SSSS.GRIDMAN Episode 2 Review
So my first point is that this OP is such a hype builder, and is precisely the kind of thing I didn’t know I needed until just now. It’s the kind of thing that pumps you up and makes you ready to rock back and forth in front of the TV like an excited kid (insert Deku gif here). I’d been having a rough week but the childhood memories that this kind of intro brought up managed to really bring me back up in a way my normal pick-me-ups fell short.
We pick up from episode 1 with the Gridman Alliance pondering what could have happened to make the school appear as normal to everyone else. Beyond that, no one else seems to have recollection of the kaiju, Gridman, nor their monumental fight in the city. Worse so, the volleyball team who were killed in the fight are not remembered by anyone else in the class. Even their families seem to recount their death having occurred during middle school or some time in the past. All in all, it seems strange, more so when they encounter the slouching gentleman known as Samurai Calibur, whom Yuta initially thinks is an alien.
Samurai Calibur is in fact an ally of Gridman, and while suspicious and awkward, goes about optimizing Gridman’s machine to the point all three members of Gridman Alliance can both see and hear Gridman, but also see the giant Kaiju statues throughout the city. While this is going on, we see Akane as she makes the quick and sudden transition from “maybe she’s the baddie” to “wow she’s batshit crazy.” She interacts with a figure on her computer screen similar to Gridman names Alexis Kerib, who utilizes his Instance Abreaction ability to bring her sculptures to life.
We have this Kaiju set off to kill the cast’s homeroom teacher due to his slighting Akane by bumping into her. We find her sanity is considerably weaker than initially thought, and that she values human life at almost nothing. She even had the volleyball club killed just because of the indoor ball incident from episode 1. While her new kaiju is more than able to combat Gridman hand to hand, and even counter his Grid Beam, she was not expecting Gridman to be able to summon aid in the form of a massive sword, which was the transformed Samurai Calibur (and his name literally just made sense to me as “Excalibur”).
As we wrap the episode, I’m really enjoying the show, and I know some others are less enthusiastic. This show to me is not likely to top Kill La Kill as my favorite Trigger show nor tie with Gurren Lagann for favorite shows overall, but it’s still something that pumps me up. It reminds me very much so of the kind of thing I’d watch as a kid Saturday mornings on FOX Kids or WB, between Pokemon and Power Rangers. More than once I was rocking back and forth in my chair just stunned, and I look forward to watching tomorrow’s episode with bated breath. Also of note is the fact that the world seems to be absolutely in love with the best thicc girl, Rikka. So much fan art has spun up about this character and I’m glad to see it. Hopefully you are also enjoying it if you are watching and are willing to give this surprisingly not crazy show a try! Overall the show’s holding strong in my book at a 9 smug Rikkas out of 10.
