SSSS.Gridman - Episode 4 (Review)
By: EyeSpyeAlex
The latest SSSS.Gridman episode is out and delivers the action we’ve grown to love! Need to catch up? Check out my previous review here!
The Review
Fresh from the ending montage of last week’s episode, we see Akane and Rikka waiting for the bus together. In what seems to be a friendly conversation quickly takes a turn when Akane interrogates Rikka about her relationship with Yuta.The pair end up laughing it off, but that won’t be the last time Rikka has to hang out with Akane. When Hass and Namiko invite Rika to hang out with Heisei, an online group, Akane offers up her availability.
Concerned that Rika likes older guys, Yuta and the others stalk Rika on her group date. Yuta later has a heart to heart with Max and confesses his feelings for Rikka. He isn’t the only one disappointed with the group date. Realizing that she won’t be able to get Rikka alone, Akane angrily leaves the outing. She then meets up with Anti and asks him to kill the members of Heisei.
The next day Rikka is horrified to find three of the four members of Heisei have disappeared. Rikka does her best to meet up with the remaining member of Heisei and warns him to be careful. Her warning comes a little late, as a kaiju suddenly appears and traps the Heisei member. Suddenly, Calibur shows up and saves the two, then reports the kaiju to Gridman.
Yuta and Gridman quickly join together and begin fighting the kaiju. It seems like it will be a quick fight, until Anti shows up and transforms into his kaiju form. Sensing Gridman will need assistance, the Neon Genesis Junior High students transform and rush to Gridman’s aid. At least, they would if they all didn’t glitch out. Rikka decides to do the age old IT fix and unplug and plug back in Junk. Realizing that five mechs are too much for Junk to handle, Gridman and Max re-enter the battle, making quick work of the kaiju.
Once the battle is over, Yuta makes his move and asks Rikka out for food. She misunderstands his offer and tries to find a place that will take all of them. Before they head out, Rikka wonders if the kaiju only show up where she goes because she has a connection to them.
The Review
This latest episode of SSSS.Gridman soundly delivers on plot progression and action. Akane is definitely working out the mystery behind Gridman, which is bad news for Yuta. With Rikka stuck in the middle of the conflict, it will be interesting to see who she sides with. Coupled with Gridman’s affinity for not looking at explosions, this series is shaping up to be epic.
The only downside to SSSS.Gridman is that it seems unsure what it wants to do with Neon Genesis students. Only Max and Calibur have been successful in assisting Gridman in battle, making the others seem useless. They also don’t provide much in terms of comedic relief, so I’m not entirely sure what their purpose is. Hopefully the series figures it out soon.