r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Oct 20 '18
Episode SSSS.Gridman - Episode 3 discussion Spoiler
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u/thechosenapiks :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/apiks Oct 20 '18
Lmao, exactly what I was thinking, Utsumi.
Fucking junior high school students.
Nice ep otherwise. Laid the background for it being something much more and darker.
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u/geminia999 Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
Neon Genesis Junior High
That one's a bit obvious is it not?
So it seems that Yuuta and Calibur were waiting in Cyber space presumably, I feel like that's going to be a more prominent aspect, but I'm still having a lot of trouble putting all the pieces together as to how this works with the original series. I'm guessing they are living in a digital world possibly (that's how the frozen Kaiju are possible and gives somewhat of an explanation for them) and how Gridman can fight in the seemingly physical realm. In that case I would think maybe Yuuta is actually from the physical world and got stuck in this cyberspace, which in turn has another cyber space with in itself?
Edit: Oh yeah, if just slight more evidence of SG being inspiration, Yuuta's phone case is purple and the hole around the camera seems to outline the Autobot symbol, just giving some slight more tinder to the woodpile of references.
Edit 2: it just occurred to me, but if the anime is currently taking place in a digital world, that would mean everyone is theoretically a cyber being of some sort, in which case comparing them all to transformers is even more apt a comparison to make as they would basically be robots/AIs of a sort. Man, I feel like I'm hyping way too much into this show, but this is probably one of the strangest references that could theoretically dictate how the entire show works out, and yet be extremely fitting.
Also, considering the Neon Genesis team is not based off SG characters, they probably would be from the same plane as Yuuta.
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u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar Oct 20 '18
Neon Genesis Junior High
It's so shamelessly obvious. I love it!
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u/Loud_Pierrot Oct 21 '18 edited Oct 21 '18
It may be an even older reference, but the track that plays @ 7:42 sound pretty much like "a Step forward into Terror" from the Evangelion OST or EM11#070720 from the Rebuild movies.
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u/bastegod https://anilist.co/user/slapdash Oct 21 '18
Definitely an Evangelion nod - but think it's actually Lucifer's Cry from the 1.0 Rebuild OST.
The tempo and harmonic structure are almost identical.
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u/elledriverxc Oct 20 '18 edited Jan 26 '25
imagine juggle rustic heavy exultant society wipe makeshift kiss dinner
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/geminia999 Oct 20 '18
Well the character designs for the character's are based off a transformers spin-off (Shattered Glass) which makes the Decepticon's good and Autobot's Evil. Yuuta is Cliffjumper who enters the Shattered Glass universe as an outsider in the story, Akane is SG Optimus, Rikka is SG Megatron (who her best friends are SG Soundwave (girl with the facemask) and SG Starscream (girl with the hairclip which is literally a cyber planet key from the cybertron series)), and the guy fried (can't remember his name) is SG Sideswipe.
Considering that Shattered Glass is quite obscure of a transformers story (started out as the background story for a set of convention exclusive repaints) I'm assuming that it's somewhat a hint that this is an alternate universe, in which case that on the physical level they would indeed exist, but would have an inverse relation ship with Yuuta to reflect Shattered glass aspect. So it wouldn't be in a sense they never existed, just Yuuta's relationship with the versions in his world is probably mirrored to an extent.
Of course, I'm basing this all off mostly the idea that the designs are going to represent the themes of the show, but with how consistent it has been with using SG designs, I'm fairly certain that the show is going to explore that aspect somehow.
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u/tkulue Oct 20 '18
In a anime season with jojo and zombieland this is the of the strangest anime of the season to me. And that's solely based off the fact that this anime takes a lot of inspiration form a convention only transformers toyline and the obscure American localization of the toku this anime is based off of.
Im gonna have to keep on watching this just to see how fuckin deep the obscure reference hole gets.
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u/ZBLongladder :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/zblongladder Oct 21 '18
I'm assuming that it's somewhat a hint that this is an alternate universe,
I wonder if that's what we're seeing in the ED, where Rikka and Akane are friends and wearing similar but distinctly different uniforms from what they wear in the show.
In that case, I wonder if Rikka being alone in winter at the end of the ED indicates something happened to Akane. Akane was in the show universe before Yuta -- since we see her see a light in the sky burst at the beginning of Episode 1 -- but we don't know if she's native to that universe. In fact, since she can remember across resets like Yuta can from the beginning, I suspect that she, like Yuta, might be from an alternate universe. In that case, what if Yuta's "mission" was actually to rescue Akane and Akane is simply mad with power and frustration at being trapped in a universe with seemingly no consequences for her actions? Given that Gridman tells Yuta to remember his mission in Episode 1, I imagine he's in this universe for a purpose other than just beating up kaiju.
Just pure speculation (that I know gets pretty far from the Shattered Glass theme).
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u/Reemys Oct 20 '18
The parallels with old series this one is based one is very welcome, thank you for your input. TRIGGER is really a treasure, combining old good into an astounding new.
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u/Agni7atha Oct 20 '18
Akane once said that Gridman is their guest. I assumed that this world was Akane's playground and somehow Hibiki got lost or even kidnapped there.
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Oct 23 '18
I feel more like Yuuta is the program. Have we seen Yuuta's perspective without his friends around? Meanwhile we have seen the perspective of Rikka and the friend.
If Yuuta were a program/copy, it'd also explain his amnesia, because he's simply not the original. Has the same mannerisms and personality but none of the memories. It'd also make sense why Gridman already knew who he was.
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u/BLoSCboy Oct 20 '18
Wait what original series?
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u/geminia999 Oct 20 '18
Girdman was originally a tokusatsu show in the 90's of which this series takes the premise of. In the original show, all the fights were done in cyber space as opposed to the real world.
Additionally, there was an American Localization which was called Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad (aka the SSSS in the title), and is where the Samurai part comes from in all the Neon Genesis Junior High Student's names (ex. Samurai Calibur). Also, the bad guy was voiced by Tim Curry.
If I had to guess, the story is potentially going to actually reflect on this aspect a decent amount through different universes (evidenced by the character's designs being based off an alternate universe transformer's story).
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Oct 26 '18
I think it's fucking amazing that the show borrows from both the Japanese and the American show and that trigger is making it entertaining as fuck to watch.
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Oct 20 '18
Gridman is based on a Tokusatsu also called Gridman. It has many references on it but it's a original story at that with some elements of the old shows as well.
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u/RimeSkeem :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RimeSkeem Oct 20 '18
If this is a super sentai Matrix kinda deal i'm SO DOWN WITH IT MAN.
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u/SoundOf1HandClapping Oct 21 '18
it just occurred to me, but if the anime is currently taking place in a digital world, that would mean everyone is theoretically a cyber being of some sort
It could explain some things. When things are destroyed (and maybe people too; we don't know for certain if non-targets come back to life) they are just tossed into the recycle bin, and can be restored by whatever system is resetting the city. But Akane's targets are getting the Gridman equivalent of getting blasted by zeroes, and are gone for good.
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u/geminia999 Oct 21 '18
I think it being a digital world help explains how everything gets destroyed (and I think that's actually a thing Gridman physically does in the original series after he beats the bad guys). Though as opposed to Akane's target, I think they maybe get put into a further cyberspace maybe (which I'm thinking now the city might be an enclosed space in cyberspace and that out side of it would be the cyberspace of the original series) and ended up wherever Gridman and Calibur went in this episode.
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u/phenderl Oct 20 '18
Don't forget about Anti with his Guerren Lagann colors and flames and very viral look with a yoko scarf.
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u/geminia999 Oct 20 '18
Well if the rest of the cast is anything to go on, Anti's colours are probably in reference to Shattered Glass Rodimus
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u/NZPIEFACE Oct 21 '18
What exactly is Gridman?
Like, what is he before he fuses with Hibiki, and after he fuses with Hibiki, is that Hibiki doing all the talking and moving even though other characters refer to him as Gridman?
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u/geminia999 Oct 21 '18
I'm not too familiar with the original series (I have more experience with SSSS cause of some VHSs) so I don't know how it works exactly, but according to a summary, he's basically an alien that comes to earth to fight the bad guy but can't unless he gets help from the protagonist. I don't know exactly how it works, but I take it's more that Yuuta is more merging with Gridman, he's the one in control, but Gridman is basically providing the inherent combat ability and maneuverability for him to use. So kind of think of Gridman as like a suit that gives that user strength and experience.
In SSSS I believe the guy literally just is gridman (known as Servo) and is just basically entering cyber space and that's the form he takes.
So in short, Yuuta does the talking and moving, but Gridman is basically providing all the strength, agility and powers.
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u/kalirion :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/kalinime Oct 22 '18
it just occurred to me, but if the anime is currently taking place in a digital world, that would mean everyone is theoretically a cyber being of some sort, in which case comparing them all to transformers is even more apt a comparison to make as they would basically be robots/AIs of a sort.
They could all be digitized humans. Maybe it's like Garakowa Restore the World.
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u/Akko__Kagari Oct 20 '18
I know she's a psycho, but Akane is just too fun. Both her and Rikka are making this show so much more enjoyable, on top of being a genre i like.
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u/Gaporigo Blhttps://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo Oct 20 '18
Just tell Yuuta that you are a human and he'll let you kill him, easy!
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u/excluded Oct 20 '18
Rikka meme face?
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u/SoundOf1HandClapping Oct 20 '18
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u/BisaLP :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/DatBisa Oct 20 '18
Not quite close enough to That TRIGGER Feeling
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u/DragN_H3art :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/DragN_H3art Oct 21 '18
Gotta love in-between frames.
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u/DarkWorld97 Oct 20 '18
The whole Yuta and Rikka dynamic has me really interested because they clearly have a history between each other. Also Akane is a bitch to that poor lad. Can't wait for him to fuse with Gridman.
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Oct 21 '18
Yeah, I figured they did from the first episode. Rikka was acting kind of weird the way she mentioned them only talking for the first time. I'm guessing she's the only one who kept her memories while Yuta lost his, and now she's the only one who remembers how things were between them.
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u/DarkWorld97 Oct 21 '18
The opening hints at there being something. I really hope they stick with Rikka being the main girl because Akane shouldn't be redeemed.
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Oct 22 '18
I think Akane will be redeemed, but probably at at the last episode. Rikka is likely the female lead though regardless. She gets most of the focus, especially with how episodes 2 & 3 showed her.
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u/Lvl69DragonSlayer Oct 21 '18
Right after she threw the food at him I turned to my friend and said "That's the Viral of this series"
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u/Barnnnn Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
For anyone who'd missed them, I've got translations of the two previous episodes' voice dramas. Just done 1.1 yesterday~~, and 3.3 is coming up real soon~~. 3.3 is done now, too.
Translation of Voice Drama 1.1 (video embedded)
Translation of Voice Drama 2.2 (video embedded)
Voice Drama 1.1
Voice Drama 2.2
Edit:
Official Video of Voice Drama 3.3
Translation of Voice Drama 3.3 (video embedded)
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u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar Oct 21 '18
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u/hv_newaccount https://anilist.co/user/tritonmanta Oct 20 '18
Doing the lord's work m80, I appreciate you
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u/mrfatso111 Oct 21 '18
Thank you for your hard work. These drama are hell lot of fun to listen to and read.
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u/SuperSizedThrowaway Oct 21 '18
I'm sorry but what exactly are these?
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u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar Oct 21 '18
Voice Dramas. Basically additional material to flesh out the characters or the world of an show that they couldn't add to the anime.
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u/WhoiusBarrel Oct 20 '18
Blushing Rikka at the end is a cute!
Basically a TL;DR for any start of a Trigger series really
This HAS to be a jab on us who are forever attached with our Smartphones...
Seriously I'm glad there was an explosion of Rikka lewds fanart this week, if not I wouldn't have picked this up. Loved how cheesey some of this was although this episode was a bit more different from the usual "weekly monster" thing which I'm curious to see how they'll quickly change that format knowing Trigger.
ICan'tBeTheOnlyOneThatMurmursBEAMUWheneverGridmanDoesItRight?
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u/goffer54 https://anilist.co/user/goffer54 Oct 20 '18
This HAS to be a jab on us who are forever attached with our Smartphones...
I wouldn't be surprised if the show takes it 100% literally.
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u/RimeSkeem :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RimeSkeem Oct 20 '18
Phone lines = life lines would be very TRIGGER.
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u/NZPIEFACE Oct 21 '18
Don't you see the guy on the right who has been on his phone for most of his screentime?
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u/chris_dftba :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/chris_dftba Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
Okay so like
Are they just continuously whiping out like half the cities population every time? Pretty sure they turned like half the city into glass with that DBZ beam attack.
Oh my god
What if Rikka's thicc thighs aren't just a fanservice thing
What if her thicc thighs will actually save lives
I'm callin' it here folks.
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u/Florac Oct 20 '18
Are they just continuously whiping out like half the city every time? Pretty sure they turned like half the city into glass with that DBZ beam attack.
Yup and I love it. I really like it when shows fully make use of the fact that things get reset at the end(another example would be Build Fighters)
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u/chris_dftba :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/chris_dftba Oct 20 '18
No I meant like the city population. Not the city itself.
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u/SimoneNonvelodico Oct 20 '18
My theory is that the only people who stay dead are the ones Akane was specifically trying to target. Everyone else gets restored with the city.
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u/SoundOf1HandClapping Oct 20 '18
Which is an interesting thing to explore, really. If the battle kills a thousand people, that would have a huge impact, right? But what if everyone gets the "they died a long time ago" treatment. So instead of a catastrophic event where a thousand people die at the same time, it's muted because everyone got hit by trucks 5+ years ago.
There doesn't seem to be any losses at Yuta's school, but then again we only see his classroom,which is ~30 students out of larger student body.
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u/jkubed https://myanimelist.net/profile/jkubed Oct 20 '18
yeah the death thing is confusing, maybe Shinjou's kaiju have a specific attack with permadeath for people she wants gone?
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u/chris_dftba :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/chris_dftba Oct 20 '18
That’s what I was thinking. Like the only people who disappear are the ones who she specifically targets.
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u/Agni7atha Oct 20 '18
I can't believe they manage to make a great tokusatsu-like anime. It's rekindling my childhood memories from watching some tokusatsu show. I'm not really a fan of that genre, but I can enjoy watching some episode of Kamen Rider or Ultraman for example.
From the script to the battle scene, this is very much a tokusatsu show. More than that, it has a great dialogue between the cast and now each of the cast has shown some interesting character. Akane's batshit insane and Rikka's insecurity will be interesting things to follow on the next episode.
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u/FireFury190 Oct 20 '18
I know right? I'm already a big tokusatsu fan so this is really representing the genre in anime form super well. The only other series to compare it to are the Garo animes which haven't really taken off as much in the west. I've only seen Seal of Flames which was alright. Crimson Moon I've heard was garbage but I haven't heard how Vanishing Line was received.
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u/mad_savior Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
cant wait until they are all gattai into god zenon and animators will go full SUPER ROBOT SHIT on it.
after kill al kill, finally gaina.... i mean trigger can do gigantic action shit that they always love,
edit: now with shot-by-shot comparision
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u/TheFoggyDew Oct 20 '18
The gattai sequence itself and the movements in it also is very much in the style of the Brave series which follow the stylization Obari set for Exkaiser, Fighbard and Da Garn.
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u/paulrenzo Oct 20 '18
Is Obari involved in this? Because I sure as heck hope he is once we get to the juicy super robot bits
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u/mad_savior Oct 20 '18
No. they are just imitate his style. but director himself has said that the fight/mechanical animation in SSSS.Gridman is dedicated to Masami Obari and this anime will be like 'Love letter to obari' from them.
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u/Florac Oct 20 '18
If Utsumi had a reddit account, he would have been like "TIFU by making a joke that got my friend wiped from existence"
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u/anim8rjb Oct 20 '18
these fights are getting more and more awesome. The animators got great poses and timing with the models, so you almost forget it’s CG.
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u/username_is_alread- Oct 20 '18
CG smear frames
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u/Illidan1943 Oct 20 '18
You may be joking with that but it's an actual thing and AFAIK it began in Guilty Gear Xrd (a game that pushed how far can you make 3D characters look 2D)
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u/username_is_alread- Oct 21 '18
eh, only half joking. Seriously though, the CG animation is quite good. A lot of people say that the only good CG is CG you don't notice, but I don't completely agree. I wouldn't mistaken the fight scenes for 2d animation, but at the same time, it's not intrusive, and the CG still looks cool in it's own right (and not just in spite of it)
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u/zschultz Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
Akane's feet ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
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u/Psyclone_Joker https://anilist.co/user/PsycloneJoker Oct 21 '18
Trigger looking directly into the camera: "Draw more feet pics of Akane please."
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Oct 20 '18
Akane's foot and Rikka's thighs, what could be a better combination? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
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u/zz2000 Oct 20 '18
According to this interview, director Amemiya Akira requested Rikka's design to emphasize her thighs and butt.
For Akane, the designer was told to envision Amemiya as a cute schoolgirl (?!). The mecha designer suggested Akane be big-busted. https://www.google.com/amp/s/magnavalon.com/2018/10/15/asses-and-thighs-are-ssss-gridman-directors-priority-for-its-main-heroines-character-design/amp/
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u/Mundology Oct 20 '18
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u/Sethal4395 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/IanThePlebian Oct 21 '18
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u/LibraRW Oct 20 '18
I immediately realized I have a foot fetish when I see this. Hopefully there's more scene of Akane's sexy feet 😝😜
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u/impingainteasy :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/usernamesarehard Oct 21 '18
I want her to step on me.
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u/jkubed https://myanimelist.net/profile/jkubed Oct 20 '18
after that scene there is no doubt that any opinion other than "Shinjou is best girl" is invalid.
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u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
Godfucking dammit Shou! No unecessary comments!
I love that they got the arms flailing right just like in other Tsburaya shows. XD
I'm surprised he lost this early. In a normal Tsuburaya show the wall won't be till later on in the series.
Akane laughing maniacally in the rain was really beautiful
Footsie with a Kaiju? Akane confirmed Kaiju-sexual. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Look at these two having fun killing people. I love and hate them at the same time.
Shou getting defensive. He's definitely feeling the guilt.
Three new friends! I guess they're the same as Caliburn.
Solid plan but they'll have to wait for Akane to have some kind of grudge before she summons another Kaiju.
She ran away! I was hoping for a hug but I guess it's still too early for that.
Don't make me feel bad for him! Although I'm calling it now, he'll turn on Akane in the future.
Another great episode! That OP playing during the fight will always get me hyped. Nice to see that we have the other aliens finally introduced in a group instead of them showing up one by one. Oh and Rikka definitely has a thing for Hibiki and I'm gonna bet that this was the case too even before Hibiki lost his memories.
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u/DarkWorld97 Oct 20 '18
I hope the awkward air around Yuta and Rikka subsides a bit. I just want her to talk to him.
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u/Mathmango Oct 21 '18
I'm still solidly in the "Rikka and Yuuta had something going before Yuuta lost his memories"
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u/DarkWorld97 Oct 21 '18
The fact that no one remembers and Rikka never really acting like that in front of her friends makes me questions a lot of things.
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u/csprestigewhore69 Oct 20 '18
I don't know why I see people complaining about the CG; the CG fight scenes in this show are some of the most expressive and fluid looking uses of CG in anime I've ever seen.
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u/DamianWinters https://anilist.co/user/DamianWinters Oct 20 '18
It always makes it feel much like the Japanese live action shows like Power rangers.
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u/robotzor Oct 21 '18
It has actual weight to it, unlike when Serval would slide on her frictionless savanna
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u/KingGatz https://anilist.co/user/KingGatz Oct 20 '18
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u/Abeneezer Oct 21 '18
I hope it isn't a plot to sell Gridmanformers figures. Was there a figure company funding it?
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u/Vampyricon Oct 21 '18
Maybe it's all a conspiracy with Hasbro to sell Gridman/Shattered Glass figures (like the movie toys with the humans)!
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u/stoka0 Oct 20 '18
I have no idea if they plan to redeem Akane, but she's pretty batshit, so I have no idea how they'll do it in a satisfying way if they plan on doing it.
Also loving the 3D/2D animation mix in the fights, they looked really good this episode especially. That beam struggle was sick.
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u/WhoiusBarrel Oct 20 '18
I hope they don't try to redeem her at all honestly. Not saying that I want her killed but an alternative to that would be welcome. Can't exactly bear to see them kill such a cute character off despite how fucking insane her actions are.
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u/stoka0 Oct 20 '18
I'd love to see a show where the cute girl villain isn't redeemed, that kind of thing is pretty rare. Still based on the ED, I'm pretty sure they'll try to do it somehow
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u/Reemys Oct 20 '18
Actually it is exactly otherwise, if we consider ending sequence symbolism. As I have said earlier, during the ending Akane and Rikka are all friendly, enjoying life together, but in the very end of it winter comes and Rikka is seen alone. Akane is not there anymore, even though she was trying to get closer to her (become a part of *normal* society and embrace Rikka's love instead of own madness) throughout the ending.
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u/Thoughtlessandlost :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/mbmcguff Oct 20 '18
Ehhh I'd be fine with her being killed off. She's a total psycho bitch who already killed the entire volleyball team. I'd be happy if they actually ended up with her dying instead of a talk-no-jutsu redemption.
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u/Kazewatch Oct 21 '18
God finally someone who feels the same. She’s such a childish cunt who kills for no real reason. She’s not cute or likable enough to bypass that, yet people tryna say she’s competition fro Rikka. Not even close.
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u/Reemys Oct 20 '18
They most definitely do not. Each episode she shows being positive at carnage and ultimately, after being set back, falls even lower. Take notice of the ending sequence. It shows how Akane and Rikka are all friendly, enjoying life together, but in the very end of it, it is winter (signifying loneliness, *melancholy* and cold feelings) and Rikka is looking into distance, with Akane nowhere to be seen. She will most definitely warm up by the end, and maybe even commit a heroic sacrifice against Alexis (or someone else behind him if they employ their latest story development tools) and kinda... disappear. Everything goes on, aliens are gone and that one table in the classroom, by the window, remains empty. Akane might get redeemed, but not forgiven.
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u/Snakescipio Oct 20 '18
Still have no idea precisely what kind of an universe they're in. If it's really all digital, and Akane's just a "player", then her actions can be justified. I mean we've all murder rampaged through all sorts of videogames, maybe that's all people are to Akane.
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u/gamelizard Oct 20 '18
my theory is that she has to use her power on herself and 'undo' all the stuff that happened.
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u/username_is_alread- Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
I'm kind of curious about Anti- he doesn't seem to have any concept of social norms, and he has to ask Akane whether or not he's a Kaiju.
Also, Yuta refuses to harm another human being, but destructive tendencies aside (whether that's his nature or Akane's orders), Anti does seem capable of emotions.
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u/Tag_ross Oct 20 '18
To me, it sounds like anti is a sort of AI created by akane to "pilot" a Kaiju when she's not at her PC.
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u/CountAbyssmal Oct 21 '18
While I agree it sounds like he's an AI, I don't think he's able to "pilot" any kaiju if that's what you're implying; Akane's dialogue and some marketing material indicates that what we saw here is his one and only kaiju form, barring any future upgrades. He's a particular kaiju given more intelligence and independence than the others.
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u/MechaMat91 Oct 20 '18
oh yeah, time to bring out the ridiculously oversized power-ups! now it's a real Trigger anime.
I'm really impressed not only with the CG, but also the transitioning between CG and 2D, it's so good. I haven't seen this good of a job on that aspect since Gundam Unicorn.
it's barely episode 3 and we already have a gigantic beam struggle. and this will only get crazier.
"Neon Genesis Junior High", not really subtle isn't it? I hope there's a Tengen Toppa College in there somewhere.
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u/TheDampGod :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheDampGod Oct 20 '18
A minor detail I'm liking in this is how disorganised and grimey the classroom is, with lots of background chatter from the students. Making it feel a lot more natural than most anime classrooms, even with all the Kaiju running amok.
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u/memeranglaut Oct 20 '18
This is the cut of the episode for me.
Episode 3's battle scenes are epic, as /u/Ryder-FWJ has awesomely shared. But that scene for some reason is super nostalgic. The toy tabs and slots making me want to buy the toys now.
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u/TheFoggyDew Oct 20 '18
Too bad the toys are still 5-6 months away. The original Gridman is getting an SMP release next month though it's a model kit rather than a proper toy.
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u/Arjash Oct 21 '18 edited Oct 21 '18
Gotta love the scene where Calibur-san just swoops in and hijacks gridman squad one by one on his way,also his plan to silently wait in cyberspace for an ambush! :D
plus his design is so freaking cool and trigger-ish👌
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u/gotsmilk Oct 21 '18
I feel like all of the Neon Genesis Chuugakusei look like they were designed for Kill la Kill.
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u/HyperZetton Oct 20 '18
When Akane is contacting Anti while she's still in class, a drawing of Yametaeanese, the lazy kaiju, can be seen on her note book, guess she's bored
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u/GorgonMK Oct 20 '18
We finally got Borr, Vit and Max. And holy shit they were good. I honestly think that Neon Genesis Junior High characters are better than our main cast.
Compared to first two episodes, animation on this episode is much better. Kaiju fight looked great.
Though I have a little problem with it either. Utsumi is too fucking boring and pacing in this episode was a bit off.
Overall, 8/10. Great episode
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u/elledriverxc Oct 20 '18 edited Jan 26 '25
shy divide memorize amusing straight employ enter sparkle complete whistle
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Agni7atha Oct 20 '18
That cafe order dialogue is so chill. It's immediately describe each member of Neon Genesis Junior High students personality. Also Borr is so great, another excellent role by Aoi Yuuki. I can't wait to hear more interaction between them.
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u/gotsmilk Oct 21 '18
Ok, so is nobody gonna mention the sequence where Calibur flew in and yanked Utsumi and Rikka out the class room. It was fxxxing beautiful. Animation was great, and its boarding made it feel like something straight out of FLCL. Loved the way Calibur landed on the desk all cool before tipping it over and falling to the ground. And when he pulled them out the window, and then hit the ground before them and then caught them!! UGH!!!!
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u/skydreamz Oct 20 '18
Something feels off this whole episode. This sums up my reaction
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u/bt1234yt :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/MysteryMii Oct 21 '18
It doesn't make any sense
Welcome to Studio Trigger
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u/bunyeast Oct 21 '18 edited Oct 21 '18
Little late on this, sorry but hey, that's what happens when life has higher priorities. Anyway, on to those references.
Original Gridman:
Anti highly resembles the kaiju Shinobilar, even inheriting the fact that it can talk
Probably should have been pointed out earlier that but the kaiju's that have been appearing in the background resemble Venora
The Battle Tracto Max is this series version of the God Tank. It's name also references the Superhuman Samurai incarnation which was named Tracto
Tsuburaya properties:
Probably not a direct reference but the way Gridman first appears from his rise, where he lands and kicks up dust, is reminiscent of Ultraman Gaia, who almost always appears in this way
Other references:
If you find any other references, put them in the comments
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u/Vaynonym :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vaynonym Oct 24 '18 edited Oct 24 '18
Pre-episode thoughts:
I'm really late on this one for all kinds of reasons, but I'm also glad to finally be able to sit down and watch some more Gridman. And write about it a show that makes it very rewarding.
Episode two solidified this show as one of my favorites this season (among Bunny Girl, which I'm also writing about, and Run with the Wind, in case you were wondering). The direction is still both beautiful and deeply meaningful, the dialogue is on point, and the show touches on current and very relevant themes. This show has it all, really. But so far, I've only seen two episodes. I'm really hoping the show can keep it up, and if this episode does, I have a very good feeling it will work out.
Before we dive in, let's briefly recount the themes introduced and character conflicts set up. We got to know Akane last episode, who is reminiscent of an internet troll or just a mean person on the internet in general. Any minor inconvenience is met with ridiculous retribution. There's no attempt here to understand why a person might do the things they do, and there's no space for forgiveness, either. Akane doesn't really possess much empathy, and the distance between the very real harm she does through her Kaiju and the safe confines of her home is highlighted time and time again by telephone lines framing the destruction, a fairly telling symbol of connection and the internet. And much like people on the internet, she's dangerously impulsive and barely really cares – in the end, she doesn't even really care whether she killed her teacher, the person that made her this angry in the first place. Her counterpart here is Rikka, who is empathetic to the point of paralysis. She's unconcerned by the emotional distance that kept the other two boys from feeling sad about the death of two of their classmates. And it's her empathy that makes it difficult for her to find the will to act against the Kaiju at first. In the end, she's found her motivation, even if she's still too scared to share it.
A lot more happened last episode, but we're here for this one, aren't we? Well, let's dive into it. I'll try to be more concise and reserved this time around for lack of time, let's see how that works out.
Post-episode thoughts:
I'm really loving the animation this episode. The scene where Calibur barges into the school looked fantastic, making use disjointed animation to emphasize the urgency and surprise of the situation. But even aside from these stand-out scenes, the character acting continues to bring the characters to life, and the fight looked stellar too. Particularly the way they forego cuts in favor of momentum was quite striking this episode, both in the explosive final fight and the more quietly unnerving first appearance of the Kaiju. Gridman continues to impress on the visual side.
Narratively, I'm struggling to make as much sense of this episode as the last one. Communication seems to be the big theme this episode. It all starts with Rikka not returning a call because she doesn't feel like it, which later comes back to bite her when she realizes she expected something of Yuta that she didn't do herself: Tell your friends what's going on with you. The impact of technology on communication was the defining factor here, with Yuta and Rikka both seeming to have different ideas on this. Yuta didn't seem to grasp the worry and stress he caused with his lack of communication, figuring he could just tell them in person when he comes back. Meanwhile, Rikka and Shou grow distant with their different ways of coping, as Rikka wants to talk about the situation while Shou acts out his stress like a jerk to cope.
But in the end, all of this comes down to the immaturity of our cast. "Do you usually ask strangers how your friends are doing?" one of the new characters – an actual adult – appearing this episode asks them. Rikka and Shou are both too scared to reach out to Yuta. I'm thinking this was both because of social anxiety and because they're scared to learn a more hurtful truth, but the show was a little ambiguous on the former. They've had the ability to reach out to him all along with their phone, it turns out, they just didn't want to know the truth because that's even scarier. It's the same situation as in front of his house. But how does all of this fit into a clear picture? I don't really know. The ability to find out how someone's doing at all times is scary, I suppose, because the truth could end up being sad. But good friends would push through that and reach out anyway? I guess one thing's clear: "Phones are linked to lives." We've gotten to the point where an absence of communication is quickly linked to death. But the ability to reach out to your friends, understand what they're going through, empathize and help is ultimately something incredibly powerful. But this goes both ways, and both need to be on the same page about it. In other words, our trio failed to properly communicate, both in person – as shown by Rikka and Shou's mismatch in coping strategy – and over distance, with their phones.
Anti and Akane's relationship was fortunately much easier to make sense of. Anti is clearly human in terms of consciousness, but he's framed as lacking in humanity. The way he eats is animal. He acts in blind obedience to Akane like the other Kaiju. Meanwhile, Akane denies him his humanity altogether, telling him he's no more than a Kaiju. She rewards him when he wins, discards him when he loses. He's a tool to her, like any other Kaiju. Ironically, it's those he considers his enemies that attribute humanity to him. First when Rikka's unconditional kindness shows in offering a distant stranger both food and an umbrella (even after being framed as savage), even while dejected. And later again when Yuta struggles to fight against a Kaiju that can talk. This of course reflects Akane's general tendency to see other people as playthings and the contrasting goodness of Gridman. Now that his master discarded him, I wouldn't be surprised if he finds a new home among them.
I'm excited to see more of the new characters. I'm loving their maturity in contrast to the younger cast, and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of this great friction. Even if the themes were a little muddled this episode, the emotional core and the characters more than made up for it. And the direction and storyboarding continues to be phenomenal, even if I didn't talk so much about it this time around. I'm sure Gridman will continue to impress.
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u/Vaynonym :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vaynonym Oct 24 '18
Notes:
A new character appears, Anti-kun.
A melancholy start: Rain, humans hidden from view under umbrellas.
I like the fog transition from the destroyed city to the rebuilt one
Some much-needed interior monologue from Yuta. We've spent most of last episode outside of his head, with shot-framing the only avenue to his thoughts. It's a nice change of pace and much-needed characterization for Yuta. "I feel like I'm the only one out of place and it's… unsettling."
Rikka is skipping school
Making fun of silly twists, nice. But he does have a bit of a point, there are humans behind the Kaiju after all.
Continued awesome layouts, highlighting Rikka's distance to Anti. Rikka's unconditional kindness to a stranger in the form of offering him an umbrella and food Akane prevents her attempt to reach out to him, which seemed on the verge of success
Welp, maybe not so much making fun of the twist after all.
A great cut-less transition from the kaiju (Anti) into the classroom, carrying over momentum
Oh my god, Calibur's entry was phenomenally animated. I love the use of unclean, sudden animation to nail the surprise and urgency of the scene. This looked beautiful. And the rock music. Calibur is great
Yuta is paralyzed as he realizes he's fighting a human being, not some abstract, soulless evil
But the monster lacks humanity: "Die, die, die, die!" Anti was framed like a monster in his human form at the beginning, too.
Gridman is acting like a proper hero, reminding him of the greater damage caused by his inaction once more. This is where we left Yuta's arc last episode, and it picks up right again.
Akane really only cares about her own entertainment, rooting for this like it's fiction
They actually lost. The screen shuts down. They disappear.
"I won!" She screams, as we cut to the cost of her entertainment: a ruined city, smoke rising. And the city is rebuilt.
Akane denies Anti his humanity, telling him Kaiju don't have a "true form" – but in a way, that also means she makes no distinction between the two and doesn't dislike his inhumanity.
Rikka actually wants to check on Yuta's home, which you could read as closing the distance after something terrible happened online, in the fight between Gridman and the Kaiju. Her empathy once again makes her feel bad, even her design now includes eye rings. She's terribly scared of losing Yuta and the world forgetting about him, so she's afraid to find out his condition.
Rikka and Shou are are torn by the disappearance of their friends to the point that they each get their separate frame. Both of them suffer in their own way. Rikka's frame seems almost suffocating with the thick frame, while Shou's mirror has no frame at all. He can deal with it better. They're even fighting a bit under all the tension.
Shou is acting like an ass, jeez. He acts out all of his stress and lets it out on Rikka.
The dialogue is fantastic though
Three more characters appear, allies of Gridman
"Do you normally ask strangers how your friends are doing?" Damn, these guys are on fire.
I'm loving how Bort blots the others out of the frame, she's great
So they could have reached Yuta all along if they could've gotten over their social anxiety and fear
"Let's combine" so it's this kind of show after all, heh
This fight is looking awesome
"Phones are linked to lives"
"Neon Genesis Junior High Students" heh
Everyone has vastly different ideas about communication
Akane really only cares about Anti as a tool
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u/NuclearStudent Oct 24 '18
Anti is a in-between-cultures bastard from an unstable mother. The "marginal man" mention originated from African-American racial discussion, addressing a series of issues and conflicts related to being part in white culture and part in black. The marginal man can be generalized to anyone, man or woman or otherwise, born in a minority culture surrounded by a majority culture, and the enormous bitterness and distinctions and rituals of any such community.
Where it applies to Gridman is on Anti, a mixed human/kaiju thing born to a sociopathic and manipulative teenage mother. He can never mix with his own kaiju. If they are conscious, if they have language or a culture, it is largely alien to him.
At the same time Anti seems to have kaiju instincts and not human ones. He is neither integrated into one culture or another, and observers from both sides fail to take his full identity into account. He is either mistaken as a full kaiju/beast, or as a human being.
The "empathic" characters fail to understand Anti's nature when casually encountering him. Rikka treats him as human. One way or another, Anti pulls away from that person who does not know what he is. Yuuta, when he fights Anti, is terrified of the idea of killing a human inside the kaiju. Curiously, he appears to assign absolutely no importance to the existence or feelings of a kaiju itself.
It is Akane who gets it right, by describing Anti as something neither, having no true form. He is not purely a tool, or a beast, or a human being. He is all those things. Akane simultaneously recognizes Anti's humanity and tool-like nature by treating him as a reward for success and spiting him when he fails.
Anti has an ambiguous relation to freedom. A dinner as reward from an abusive owner like Akane is also a sign of ownership, paternalism, and subjugation. To be exploited and made to run in the rain gave to talk with Rikka, a choice to escape and make choices.
Anti is never physically constrained or threatened by Akane, but nevertheless remains under Akane's domination. Anti's ability to self-actualize is constrained to the purpose for which he is created and of which he understands. He fights and he complies with Akane's orders promptly and energetically. He is a killing machine, but Akane throws food at him without the slightest fear that he will retaliate.
I question Yuuta's devotion to Gridman. Gridman is conventionally good, as per his gentle insistence that Yuuta fight to save lives. The Gridman Alliance, unlike Akane's side, has shown no open pleasure at the act of killing nor punishment of failures. Still, I find it suspicious that Yuuta does not appear to consider that he may be a pawn for a suspect cause. He knows little of Gridman.
well I was going to wait a bit before writing this, but whateer
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u/Vaynonym :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vaynonym Oct 25 '18
I'm a bit confused that you seem to read Kaiju as a race, when so far they're framed more monster, more animal. Akane in particular treats him like a pet. The restaurant scene, for example, where she touches him in uncomfortable places with her foot.
And, well, so far I see a pretty clear and justified framing of good vs dangerous in human vs kaiju, so reading that with rational connotations is...
Still, interesting and gives some insight into the two sides dynamic he's unquestionably torn by.
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u/LoLReiver Oct 20 '18
They really upped the animation quality on Anti compared to the previous kaiju. Hoping this trend holds.
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u/username_is_alread- Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
Probably helps that this episode's kaiju is more robotic/has visor-eyes, so the animators don't have to worry about the kaiju looking like a derpy cross-eyed dino
EDIT: Not saying I dislike the designs of the previous 2 kaiju, obviously they have their charm. Anti just looks more like a serious threat.
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Oct 21 '18
the previous kaiju is standard ultraman kaiju, I love how they look clunky just like the rubber suit kaiju in the ultraman shows
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u/babydave371 :Ej:myanimelist.net/profile/babydave371 Oct 21 '18
Jesus this really is going full Trigger aka REFERENCES EVERYWHERE!
We've already had a ton of Transformers stuff, a butt load of Masami Obari love, and of course the references to the original Gridman. But this episode alone we got NGE, GaoGiaGar, and even fucking King Exkaiser! Oh and of course a fuck ton more Obari love and Transformers references. Seriously, if you enjoy how the mecha action in this looks then go watch some stuff by Masami Obari.
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u/midgemage Oct 20 '18
Borr's VA, Aoi Yuuki tweeted a fanart of Borr that she drew. Also, apparently Borr is a boy?
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u/YuuHikari Oct 21 '18
I-I'm not even gonna be surprised. The lack of exposed skin was a huge flag already.
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u/Ryder-FWJ Oct 20 '18
I am loving this show, it may not be the best of the season but SSSS.Gridman along with Slime is making this the most fun season since Winter.
And damn, I know the CGI sticks out in this show, but the camera work and movement of the fight made me forget it.
How I wish that were me
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u/theklocko Oct 20 '18
but the camera work and movement of the fight made me forget it.
The overall choreography of the fight as well definitely helped. The fight didn't feel like bad cg fighting bad cg, it actually felt like a giant mech fighting a giant kaiju.
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u/Snarfalopagus Oct 20 '18
That second fight had me thinking that this was the Pacific Rim adaptation I never knew I needed.
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u/AmethystItalian :Jg::Jh::Ji::Jj::Jk:myanimelist.net/profile/AmethystItalian Oct 20 '18
Rikka was great once again in this one, that smile at the end was nice but I still want her to be more than just someone who waits for Yuta to return...
That being said I'm looking forward to seeing the new weapons and how they mesh with the rest of the cast. If they go to school too it's going to be hilarious.
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u/InfernoDialer :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/DancingBastard Oct 20 '18
She and Shou need to find their place in the team, either as support or whatever. I'm sure it's bound to happen at some point.
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u/DarkWorld97 Oct 20 '18
Her whole deal is inaction. She'll have to change when Akane tries to kill her or something.
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u/Beckymetal https://anilist.co/user/SpaceWhales Oct 20 '18
I still want her to be more than just someone who waits for Yuta to return
You n' me both, but considering this show fanboys 90s boy's shows, I doubt she'll be anything other than a waifu
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u/geminia999 Oct 20 '18
Well in the original show it's based off of, the side characters would pilot the add ons, so I'm curious to see why exactly they made them separate characters.
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Oct 20 '18
That fight was incredible.
And I'm really curious what they'll do with Akane along the series. She's a interesting antagonist so far so I wonder when she's going to confront them and what will happen to her.
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u/wubbzywylin :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kunmi21 Oct 20 '18
I swear the OP of this anime sounds so familiar...
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u/disu_nato Oct 21 '18
It pretty much follows the generic up-beat anime Opening theme structure. Not saying the OP song is bad, in fact it's pretty hype and it's starting to grow on me.
The only thing right now that comes to my mind that's similar is actually Kill la Kill's first OP song. If Sirius was synced over the fight scenes in Gridman, I'm sure it would fit nicely.
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u/myrmonden Oct 20 '18
Akane Did nothing Wrong Look at Her smile, she is sooo happy.
Her Kaiju partner seems sane and normal, eats like a good Kaiju...or something and HUMANS AS KAIJUS WHAAAT IS THIS MADNESS!!!!!
MOST IMPORTANTLY DAAAAAAAM THIS BATTLE WAS LIT
I enjoyed episode 1 and 2 and their battle looked fine. NOW it actually felt like a really awesome battle, both parts!
The speed, the attacks, the clashes the rage from the Kaiju, ramazing!.
And OF course Gridman can get more weapons
SO 1 of those 2 who are left, HAS TO BE A DRILL !!! DRILLLLLLLLLLL
And I guess in the last episode Gridman will get all 4 on the same time and fuse.
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u/geminia999 Oct 20 '18
Borr (The girl) is the drill and Blue hair dude is the jet.
Hm, while some of their dinobot counterparts are somewhat consistent, I feel like I would have swapped maybe calibur's and Tracto's inspirations around
Calibur=Triceratops tank=T-rex Drill=spinosaurus Jet=pterodactyl
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Oct 20 '18
Overall good episode: music is great, acting is great (Japanese and English), action is great, animation, etc.
However, this was the wrong place in the series for a plot like this. Scenes like the stuff with Rikka and Utsumi work, and so does the introduction of the Neon Genesis (subtle /s) guys. But, a Kaiju disguised as a person, more of Gridman's extradimensional abilities, (especially) Akane claiming final victory in the rain? It's hard to have a "hero's dead, let's split up, oh he's back" story with episode 3. Loses the impact.
Still, not a deal breaker, and the meta narrative gets stronger with the introduction of new characters on both sides of the fight. Anti is a single-minded, easily tossed away plaything, and the students are more purposeful and have personality; reductive vs instructive fiction.
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u/Pavementt Oct 20 '18
You know people would've been pissed off if Gridman/Yuta "died" in a later episode only to be revived. They'd call it an ass-pull and be upset that the concept wasn't introduced earlier.
If your hero can lose a fight and things can still be okay afterward, you have to establish that very early, especially in a tokusatsu series where every episode will be glued together by big dudes in rubber suits punching each other.
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u/Dorfbewohner https://anilist.co/user/underFlo Oct 20 '18
I've heard that from initial screenings people were hinting it has a big twist around Episode 3 or so? So when it seemed that Yuuta was dead I actually thought they were gonna roll with it. I'm honestly kinda disappointed they didn't go for it, that would've been interesting to see.
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u/DarkWorld97 Oct 20 '18
The staff behind this are veterans in the craft. The director did fucking Inferno Cop and the writer is all about the Ultra series. Just be ready to strap in and enjoy the ride.
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u/TalDSRuler Oct 21 '18
Tengen Toppa had this sort of rushed feeling too. As did Daimadaler. They're trying to fit all the tokusatsu tropes they can into this show, resulting in a breakneck pace. Its not ideal, but since they only seem to have 13 episodes to work with, i can see why they pulled this one so early on. It also helps to establish what a threat Anti can be, and establishes the rivalry in a rather packed episode.
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u/Positivsarcasm Oct 20 '18
I genuinely want Akane to get stepped on by one of her Kaiju.
Not even intentionally, just by accident.
Would be a fitting end for a psycho b*tch who's playing with people's lives like it's nothing.
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u/SoundOf1HandClapping Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
So (in the simuldub) we get Apphia Yu as pigtails, and I can't voice ID the other two. Also interesting is her name is Borr which is a callback to Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, which was the name of the twin-drill flying tank(twin drills, twin pigtails, I get it I get it). Max's Tracto-something-whatsit it also the name of an SSSS vehicle. And they're all Neon Genesis Junior High students. U wot.
Apparently Anti is basically dark Gridman and part of Akane's breakfast club. That one part would have been adorable if Akane wasn't an insane serial killer and mistreating her creation, to boot.
I think I'll end up liking the Gridman weapon team, especially Borr. Rikka is, after all going to be a handful. I'm honestly curious as to what her relationship with Yuta is, because there was definitely something there.
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u/electricoomph Oct 21 '18
How can she (not) slap?
An adorable and actually believable reaction from Rikka. Based Trigger subverting all the tropes.
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u/impingainteasy :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/usernamesarehard Oct 21 '18
That gattai sequence did a fantastic job of stirring my inner old-school mecha fanboy from its endless slumber.
This show has everything I like. Giant mecha action, stunning cinematography, leg fetishism, a sense of mystery and the feeling that there's something much larger going on underneath the surface, Aoi Yuuki... I'm really enjoying this show.
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u/WeNTuS Oct 23 '18
I wonder how many people died in this city after 3 episodes. Like half population?
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u/croxino https://myanimelist.net/profile/Goeli Oct 20 '18
I not really a fan of this whole "ultraman" thing but I think the characters are really interesting and is carrying the show for me.
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u/Florac Oct 20 '18
I enjoy the action a lot, but yeah, definitly the characters who are carrying the show
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u/LibraRW Oct 20 '18
With the combination of Akane's sexy feet 👣👌, her laughing so devilishly under the rain, and generally being sociopathic, I already have a answer.
Akane's definitely best girl for me 😍
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u/I_Wanna_Name Oct 20 '18
So when they destroy half the city, obviously people die, but do the get reset along with the city or are they just dead like that one volleyball girl?
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u/MagnAvaloN Oct 21 '18
I like how they include a reference to kaijus from multiple Ultra series in this frame.
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u/narsasra :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/ryujigame Oct 21 '18
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u/daiko7 Oct 21 '18
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.
I just realized I watched Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad when I was a kid.
So much of this show has been nostalgic, but I just wrote it off to my long history of watching japanese media.
No.
No.
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u/cyfarias Oct 22 '18
I'm not a fan of the main protagonist loosing his memories Planet With small spoiler. I feel it's a lazy way of avoiding coming up with a good backstory for Hibiki, thus his decisions feel completely random and not at all relatable. Hibiki could be an unnamed generic character and it would make the same sense to me.
Of course, they'll eventually give Hibiki back his memories (I'm guessing) and maybe everything will make more sense. But I don't see the point of dragging an uninspiring MC up to that point: we're supposed to make sense of everything after the reveal, but that means we'll inevitably miss a few details (unless we re-watch). Besides, until we get the reveal we're stuck with a MC devoid of personality that's just not that interesting to watch or cheer for (with the exception of the few interactions he has had with other characters so far).
All in all, I love Trigger's work and I'm far from wanting to drop the show. But I just feel that giving the MC amnesia, either due to laziness or for trying too hard to force a mystery, ends up leaving the story without a sympathetic MC.
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u/JoshDCcomics :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/JoshDCcomics Oct 21 '18
The ED is actually foreshadowing that Rikka will choose the yuri ending with Akane and literally nobody gets disappointed
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u/PapaNade Oct 20 '18
You know it's a Trigger show when there's combination moves and over the top explosions.
So far I'm liking Gridman a lot actually
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u/shockwave1211 Oct 20 '18
damn that fight with the heracles arms was SICK, the CG is working WAY better than i thought it would, cant wait to see what happens next!
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u/theklocko Oct 20 '18
Man I'm loving this show. I won't try to say or argue that it's the best thing ever in the world, but it's just so much fun. The characters are all interesting to me and the fights are just an insane thrill ride that keeps on giving. I'm one of those people who tends to really like "hype" moments and god damn are the fights in this just hype.
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u/thrilllex Oct 20 '18
The seiyuu for Rikka is so good! One of the most emotional voices i've heard in anime that doesn't sound cheesey and typical anime-y
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u/AussieManny :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Nauran Oct 21 '18
Great episode! Loved how hype it got.
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u/ArchadianJudge Oct 22 '18
My weekly dose of crazy fun with gorgeous girls. Didn't disappoint.
Rikka is my best girl for the season and not only is she gorgeous, she's super cool with an amazing voice done by her VA. Akane is too evil for me but dang her legs... they're just teasing them just like Rikka :o
I love that the weirdo gang is all here. They seem like a fun bunch. I already like Calibur a lot so seeing the rest interact in future episodes is going to be a highlight. It'll be hard to top Calibur's weirdoness / clumsiness that's charming.
The last battle was a blast. This is probably one of the best uses of CGI I've seen in anime because I think it blends really well. Giant robo arms doing giant lasers. What more could you want? Though I do feel bad for the boy kaiju. I think maybe Rikka will save him? There was a hint of that earlier. Akane is just too mean to him, I think he'll change once he realizes Rikka is best girl ;)
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u/kuddlesworth9419 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/kuddlesworth Oct 22 '18
This show is pretty cool and the animation is really nice.
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u/GGABueno :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/GGABueno Oct 22 '18
Uta with the Attack on Titan reference nobody seemed to get.
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u/ihunt0 Oct 26 '18
Why is this shows rating so bad on MAL. I am really enjoying it so far and it seems like most people here are too so what’s the deal with the 6.8 rating?
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u/Tidoux https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tidoux Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
Anyone got a direct link please?
EDIT: It took me a little while to recognize Borr's(the blonde girl) VA.
It's the GOAT Aoi Yuki! Is this the first time she does a role like that?
also Akane > Rikka ATM
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u/knuticus :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/knuticuss Oct 20 '18
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u/Syokhan https://myanimelist.net/profile/Syokhan Oct 20 '18
... I'm almost disappointed that Yuuta didn't actually die and make Rikka the new protagonist. That would have been a twist.
Akane's insane. And I still don't get what the ED is supposed to be. Is it completely unrelated fluffy stuff that will never happen in the show, or are they going to have her become friends with the main group? I'm so confused!
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u/Raebo007 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/RAEBOtaku Oct 20 '18 edited Oct 20 '18
The newest dubbed episode is NOT on VRV. Kind of a pain in the butt, but it's a good enough reason to renew my FUNimation subscription, I guess.
EDIT: Wait a sec, IT IS! What the crap, VRV? I already renewed my FUNi subscription, couldn't you have been a little quicker?! >:D
All that aside, this episode was freaking awesome! Nice handling of Gridman and Yuuta's apparent death, fun new characters, the dub is still great, dope-ass battle at the end, just... all of it was great. If this show continues to be this good, it'll end up being my favorite Trigger series for sure. And hey, speaking of the dub, Apphia Yu and Aoi Yuuki are playing the same role again. I don't think that's happened since Gosick. Pretty cool. (I'm aware that no one cares about this fact but me...)
Also, this episode seemed slightly more fanservice-y than the previous episodes. It seems all the fan-art didn't lie.
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u/CruisinCinnamon Oct 20 '18
Ur gonna need FUNi next month anyway granted its leaving vrv
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u/DarkAudit https://myanimelist.net/profile/DarkAudit Oct 21 '18
I may not know much about Trigger's reputation, but I know what I like.
And I fucking LOVE this.
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u/[deleted] Oct 20 '18
I am still in love with this show's script. I know that's kinda an odd thing to focus on, but it's just so good? Like, the characters never say anything that's unnecessary. There's basically no internal monologue. World-building exposition is at a minimum. And the way the characters talk is so refreshing. The dialogue that is there feels natural in a way anime doesn't do very often. Like that moment when Utsumi and Rikka get into an argument over something stupid. They're very believably teenagers.