Review of SSSS.Dynazenon
It's that time again when Trigger (and most appropriately, it's in-house highly acclaimed director Akira Amemiya) has found another series to milk from, and it's from the cult classic that is Tsuburaya Productions' Gridman mecha series. SSSS.Gridman back in Fall 2018 was an unexpected game-changer in the slew of mecha-genred shows, showcasing that despite the "love it or hate it" backlash of the West that doesn't appreciate Tokusatsu shows like the ingraining of Japan, the latter has always been very positive of anything that is Tokusatsu-related. Fast forward to Spring 2021, and we get the sequel installment in the form of SSSS.Dynazenon: the continuation ofthe prequel season that while is 100% intergrated into the Gridman Universe, everything else is standalone.
Despite being in the same universe, please do not see Dynazenon as merely another iteration of Gridman, because it's clearly not trying to be one. Tokusatsu shows have always been meant to showcase the iconic "robot vs. Kaiju-of-the-week" formula that fans love, and Dynazenon, like Gridman, doesn't shy away from the fact that this sequence is still essential to its world-building, with or without stories that start off being nonsensical to making some sense out of it. You have the stereotypical character cast whose cultural standards of the way of life have been disrupted by Kaiju and enemies, and in Dynazenon's case, to put it in a similar Western context, is like Power Rangers in all of its kid-like fancy pizzazz and allure that everything feels right at home where it should be according to its foundation.
If you're thinking of comparing between the character cast between Gridman and Dynazenon, I'm sorry to say that you'll be sorely disappointed as their rudimentary objectives are very different from each other. Still though, while it is strictly conforming to the Trigger formula for shows like these, you can expect to have similar, but different feelings when putting your shoes and interacting together with the cast on their nonchalant journey to find themselves and defeat Kaiju while at it. All in all, the familarity of the formula module, combined with fans who adore the Tokusatsu feeling, will instantly click and vibe with what Dynazenon has going for it. It's standard brandishing nonsense (with some sense) that mecha fans will enjoy with this one, and IMO, while it's no Gridman, this standalone project is as equally enjoyable, only to a certain degree.
Other than that, if you've seen SSSS.Gridman back in the day, everything else is standard: from the familiarized Trigger-style bombarding animation to the classic mecha-style hyped OST (which I've gotta commend to Dynazenon that the production team actually referenced the original Dynazenon transformation music in big battle episodes, that was epic). While this sequel's OST is IMO a downgrade when compared to Gridman, both Masayoishi Ooishi and Maaya Uchida did their best to create a song pairing that suits the thematics of Dynazenon, accounting to the fact that while the sequel has had its fair share of some disingenuous-like storytelling (that adds to the charm of an already non-linear plot established with Gridman), there's some enjoyment values to be had here.
An "Imperfect" sequel, but is by no means bad, serving as a "Strobe Memory" of sorts if you're into mecha (or more specifically, Tokusatsu shows). Only a select few of you who has any interest of mecha (or more specifically Tokusatsu) shows will find an inkling of this show to be had, and for the naysayers, don't be an implicit dick to strike off people who enjoy Gridman, and by extension, adding to the "conglomerate" of the cult classic, now with Dynazenon. Lovers be lovers, haters be haters, let's keep it civil that the mecha genre is for the niche group of people who'll leap with joy for all things grandiose of flashy robotz and Kaiju from design to size.