Review of SSSS.Gridman

SSSS.Gridman is not the anime that I thought would pop my review cherry, but here I am. Gridman stays true to its formulaic storytelling pattern throughout the series until the final episode. Each other episode consists of 65% high-schoolers doing high school things and 35% Gridman one-shotting Kaiju in the streets of somewhere in Japan. Even for what I would consider being a mid-tier anime, this formula gets a little old despite being inoffensive and highly binge-able. Because I'm not part of the old vanguard of anime watchers that grew up with the mecha genre hype, I am forced to review Gridman based on the 12episodes I just watched rather than any previous work that may add some clarifying details and thus change my opinions. The characters alone in SSSS.Gridman drag my overall score for the show down immensely. Yuta, Utsumi, and Rikka are a trio of forgettable characters whose impact on the overall plot of the show is little to none, and no amount of thigh-game is going to remedy the fact that they in no way move the story forward despite being given the most amount of screentime.

Only after reaching the midpoint of the series is there a character that adds some depth to the formula. Of course, I'm talking about Akane. She's the only character to go through any sort of internal struggle worth caring about. Truly, worthy of being called a bitch in the early episodes, I couldn’t help but feel for her struggles towards the later parts of the series. Akane is the main antagonist and becomes the main character of the show. She raised my enjoyment and maintained my interest long enough to get me to the end of the series.

All in all, SSSS.Gridman has a young adult, Saturday-morning-cartoon sort of vibe. If you're into the vibe, I can see you enjoying the show. If you're looking for something with a bit more substance, this isn't the series to fill that void. Despite having glaring flaws in storytelling and character-building, I still think the show is alright for a quick 12-episode watch. Just don't expect too much and try to appreciate the little things like Rikka's thigh-game and Gridman's awesome character design.