SSSS.Gridman
SSSS.Gridman is a Japanese anime television adaptation of the 1993–1994 tokusatsu series Denkou Choujin Gridman. The production is a joint collaboration between Tsuburaya Productions, the production company behind Gridman and the Ultra Series, and Trigger. The two production companies previously collaborated on the Denkou Choujin Gridman: boys invent great hero short original net animation for the Japan Animator Expo. The "SSSS" in the title stands for "Special Signature to Save a Soul" as revealed in the final episode. It is also a reference to Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, a US adaptation of Gridman the Hyper Agent.
On December 14, 2019, SSSS.Dynazenon was announced at Tsuburaya Production's own convention, Tsubucon. The animation project is a continuation of SSSS.Gridman set in the same shared "Gridman Universe".
Synopsis
The story focuses on Yūta Hibiki, an amnesiac first-year high school student living in the fictional Japanese city of Tsutsujidai. He meets the Hyper Agent Gridman in an old computer, who states that the boy has a mission he must fulfill; Yūta sets out to find the meaning to those words and his memory loss. The sudden appearance of kaiju eventually changes the usual dynamics of Yūta and his classmates. Yūta is able to merge with Gridman to fight kaiju, but after the kaiju attack, people's memories are reset and those who die are forgotten. As the "Gridman Alliance", Yūta and his friends now seek to stop the kaiju and uncover the truth behind the disappearances, with assistance from mysterious friends of Gridman who can transform into weapons that Gridman can use in combat.Characters
Gridman Alliance
Gridman Alliance is a trio of high school students who assisted the Hyper Agent Gridman in fighting Kaiju attacks within the city. Due to their connection with the hero, they were the only ones who are not affected by the changes made when one of Akane's Kaiju killed a victim, causing them to be erased from existence. Their base of operation is Junk Shop Aya, Rikka's shophouse.;Yūta Hibiki
;Gridman
- Heracles Combine Max Gridman: A formation with Battle Tracto Max forms a pair of gigantic forearms and increases his brute strength. His finishers are Max Grid Beam and Super Lightning Kick.
- Full Armor Combine Buster Gridman: A formation with Buster Borr, granting him a chest armor and a set of ranged weapons from his caterpillar threads and Twin Drills in Buster Mode. His finisher is Twin Buster Grid Beam.
- Empyrean Combine Sky Gridman: A formation which occurs when Sky Vitter forms as Gridman's helmet, waist and leg armor. In this form, Gridman gains superiority in high-altitude combat and disorient his opponents with Lucky Smokescreen.
- Hyperlink Combine Full Powered Gridman: Gridman's ultimate formation attained by combining with the four Assist Weapons at the same time. In this case, both Gridman and the Assist Weapons are deployed in half their usual size to conserve energy, forming a full-sized robot once combined. In this form, Gridman has all the abilities and techniques from his other formations at his disposal. His finisher is the Grid Full Power Finish.
;Rikka Takarada
NGJHS
The NGJHS, short for Neon Genesis Junior High Students, is a quartet of Hyper Agents who pose as youths dressed in black. In reality, they were actually fragments of Gridman and can recombine with the Hyper Agent to unlock his true form. The group's name is a reference to another popular mecha anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion.They can transform into Assist Weapons that can combine with Gridman and, when he is absent, fuse to form a giant robot called War God Combine Powered Zenon. In contrast to the agile Gridman, Powered Zenon relies on strength and its signature move is Powered Breaker.
;Samurai Calibur
;Max
;Borr
;Vit
Antagonists
;Alexis Kerib;Akane Shinjō
Kaiju
;Poison Gas Monster;Ghoulghilas
;Dévadadan
;Gonglee
;Go'yavec
;Diriver
;Bujack
;Anonymous
;Zegga
Tsutsujidai High School
;Namiko and Hass;Sakiru Tonkawa, Hikari Toida, Rika Kenamura, Hako Doi and Nana Takara
;Ramo Marusa and Ako Furuma
Other characters
;Orie Takarada;Anti / Gridknight
;Kaiju Girl Anosillus the 2nd
;Electron Animal Anosillus
Production
Anime
SSSS.Gridman was announced during Studio Trigger's panel at Anime Expo 2017, alongside Darling in the Franxx and Promare. Trigger described the show as "their anime take on the tokusatsu series", with an original storyline unrelated to the earlier live-action series. During Tokyo Comic Con 2017, more details about the show were provided, including the main staff, October 2018 premiere, Masayuki Gotou as Gridman's character designer, and voice actor Hikaru Midorikawa reprising his role as Gridman.On March 24, 2018, the official website revealed another visual and main voice cast details. During Studio Trigger's Anime Expo 2018 panel, Trigger acknowledged the differences between the US and Japanese releases of Gridman, clarifying that SSSS.Gridman is a new show with the same concept. They emphasized that despite having an all-new story, SSSS.Gridman wasn't a reboot. Production of SSSS.Gridman took place alongside Promare; staff related stories during the panel about production details for SSSS.Gridman being worked out during Promare meetings and vice versa. A special video featuring director Akira Amemiya was shown, emphasizing the story "would focus on the youth of Japan and their relationship to technology". The world premiere of the show took place after the panel ended.
The series aired from October 7 to December 23, 2018. The series is directed by Akira Amemiya, written by Keiichi Hasegawa, and animated by Trigger. Masayuki Gotou designed Gridman with Masaru Sakamoto handling the other character designs. Shirō Sagisu composes the music. The opening theme is "UNION" by OxT, and the ending theme is "youthful beautiful" by Maaya Uchida. During their Anime Expo 2018 panel, Funimation announced they licensed the series for streaming on FunimationNow and an English dub. The anime was also licensed by Funimation in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The anime was simulcast by Crunchyroll in those countries.