jpg&name=large

He seems to borrow from King Gridman/Phorno for the design.

!!!

Drago is back! WOO!!

Episode 11: Decisive Battle

The knife in the opening turns bloody too, nice attention to detail there.

What's not a nice attention to detail is how out of character the Neon Genesis group is in this entire sequence that carries over from last episode.

In every episode prior, someone couldn't so much as smell one of Yuta's' farts without the Junior High Squad jumping into knife them. But here? Eh, Akane's allowed within stabbing distance of Yuta and free to smash JUNK. Whatever.

This is the episode where things gets real, and even though it tries really hard to be a huge dramatic turn, certain problems I have with it keep me from investing into it fully. So I guess be forewarned that there's gonna be alot of complaining in this post.

That said! And let me make this clear here and now... I did still overall like this episode. I just feel it has some issues. So like I did with one specific episode of the GARO anime, I'm gonna try to do a sort of good-cop-bad-cop thing, where I go back and forth. The intro to this episode was already a Bad Thing, so let's go with a Good Thing!

Surprising literally none of you my first Good Thing is Anti.


I really dug how he presented himself all throughout the episode, saying that he wants to repay the group for their good will towards him despite everything. And his interaction with Sho, while not perfect, was handled great, really showcasing growth with both characters in terms of how they spoke and presented themselves. That said...

Bad Thing: A small change made from the SimulDub version

Granted, the context of the scene I'm about to talk about is preserved between both versions, but I liked how the First Draft did it better. Here in the revised script, the conversation is (more or less) like so:

Sho: "I represent the people. Those that you smash under your feet whenever you fight!"

Anti: "I can't focus on the battle if I watch where I'm moving."

However, in the SimulDub, the conversation went as follows:

Sho: "Do you have any idea how many people you trampled under your feet whenever you went out to fight!?"

Anti: "Well I can't very well kill my target if I watch where I step, now can I?"

To me, the first draft just had that extra bit of personality to make the entire sequence pop. It's not a MAJOR deal, but it's still something I feel should've been left as it was.

This does however bring me to...

Good Thing: Character Moments(mostly)


Following up with Sho, I really liked how the entire situation has made him second guess himself and how he's acted throughout the entire course of the show. He begins to realize that he really has been nothing more than "the friend" in the entire thing, and even begins to feel worthless due to never having anything major to contribute. Ontop of that, he begins to see some of the harsh realities when it comes to fighting Kaiju, something that hadn't sunk into him back in the second episode. Something tells me he'd like Kuuga.

As for Yuta, well, after speaking to Gridman in the same space that Sam would be in whenever he turned into Servo, it turns out that Yuta and Gridman was practically one in the same. This entire time, Gridman was actually possessing Yuta as a means of being able to access Akane's' virtual world. I actually liked this twist alot, as there was plenty of foreshadowing leading up to it(remember a certain line I pointed out in episode 2?), and speaking from the angle of a Syber-Squad fan, it was cool to see Servo becoming Sam for once, so to speak.

Also major props to Rikka's' mom for just kinda rolling with all of the craziness going on around her. This lady has nerves of steel.

Bad Thing: Akane and Rikka

Rikka proclaims that Akane has crossed the line, and then immediately turns around and tells Akane that she's Akane's' friend and wants to exist solely for that purpose.

Also Akane was totally justified in stabbing Yuta according to Gridman. NEXT.

Good Thing: The Battle itself.


As per usual with this show, the fight sequence against the army of previous Kaiju was a joy to watch. I especially liked the sequence where Gridknight is fighting in the background as the Junior High Squad races to go fix JUNK. Ontop of that Gridknight gets a cool sword! And I found it extremely fitting that the fight ends not with Gridman, but with Anti slicing the Puppeteer Kaiju, his own creation, clean in two, showing that he's not bound by the strings of Akane anymore. Great stuff.

Oh and speaking of Akane she gets turned into a Kaiju, but not before Alexis delivers one of the best lines in the show.


"Sorry to end this pointless chat."

Thank you Alexis, thank you.

It’s funny that the Tsubaraya series that explores the consequences of monster battles in more realistic depth than the norm is a) the one set in a virtual reality (where you’d think any damage could be fixed with a reboot) and b) the one co-produced with Studio Trigger (who has produced some fairly comical big hitters).

And I finally have a lot more to talk about on the references front.

* The graphics card used to repair Junk is almost identical to the one used to originally create it in the first episode of Gridman.
* The large army of revived Kaiju recalls the photo novel The Demon King’s Counterattack, which was a rough adaptation of the plot for the unproduced follow up, Gridman Sigma. In the novel, big bad Neo Khan Digifer, brother to the deceased original, revived his aniki’s monster Gilarus, Stealgun, Shinobilar and Neo Metallus and combined them with monsters of his own (Magma Girag, Glavas, Mad Texas, Gorgoberos and Devilight). Fittingly, both armies are defeated by Gridman and a similar hero who used to be a villain (Gridknight in the anime, Gridman Sigma in the photo novel)

It is a fun bit of dramatic irony isn't it? Because while the audience has certainly figured it out by now, our characters most definitely haven't, with a possible exception of Gridman now that his memory is back.

Episode 12: Awakening

Expect alot of screenshots for this one, because alot goes on in this episode.

And this is another case where I feel I need to be upfront about things. Remember when I said that very rarely do I find endings to stories perfect?

SSSS.Gridman, unfortunately, has an example of an ending that I feel is pretty bungled. I don't think it's out and out bad per se, but there's alot of aspects to this episode that I feel just don't work out.

It does have some good stuff going for it though, and I'll be sure to highlight those aspects as I go along. For example, I really liked Alexis in this episode! Although I don't really think the show wanted me to for various reasons, one of those being his turning Akane into a Kaiju.


From a meta/writing perspective(note: I am by no means a professional writer), it's actually kinda funny, because we start off with a scene where Rikka accuses Alexis of turning Akane vile, to which Alexis merely replies "Yeah I didn't have have to do anything, she was already like that." And all Rikka can think to say to that is "Well then we'll change her!"

Which says to me that the writers themselves couldn't think of a proper way to justify everything that Akane has done, and thus try to double down on her being "saved" ontop of the way previous episodes tried to frame her as sympathetic. But that's not what's important here. What's important is that Alexis delivers my favorite line in the entire show. One that elevates the dub to being superior to the sub. So what exactly does he say?

He refers to humans as "meat things."

If you're confused, "meat thing" is what Kilokahn from Syber-Squad would often refer to humans as, especially whenever he was trying to belittle Malcolm. And me? I highly appreciate that FUNimation went out of their way to work that reference in, and in a rather natural way too! That, ontop of their making Alexis' actor do a Tim Curry impression, really shows that they wanted to pay ode to the US version in their own way, and I love it.

Meanwhile, we get a scene that comes really close to working, but then doesn't.


As Sho is wallowing in self-pity, Gridman and Rikka come to convince him to help out in the final battle, in his own way. Sho comments that he's been useless this entire time as he's never helped in a direct way, to which then he's reminded: Moral support and being a true friend are every bit as valid, and he should feel proud of that.

The issue is that it's Rikka who tells him this and not Gridman.

Seriously, what a way to botch what would've been an otherwise fantastic moment! One of Sho's' primary reasons for his state of mind was that because Yuta was Gridman, he felt his friendship was running hallow. How awesome would it have been for Gridman himself to say "No Sho, I can tell Yuta cared every bit for you as you did him, and you're my friend as well." But nope! Gridman is focused solely on the mission and Rikka is the one who has to insist that Yuta and Sho are friends, because you know, that's genuine! Ugh.

So how's Anti holding up in all this? Well, he's the one to take on Kaiju Akane, but the entire thing is framed as him attempting to save her rather than defeat her. And knee jerk reactions might make one think "Why should he even care? He has every right to want her dead." Which, yeah, but personally, I like to think that it's meant to show that's he's grown and pushed past all of that. Being the bigger man, in other words, and proving that he won't be as vile as Akane was.

It works! But then it leads to the worst moment in the show.


:cry :cry :cry :cry

I'm (half) kidding by the way. While it would've been great to see Anti be a part of the final battle, I understand in a narrative sense why he's not.

Alexis then absorbs Akane, achieving his final form.


Gridman is ready though. He links the hearts of the entire Gridman Alliance, which results in...


The Samurizer!


And the stat screen from the old show!

We of course here learn that the "SSSS" in the title refers to in the context of this show: "Special Signature to Save a Soul." Which, yeah, I dig it, since we as the audience all know what it actually means, haha.

Keep in mind, I was already hype at this point, but what happened next made me go off the wall the first time I saw it.


Not only does Gridman get his classic design back, Not Only does the original theme song start to blare in the background, NOT ONLY does the ensuing fight come straight out of DBZ, but the grand finale, using the Fixer Beam as the finisher??? Oh man, that was absolutely AMAZING. Sure, it's all for "saving Akane" and trying to net her more sympathy points, but man, the whole sequence is so high energy and such a great tribute to the old shows that I can't help but love it.

Oh right, there's also that other thing in this show that made everyone lose their mind, but I didn't much care for.


Yeah, the two holding hands in the opening? That was Akane and Rikka the whole time. And boy does this fall flat.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that LGBT representation is important, and I do understand that this doesn't totally come out of nowhere, but here's the problem: These two have barely interacted up to now, and what little they have hasn't really made any sense.

Sure, there's been sexual tension on Akane's' part, and yeah, Rikka never showed any interest in guys up to now, but like, so? The two straight up barely talk and then come the last leg of the show suddenly the two act like they've been together for like 12 years.

I neglected to mention it in the write-up to last episode, because I wanted to save it for here to emphasize this show's' problem with informed attributes. Here's a conversation the two have:

Akane: "You know all of this could've been avoided had you just killed me sooner, right?"

Rikka: "Why are you always going on about that??"

When this is straight up the first time Akane has even said anything like that. And again, this is all with the greater context that Akane actually has any redeeming qualities to begin with(she doesn't).

Heck, while it's certainly one-sided, had Yuta ended up with Rikka instead, atleast there's a more firm basis for it. Here? LGBT representation is nice and all, but is it too much to ask that it also be written well? I know I'm getting on a touchy subject here but I hope you all can see where I'm coming from.

But hey, as an Ace man, maybe I just don't 'get' this whole love ordeal.


After all that, we're treated to a scene inside of the same room that Servo was often seen in during Syber-Squad, where Gridman explains that while yes, he was in possession of Yuta, Yuta's' feelings were so strong that alot of his personality still shined through, like his love for Rikka. Sho also gives a nice speech about how next time Gridman arrives, if he has to take hold of someone he should take Sho instead, that way Sho won't have to say goodbye. It's all a really nice scene. Good stuff.

Then we get to, as far as I'm concerned, what is the REAL ending scene of this entire show. Anti and the Kaiju Girl.


Turns out Kaiju Girl is actually the daughter of the Virus that Sydney made in Syber-Squad; The only Mega Virus that Sam as Servo didn't destroy and instead let roam through the digital world. I never expected a follow up on that and I am so glad this show bothered to do so.

As for Anti, well...


I couldn't think of a better shot to end the show on.

...

Oh, and then there's this live-action sequence of Akane waking up in the real world that everyone lost their mind over, but more just left me confused and wondering how the heck the pass holder managed to materialize and become physical.

Honestly by the end I'm just left wondering: Who did Akane kill before the first episode, and what promise did Yuta make to Rikka before Gridman showed up?

FINAL THOUGHTS POST COMES TOMORROW.

Not to steal Androzani's bit, but my favorite thing in this entire episode was that the background music during Akane and Rikka's final conversation is an instrumental remix of OG Gridman's ending theme, "If I Got to Know You More", which struck me as a really great shout out, because the original song, lyrics and all, sort of weirdly fits the scene perfectly?

I don't know if I'll end up giving my thoughts on the show as a whole, but I will say, I have a massive soft spot for this finale. All those massive writing flaws you mentioned are there, for sure, but I had been dealing with that for 11 episodes already, so the good stuff was what was left to shine through for me.

Ooooh it's Anosillus, that's fun. Kinda funny because that episode just went up on the Ultraman youtube last Friday. It's fate, I think!

Bit random to have, but... hey, why not let the spirit of music from some random keyboard be the key to victory?