Review of SSSS.Dynazenon

Let’s address right away a concern many newbies may legitimately have about the SSSS-verse (now that it is indeed a –verse), that is: can you watch Dynazenon without having watched Gridman? I asked myself that same question the day Dyna aired, having never seen (or heard much anything about) Grid at that time. I ended up watching 3 episodes of Dyna first and then binged Grid before going any further. So my answer would be: you don’t *need* to watch Gridman before Dynazenon, per se; even if the latter happens in the former’s future, both scripts have superficial overlaps. In terms of plot anyway (minus2 characters). Having said that, I do advise for watching Gridman first. When Amemiya (director) and Hasegawa (writer) first created Gridman, they did not imagine any sort of sequel. As such, that show operates in a closed circuit. It pays obvious hommage to the 90s live action series it is based on of course (and it references other Trigger/Gainax shows but that’s just a Trigger thing), but that’s it. Dynazenon on the other hand, can’t fake amnesia. It knows Gridman exists, and you can tell the staff asked themselves the question of how can this show exist on its own whilst also being aware that this other, very similar show, also exists in the same creative realm. So even if the plot is not (much) concerned with its predecessor’s, Dyna enjoys making numerous subtle nods to Grid, whether it is by repeating/reusing shots, sceneries, storytelling tricks, or the opposite: subverting elements that were present in Grid that you expected to go the same way. In order to solve some of the numerous Dynazenon mysteries, hardcore theorists will even use Gridman’s lore in order to elaborate various hypotheses. In many ways, the existence of Gridman enriches the experience of watching Dynazenon.

Shorter version of the above paragraph is: if you don’t want to bother watching Gridman in order to watch Dynazenon you don’t have to. But you should ;)

As I said, Gridman was kind of a close circuit. There was mystery of course, but one didn’t need to go any further than the sole show in order to look for all the necessary clues and keys. Mostly through details that might be invisible or seem trivial at first glance. Comparatively, Dynazenon takes pleasure in telling only parts of the story. Yup, some plot points won’t find any clear explication within those 12 episodes. Well, feel free to tap into Gridman’s fertile soil to elaborate any conjecture, or hope that the announced crossed sequel will eventually answer everything… But while watching Dynazenon, we quickly understand that it does not give to the sacrosanct PLOT the same importance as most shows do ; it much prefers pure character development. Gridman was something of a social experiment, in the sense that its characters (minus Akane), as lovable as they end up to be, started as blank cardboard signs with a quickly-drawn unidimensional personnality trait placed on them. What made them grow into fleshed-out characters was the way they interacted with each other, pressured by the Kaiju Menace, and the way those interactions were very subtly and realistically portrayed on screen. The only « real » character was Akane. The only one with an actual history and past, with trauma and stuff. In Dynazenon, all the characters are real humans, each one having to live through social anxiety, existential crisis, crushing regrets, unfathomable loss… You could say that in retrospect they’re a bunch of potential Akane-s, and the only reason why they didn’t decompensate the way she did was precisely because – thanks to Gouma – they found each other and united through a purpose – albeit a temporary one, serving as proof that there is indeed a thing those social outcast can do in order to exist within society (quite a normative discourse if you think about it huh). You could imagine 4 parallel Gridman seasons with the antagonist being one of the four human protagonists… Now that’s how you milk a franchise guys. But I digress. I’d say Dynazenon does its characters and human interactions in general so much justice that it should be given a pass for treating the rest with less detail.

But is all this really *that* important in regard to what makes the show immediately fascinating? I’m talking about what can be felt in the instantaneity of a precise framing, a shot that lasts just a tad longer than what you’d expect, an incisive cut, the bareness of the soundtrack outside of the mecha fights… I’m talking about a rightness in the tone, an emotional adequacy, that is pretty close to what a certain Hideaki Anno fellow was possessed by when directing Neon Genesis Evangelion (have you heard of that one?). That directiorial feeling was already very much there in Gridman, perhaps even more obviously so than in Dynazenon, but in Dyna this style takes an even more patient and humane turn, if anything. We feel in our bones and through our senses the stakes and troubles of the characters before we understand them ; those are sensible and kinegenic before being analyzable and ready to be disposed on a nice & clean narrative board. We owe this rightness to the directing and supervising of Akira Amemiya (and to the myriad of episode directors who got the job done), Trigger’s secret weapon, emancipating more and more from Imaishi’s ominous shadow, as well as to the writing of Keiichi Hasegawa, who sculpts evermore minimalistic dialogues – I’d even say reductionist. Most times you only need a few words delivered in a monotone whisper to say a lot whilst drawing the outline of a much bigger, unspoken truth. The silent cross we all have to bear. Just like in Gridman, the seiyuus deliver with mindblowing finesse.

For someone who is so quick to describe himself as inexperienced and unaware of the rules of directing, Amemiya confirms that he is a impressive choice-maker and an eclectic tone-setter (or is it the other way around). For much like its big brother, Dynazenon intersects its human study with pure CG greatness, grandiose fights that have only gotten cleaner (on the technical side) since 2018. The Toys ’R’ Us aspect has been highlighted even more by the use of a plastic dino design for the main mecha. All in all, it’s amazing to get reminded that all this richness comes from the juvenile fantasy of getting toys from the creators’ childhood resurrected and blown into epic proportions.

Of course, Dynazenon does not provide the same feeling of satisfaction and closure that Gridman did offer. Even if the characters manage to get to the end of their arc, a lot of things are left unanswered. We emerge pensive, if not confused. That is what keeps me from rating it exactly as high as its big bro. But when I think about it, it feels strangely appropriate. Because at the end of the day Dynazenon is a work that is much more « horizontal » than Gridman, richer as well in a sense – and one that will get a sequel that might (and also might not) complete it. Less high but broader, more extensive. We probably shouldn’t measure them according to the same coordinates. One would need a new scale. Here, Amemiya sketches a gripping attempt to get out of the Gainax Drill paradigm that was built some 14 years ago by one Gurren Lagann. Maybe it is a sign that Trigger’s future might just be a bit less linear (and vertical!) that what was foretold.