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EP. REVIEW: SSSS.Gridman


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TexZero



Joined: 25 Oct 2017
Posts: 582
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 4:05 pm Reply with quote
I was wrong about the predicted ending.

But i'm 1000% okay with the ending especially given that they finally found a spot to use the original theme song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nybqhMbWTOI
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Gurren Rodan



Joined: 04 Jan 2018
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 12:49 am Reply with quote
Oh, man, that finale has me so pumped right now.
No, I didn't get all the answers I was really hoping for spoiler[(How exactly did Akane become a god? Just "where" does her created world exist?? Why were Rikka and Utsumi immune to the world resets??? [proximity to Yuta/Gridman, I suppose?] Why didn't Anosilus girl get to join the fight?!?! Alright, I'll stop)]; but arguably, all the truly important matters were resolved. The final fights and character/monster designs were terrific, and all three of the lead heroes played a part in saving Akane - who, if you ask me, might have gotten off a liiiiiitle easy, but I digress. That very last scene in particular was fascinating, and a great way to end a surreal story on a surreal note. I'm sad this is over, but I'm very glad we got it; I hope Trigger's crew get to make more series like this in the future!!
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2269
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 8:26 am Reply with quote
Kind've torn on this one. On a technical level the finale was pretty impressive (sasuga Trigger and all that), thematically everything seemed to come together decently, and the plot
was reasonably rounded out (spoiler[not quite explicitly confirmed, but it seems bad-dress-wearing-uchujin lives in the 'inner world' of depressed, angry people where he fights good-hyper-agent-uchujin for control of the depressive person's destiny?]), but somehow I still feel a bit emotionally unattached to most of the characters.
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Gurren Rodan



Joined: 04 Jan 2018
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 12:00 pm Reply with quote
My impression was that spoiler[Alexis Kerib is a sort of parasite who feeds on negative emotions in exchange for granting certain powers like making kaiju. Gridman represents some sort of police force (like Ultramen) who tracks down dangerous entities like Kerib.]
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Cab329



Joined: 01 Apr 2017
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 12:07 pm Reply with quote
I loved the finale and overall I’m glad they left a lot of things vague (they even ask “why Yuta?”) .

It seems like Alexis has no interest in redoing Khan’s plan and rather just goes around preying on people’s despair.

I do like that what really beat Alexis was breaking through to Akane and repairing her world (and the repair beam is something that only the original Gridman could do so it was another sign that this was the original Gridman)

Anti’s eye being blue, as well as Akane’s real world appearance does make me wonder something:

Could Rikka have been based on Akane’s real form? I know I keep bringing something like that up but symbolically it kind of works. She even has the same pass holder in the real world, so her getting and accepting the gift is accepting herself. So when they were on the roof, she may very well have been about to confess that Rikka was her or that she loved her (meaning she loved herself, which is something she couldn’t bring herself to admit).
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Gurren Rodan



Joined: 04 Jan 2018
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 3:08 pm Reply with quote
Cab329 wrote:
Could Rikka have been based on Akane’s real form? I know I keep bringing something like that up but symbolically it kind of works. She even has the same pass holder in the real world, so her getting and accepting the gift is accepting herself. So when they were on the roof, she may very well have been about to confess that Rikka was her or that she loved her (meaning she loved herself, which is something she couldn’t bring herself to admit).

You're not the only one who thinks so; blogger Atelier Emily came to the same conclusion:
https://formeinfullbloom.wordpress.com/2018/12/22/closing-thoughts-on-rikka-and-akanes-relationship-in-ssss-gridman/
I think it makes sense, and I like it a lot.

Cab329 wrote:
I loved the finale and overall I’m glad they left a lot of things vague (they even ask “why Yuta?”) .

I actually don't think that question was too vague; they don't explicitly say it, but the brief "flashback" scene strongly implies it was Yuta's connection to Rikka that made Gridman choose him. I'd say it was Yuta's blossoming love that gave Gridman an anchor point, and/or Gridman percieved Rikka's aforementioned connection to Akane.
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Cab329



Joined: 01 Apr 2017
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 3:26 pm Reply with quote
Ah, that makes sense.

As for what the characters were and the world they inhabit inside the digital world, Mach_dent on Twitter is pbreaking it down and there seems to be a translation error. Alexis doesn’t call Rikka a replica like the subtitles say, he calls her a replicompoid, which were human like things in the first Gridman series as compoids (though only one showed up in the original)

So it seems Alexis created a bunch of replicompoids basing them on compoids and all of the human forms were compoid forms. It’s more of a lore catch but it also means the City will be able to survive long after Akane leaves.
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Gurren Rodan



Joined: 04 Jan 2018
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 9:58 pm Reply with quote
Sakuga Blog has been providing excellent coverage on this series; here's their last installation:

SSSS.GRIDMAN PRODUCTION NOTES 12 AND FINAL IMPRESSIONS

Quote:
In the same way that the mecha animation has been non-stop nods to Masami Obari – a story with a happy end despite some unexpected friction – Amemiya’s direction has taken countless cues from Anno’s, ultimately using a similar toolset to convey a message that all Evangelion fans will be familiar with. While always feeling like its own thing, SSSS.GRIDMAN felt like a worthy heir of the intangible Gainax spirit, a rare occurrence despite the massive aesthetic influence the studio’s golden age had over other titles.
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Gem-Bug



Joined: 10 Nov 2018
Posts: 1193
PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 10:05 pm Reply with quote
It didn't answer all the questions, but this ending made me real happy. I had secretly predicted/hoped that they'd cut to the real world(and that Akane wouldn't look like the one we've known so far)and wow, there we go! It was nice to see Kaiju Girl again, too. I'm gonna assume that Anti is going to stick around and protect the world!

Gurren Rodan wrote:
Cab329 wrote:
Could Rikka have been based on Akane’s real form? I know I keep bringing something like that up but symbolically it kind of works. She even has the same pass holder in the real world, so her getting and accepting the gift is accepting herself. So when they were on the roof, she may very well have been about to confess that Rikka was her or that she loved her (meaning she loved herself, which is something she couldn’t bring herself to admit).

You're not the only one who thinks so; blogger Atelier Emily came to the same conclusion:
https://formeinfullbloom.wordpress.com/2018/12/22/closing-thoughts-on-rikka-and-akanes-relationship-in-ssss-gridman/
I think it makes sense, and I like it a lot.



Yeah, this makes a lot of sense!

And I gotta say, it's been fun following this series with you folks here. Interesting discussion each week! Smile
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Kitsu Kyouno



Joined: 22 Dec 2018
Posts: 170
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 8:19 pm Reply with quote
I really appreciate the turn of putting Akane as the true protagonist at the end of it all, I was already weary of the shows where you put the typical high school guy as the main character that the whole story must go through, from shakugan no shana I've seen this narrative annoying because it is always the most boring and irrelevant kid in the world.
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Soulwarfare



Joined: 10 Dec 2017
Posts: 525
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 8:39 pm Reply with quote
I enjoyed the series but honestly feel like there is too many plot points that are not explained fully
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Gurren Rodan



Joined: 04 Jan 2018
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 10:58 pm Reply with quote
^What plot points in particular do you have in mind? While some of the hard world-building aspects aren't made entirely clear, I think all of the most important, character-based questions were explicitly or implicitly answered.

Now, how about an article giving an in-depth coverage of all the references in the show? That'd be a fun read.
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Zeino



Joined: 19 May 2017
Posts: 1098
PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:20 pm Reply with quote
So Alexis was just some random asshole with magic powers that had no connection to the original Gridman villain Khan, that's a little disappointing. The rest was pretty incredible though, and about as happy an ending as they could get away with: Gridman achieved his mission, Anti lives, Calibur and co seem to retain their individual identities, Akane admits the extent of her wrongdoing and voluntarily gives up her position of power and the world persists with no-one forcing it to follow a script.
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Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1168
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:30 am Reply with quote
*pant pant* Alright, I just finished this entire show in like two days, since I wasn't keeping up with it. Look everyone, I'm a hip and with it modern anime fan, woooo!!!

Anyway, that might be something worth talking about: I decided to take a "wait and see" approach on this one, since aside from there being a lot of good/interesting looking anime coming out lately, I was coming off of severe Darling in the FranXX disappointment. Yes, I know that one technically isn't Trigger, but when the word on this ended up being "stylings straight from Evangelion" and "Look at the gams at that one!", well...I decided to come back later.

Buuut, I'm quite relieved it ended up being much better than that, with a real heart to it and something to say. And comparing those two in particular, FranXX borrows flashes of imagery pretty much because it can, and Gridman actually did things with what it took. It's great to see Akira Amemiya is that clever - I've been a fan ever since that one episode of Legend of Daiku-Maryu.

See you again, Gridman, in your inevitable Super Robot Wars appearance!
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Gurren Rodan



Joined: 04 Jan 2018
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 12:37 am Reply with quote
I can't really blame anyone for being hesitant after FranXX. I was excited for Gridman just for the tokusatsu connection, and even I ended up feeling unsure after FranXX ended; plus, I had no idea how the director of Inferno Cop and Ninja Slayer would handle this.
Needless to say, any mild fears of mine were for naught. I really do think this is one of Trigger's best titles yet, and a great successor to the Gainax line.
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