Review of SSSS.Gridman

Trigger's gayest anime to date is still not gay enough. The parts of the show that interest me are often given a back seat to archetypes and themes already explored in other shows. Yuta is a precious boy and all but he really isn't all that interesting, his situation not withstanding. Rikka often picks up the slack of the protagonist and her relationship with Akane is the absolute narrative crowning jewel of the show. I am almost starved for more interaction and information from them. While the romantic tension between them is there I wish it were less vague. There was a great opportunity to voiceLGBT representation and Trigger merely gave a timid squeak. There are other characters who are super interesting, but in my opinion not all are quite utilized to their full potential. One stand out being the Kaiju with intelligence

I loved the heavy atmosphere of the toned down moments where the characters are allowed to shine, as well as the show's use of silence conversationally to emphasize certain moments for humor or drama.

The other draw is, of course, the massive kaiju mecha fights which are quite impressive and original for the Genre, using some impressive cg animation to invoke a guy in a rubber suit was both refreshing and nostalgic at the same time. The designs of them were all great, however, I wish the design of the Alien character had a less generic "trigger/gainax" look to him. it felt like he had no personality of his own.

For better or for worse there's pretty much no other show like this and despite its flaws I definitely think it's worth a shot.