SSSS.GRIDMAN Mid-SSSSeason Review

November 16, 2018

I have been pretty bad about watching anime the day of lately, especially my episodic reviews on SSSS.GRIDMAN and Goblin Slayer on Saturdays and JoJo’s on Fridays. Just about the only thing I watch day of is Zombie Land Saga, and even that’s more of a lucky coincidence over planning. I know I say this all the time, but regardless of what I do and when I watch it, SSSS.GRIDMAN always makes me feel like it’s Saturday morning cartoon time.

Goblin Slayer That Time Of The Week — No, Goblin Slayer not now, you had your article on Tuesday.

The show kicks off with a bit of a follow up to last week’s episode, with no one remembering anything from the trip other than the girls in bikinis, which is pretty legit. Other than that we have Akane going HAAM and directly ordering Yuta’s death. Hilariously enough, Anti refuses until Akane explains in like five different ways that killing Yuta=Killing Gridman and then he’s off and away. Meanwhile, Yuta tries to find Rikka, but instead finds “a kaiju” in human form that invites him on a “date.”

SSSS.GRIDMAN You Done Fucked Up Now A A Kaiju — You done messed up a-a-kaiju

After this, we have some interesting meet ups occur beyond the Yuta x Kaiju, with Akane and Sho meeting and chatting about Kaiju, and Anti and Rikka meeting up and chatting while showering. It’s much more wholesome than you’d expect but also Rikka misses an important line about his goal to kill Yuta as she rinses him off. All the while, the members of the Neon Genesis Junior High Students observe the points of interest and the members of the Gridman Alliance. As Yuta begins to leave the city a strange fog comes over him and it’s revealed there is nothing outside the city, indicating why everyone fell asleep last episode. While this happens, Sho and Akane have gone off to a ~~Starbucks~~ Starbows for a totally-not-date, where she inquires about Yuta and his true nature. The mysterious kaiju reveals to Yuta that Akane has been creating and using the Kaiju to both destroy and repair the city, and that the cycle has occurred many times over and over again. It’s then adorably revealed that she has been killing people she doesn’t like utilizing an almost God level power, while a far too upbeat tune plays in the background.

Funny enough tangent, I was pretty sure that this kaiju was voiced by Aoi Yuuki, Tsui-chan from My Hero Academia, but it turns out she actually voices Borr, the red-headed drill Support Weapon. Back to the plot, we find out the kaiju had been around long before Akane had been manipulating the world, hence why she was around to screw with her plans. Towards the end of the episode, Anti arrives and attempts to drop kick Yuta, and is saved by the arrival of Max and Calibur. While this fight kicks in, Yuta recognizes Anti’s voice as that of the kaiju that frequently fights him and Max talks some sense into Anti about how Yuta is a human, and without him there is no way to defeat Gridman. With the episode wrapping, Akane finds Anti who reports his inability to find Gridman. This is of course met with her throwing her phone into his face.

SSSS.GRIDMAN TRIGGER BECAUSE REASONS — Real questions right here.

Ironically enough, this article was supposed to be written up after my Tuesday Goblin Slayer article, but I ended up doing it as I watched the show. With the sudden plot, I am glad that the combination of this being a Trigger show, as well as their escalation of the insanity of this show. Otherwise I’m certain I’d have just written this off as the show jumping the shark and lost interest. In all honesty as long as the show doesn’t really jump to aliens and space I’m probably good. Then again, it’s Trigger, so I can’t be too surprised either way. With the realization that this episode was 90% exposition with 0% Gridman vs Kaiju fighting, and even a friendly kaiju, I have to give the show as of midseason a still strong 9 Transformers: Kaiju In Disguise out of 10.