S.S.S.S. Gridman: A Quick Look

The end of 2018 fall season of anime is upon us and I regret to say that there was only one anime on my radar, S.S.S.S. Gridman.

While there may have been many great shows this season, controversy and all, I would have say that I'm satisfied with my pick. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still going to try to pick up Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Goblin Slayer, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and Skull Face Bookseller Honda-san. But let's be real, that's a HARD try. I just don't have the same motivation to watch anime that I used to.

 

And I think that's why Gridman is so notable to me. Even with my apathy towards watching anime these last 3 months, Gridman has been able to keep my attention and have me engaged. Animation, music, cast, story, and direction are all top tier in my book. But the opening just takes the cake for me, it has everything that I like in an opening, a catchy syncopated tune with synchronized scenes.  UNION, really knows how to make a song.

Artist: OxT Song: UNION

Let's just get something straight here though. I did not pick this anime up when it first started. Hell, it took me awhile to really feel that, for a lack of a better word, addiction to actively wanting to watch the show.

I first saw promotional material for the anime back in July at Goodsmile's booth during Anime Expo. They were selling an art book that I felt looked very mecha inspired. Now in hindsight, I wish I had just purchased the book instead of gawking at it. It was also advertised as a new show from Studio Trigger, a favorite of mine, but for some reason those two reasons didn't affect me.

It wasn't until I saw promotional material for the show during my latest trip to Japan that I finally caved when I came back and dived head first into the (at the time) 6 episode series. Gotta admit, I kinda wish I hopped on the hype train earlier.

But like another popular anime this season, a show this popular isn't without its controversy. In an article by comic book.com, Masami Obari, the famous animator known for his pioneering work with mecha anime, accused Trigger for its plagiarism. The similarities are quite evident and the evidence overwhelming, no word as of yet has come from Studio Trigger regarding the issue. At least to my knowledge. 

You can read more about the controversy here on comic book.com's website.

But has this really affected the show's popularity? I would argue, no not really. I think that the average anime fan is much informed than I was when I started this hobby. But I still think that the flash and appeal of a show will outweigh any smear to its reputation. 

Now I'm not justifying plagiarism by any means and its definitely something to be frowned upon. Hopefully I'll be able to revisit this topic in another article. 

Rating // Thoughts

Personally, I'd give it a solid rating. 8/10 in my books. There's no real rhyme or reason to it, its a nice and easy show to watch with somewhat predictable stories and tropes, but they still do a good job at keeping things fresh. The controversy really affects it though