SSSS.Gridman Discussion Thread

[General Hentai]

Re: Series & Episode 12 (Finale)

Not my cup of tea.

I've never been that into giant robot shows that are giant robot shows. My likes have been a bit more scattershot for those that can arguably be considered that genre: Macross, Tenchi Muyo War on Geminar, Linebarrles of Iron and others.

So I went into this knowing it might not be my cup of tea, and it wasn't. It wasn't bad, but it just never hit the stride for me. The Finale was....a lot of WTF, and I felt cheated by not seeing Hibiki's reactions upon waking up, or ever finding out what the pre-Episode 1 relationship was between Rikka and Hibiki. The girl waking up in the real world at the end, the implication due to the passholder in her room that she's Akane, was just too cutesy for me.

Judging by the comments, both here and elsewhere, I can see that there are those who agree with me, and those for whom the mileage varies greatly. Giant Robo fans, especially old school fans are definitely going to get more out of this than I did.

The best parts of the show were Akane, in all of her forms, seeming normalacy, madness, insanity, despair and friendship, and Rikka, the glue that held the show together. But, of course there is the entire impossibility of this show that bothers me. No, not Akane being a god, hyper agents, giant robots, kaiju or any of the other amazingly sci-fi events and action of the series...

No, I'm talking about two high school girls, Akane and Rikka, wearing skirts as short as they did, with never a hint of a panty flash.



C+ with the acknowledgment that this show doesn't trend for me at all, despite the core cast being likeable.

[Momoka Kibi]

Re Episode 12

The first third of the series was decent mostly for Akane being evil and transformers references. The second third was more or less the middle. However the final part was great. Be it the Rikka and Akane moments or OG Gridman using Fixer beam. Could have used a stronger start maybe, but over all a good experience.

[Buckeye]

Episode 12 (Finale)

Somebody, wake her up.

As expected, it was Alexis taking advantage of Akane's vulnerable heart that led to all this as he was hiding behind the shadows waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He's quite a formidable foe, but that's nothing that can't be fixed by Gridman's fixer beam. So with Alexis captured, the world is back to what it was before Akane rewrote it, and Rikka is quite the pal there giving a gift there to Akane and letting her know that she has her support after everything that happened. And it ends with a live-action scene of a girl waking up from bed, which is a nice way to pay homage to Gridman's live action roots. That was an impressive fight there seeing Gridman's true form kicking ass and saving the day.

Overall, this show pretty much follows the formula of a typical Trigger show with the first half being a monster-of-the-week segment, and the second half being extreme chaos before the day is saved. The show stumbled at the beginning with a lot of blandness and a story that just didn't make much sense that will test one's patience. But once the truth is revealed midway through, this show greatly improves as things flow much better and character development really takes off. So to sum things up, this show is great with the action, the characters, the drama, and the concept, while on the flipside, the slow pacing and plot construction that are prevalent in the first half that keep this from being in elite company. In all, it's another highly entertaining show from Trigger as they continue to do great things.

MAL Rating:

[Buckeye]

Episode 11

He is Gridman.

Yuta is still alive after getting stabbed, but when he wakes up, it's actually Gridman that everybody is talking to. It's a good thing they have Anti on their side, but he's not going to beat everybody by himself as strong as he is. Quite a nice turnaround that was as the situation is really dire. In the meantime, Rika continues to reach out to Akane, but then Alexis comes and unleashes an ultimate weapon out of her. That's Trigger for you as the situation gets extremely dire towards the end before willpower wins out in the end.

[Momoka Kibi]

Re: Episode 10

Just wow, Akane. Will be curious to see how that gets resolved. Still Gridknight was quite the moment.

[Buckeye]

Episode 10

On his honor as a knight.

Akane has lost her mind now. As if it wasn't the case already, stabbing Hibiki like that there at the end pretty much solidifies that. Nevertheless, it was pretty cool to see Anti transforming into Gridknight as his pride didn't allow anybody else to defeat Gridman, and he sure was livid when that kaiju defeated him. That monster was unlike anything these boys have seen as it moves totally at random making it hard to read. Nevertheless, things have really turned here with Akane having gone over the edge, all while Anti is now taking that enemy of an enemy is a friend approach having evolved into Gridknight.

[Momoka Kibi]

Re: Episode 9

If the ending is any clue, the key to save Akane is probably RIkka. Still it feels like it will take a miracle to save her. Maybe they can hire Nanoha? I'm sure she can befriend a God.

[Buckeye]

Episode 9

In your dreams.

And now, a dream sequence as Yuta is snoozing while a kaiju is attacking. He dates Akane, and just when it looked like he had lost himself, that trip to the grave woke him up. He couldn't fight that kaiju, but it's a great thing his weapon partners could hold their own without Gridman. Akane just keeps on getting more and more desperate. Too bad she's just going about it all the wrong way.

[Buckeye]

Episode 8

Talk is cheap.

It's the school festival, and that's a problem as so many undesirables from Akane's perspective are gathering in one place. Talk doesn't work, and fighting is the only real option. Gridman really showed off some great firepower there in that fight. In the meantime, Akane just continues to be a wreck as she's in dire need of help in the worst way seeing that she's just losing her mind.

[Buckeye]

Episode 7

Look out from above.

The twists just keep on coming in typical Trigger style. Yuta's friends aren't buying his explanations, and while he understands Akane better, he's caught between a rock and a hard place. Add onto that Anti's grudge towards Gridman, and that brings in one hell of a situation that Yuta finds himself in. And then comes that big reaveal at the end in that the sky is fake with that alien city. Lots of crazy things are going on and while Akane has been doing lots of menacing things, at least she's not taking things lying down when Anti and Alexis are acting against her will. It should really be something now that Yuta knows even more about the situation everybody is in.

[Buckeye]

Episode 6

The world a kaiju god only knows.

And now, the truth comes out about what's going on in this world, and it turns out Akane has been shaping up the place according to her will as she has lived a lonely life. Poor Akane just needs a hug as there's no way this cute girl should be resorting to all this, and Yuta, Rikka, and Sho would all gladly welcome her with open arms. And that Minecraft demonstration of how the world works was really neat. I was waiting for this moment to come out as the show had been getting bland with this monster-of-the-week business, and that was great.

So with that, this show has punched its ticket as one of the last shows in this season.

[Buckeye]

Episode 5

Anywhere he goes, the kaiju goes.

While a class trip is usually fun, not so much for Akane or Yuta. Akane is just so attached to her computer that being away is a struggle for her. But for Yuta, when a kaiju attacks he's pretty much powerless. But thanks to some quick thinking by the suits to buy the computer and haul it to the mountains, the day was saved. Just another one of those kaiju-busting episodes with the only thing revealed in the big picture is that kaijus attack wherever Yuta goes for some reason yet to be explained.

So with that, I'll at least give this an extended trial, but I'm leaning towards keeping this show.

[Buckeye]

Episode 4

There's something about Akane.

And now, the characters get close to Akane as Rikka and Akane are neighbors. They go out for karaoke with some college students as Akane bails out early, and she orders the kaiju to go after those guys. And then Gridman goes into action to defeat a kaiju, but the computer freezes. All it took was a reboot and Gridman saves the day, with Anti lending a hand seeing that he wants to have the glory of beating Gridaman and not everybody else. This whole monster-of-the-week thing is starting to get old, but even so it still is entertaining. I just hope that a sensical story is developing here seeing that I'm in the dark about a lot of things.

So with that, the trial period has ended, and I'll be making a decision on this show soon, just not right now.

[Buckeye]

Episode 3

Knowing the agony of defeat.

Gridman may be strong, but it most definitely isn't almighty, not with the arrival of Anti, and unlike the other kaijus, he has personality. Not to mention, Yuta is filled with thoughts that he's killing humans by slaying the kaiju, which is why he got the crap kicked out of him by Anti. But then he comes back with the help of some new members that can transform into parts that makes Gridman even stronger. While this show continues to make very little sense, it's doing a great job in making everybody believable as while every kaiju could simply be a monster from outer space or something, this one is given lots of personality that makes Akane an interesting character. All this irony makes for an interesting show.

[General Hentai]

Re: Episode 2

The kaiju attacks are coming from a crazed classmate who comes across as sweet and lovable at school, but anyone who does the slightest injury to her she kills via kaiju...and no one even remembers the people she killed, other than that they does years earlier. All while communicating to some strange person/entity over her computer, who turns her creations into kaiju. Now we have 3 people who remember what happened, with the implication that it's been ongoing (lots of empty desks in the classroom, more than just the two volleyball team members who accidently smashed the sandwich Akane gave to Yuta.)

Akane has all the classic signs of insanity: Her apartment is filthy and filled with garbage bags. Seriously, we're talking about a girl who killed classmates because a ball squashed a sandwich, which was still edible and was eaten. WTF? Then we have Samurai Calibur, to provide a new weapon, and fix it so that the other two can see and hear Gridman. As to what's going on here? Have to keep watching to find out.