Category: Movies

In 1993 Tsubaraya, makers of Ultraman, released a show called ‘Lightning Superman Gridman’, also called ‘Gridman The Hyper Agent’, that I’ll here refer to simply as Gridman. Over the last few years I’ve watched the entire series, as well as a couple of truly extraordinary spinoffs. It’s time to discuss this mysterious show…

Gridman The Hyper Agent (1993, 39 episodes, 16.3 hours)

This series was created to capitalize on the popularity amongst children of home computers, and tells a story of a group of youngsters that – with the help of a mysterious being called Gridman – battle evil viruses in the ‘computer world’. It’s a bit like ‘Tron with kids’ except the humans never actually go into the computer world. Since it’s a Tsubaraya tokusatsu production, there is of course a battle in every episode between men in suits; in this case the hero Gridman and a ‘virus’ which is (of course) a giant kaiju monster. Humorously, these creatures are created by a being known as ‘Khan Digifer’, who manifests the monsters using the anger and frustration of an eternally (sort of) bullied almost-friend of the hero kids:

These are our heroes that work with Gridman to defeat him:

These days the computers on the show are hilariously dated, although it was fun to see such things as people playing games on PC-88 machines. The fight scenes are interesting since they’re always on the same set and therefore get creative with the kaiju suits to spice things up. But ultimately there’s a disconnect between the real-world and computer-world segments, and Gridman himself seems to take a back seat to the main story toward the end. I enjoyed it as a glimpse into early 1990s Japan since there’s so much on-location filming, but it doesn’t hold a candle to a good Ultraman series.

SSSS.Gridman (2018, 12 episodes, 6 hours)

To everyone’s amazement, in 2017 Tsubaraya announced an anime sequel to Gridman! Or was it a sequel…? The show was SSSS.Gridman, and it took the anime world by storm when it screened in 2018, becoming one of the most popular series of the year. The story is based around an amnesiac boy named Yuta, who discovers Gridman (yes the same one from the 1993 show) on an old computer. Gridman tells him he has a mission to complete, and thus begins a rollercoaster of events as Yuta fights to save his town from Kaiju, all the while trying to work out the many mysteries going on around him.

This show is incredible. It’s one of the best anime series ever made, and a shockingly good retelling of the Gridman story from a different perspective. What are the kaiju? Why does no-one remember their attacks or even the people killed by them? Who is Akane, the frustrated girl who creates the Kaiju for a mysterious villian on her computer? And who are Gridman’s friends who eventually turn up to help Yuta?

The visuals are bright and colorful, and the battle scenes use tokusatsu motion capture methods which gives them Ultra-DNA. The show is a love letter to Gridman via Evangelion (which itself was a love letter to Ultraman…) and countless other giant robot series, and it’s so meticulously scripted and directed that when you get to the very last shot – one of the very best final shots of any anime – you immediately want more. I can’t recommend this enough.

SSSS.Dynazenon (2021, 12 episodes, 6 hours)

After the success of SSSS.Gridman, a sequel was inevitable, and when it came in 2021 it took the series in a new and unexpected direction. Nothing from the first series returned: here we had all-new characters, all-new heroes, all-new villians and all-new kaiju. Was this even Gridman?

The story tells of a young man, Yomogi, who is recruited by a mysterious man named Gauma to help fight off a kaiju attack. Gauma does this by summoning a giant robot named Dynazenon, which can split into several independent vehicles, each piloted by Yomogi and his (new) friends. They fight the ‘Kaiju Eugenicists’ for the sake of the world itself, but as the show progresses we learn that each pilot -and Gauma – has personal struggles of their own that make the conflict even more difficult…

This is another triumph of a series, with even more over the top action and characters. The transformation scenes of Dynazenon in particular are incredible, and if you’ve ever watched any giant robot anime from the 70s or 80s you’ll be laughing out loud at how good they are. At the same time the characters are charming and their struggles resonate even after the show has ended. This is not a happy-go-lucky story of kids saving the world, perhaps unsurprising since they attend Neon Genesis high school. The mystery quota of this series is high as well – including the links to Gridman – and you’ll be guessing at what will happen until the very end. Another highly recommended series.

And that would be that, except for the fact that SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon were followed up by a theatrically released film called Gridman Universe, which was released in Japan this past March. As is often the case, this has been slow leaving Japan, and with releases in other Asian countries still a month away who knows when it will make its way to the US?

Suffice to say as soon as I can I’ll be watching this, since I want to know more about the links between Gridman and Dynazenon, but more importantly I want to see these characters again, even if just for one last time. Both these anime series are amongst my favourites ever, and I think if you give them a chance you may love them too.

My previous four posts covered 270 hours of ultra-series but only a fool would think that was enough. And I’m no fool. So let’s continue with dozens more hours over six series and a film…

Ultraman Gaia (1998, 51 episodes 20.5 hours)

This series had a somewhat tedious opening arc, despite the inclusion of a second antiheroic Ultraman (Agul) to introduce some tension. It got better mid-series, but the ‘big bad’ (some sort of ‘dark being’) was ill-defined, I was never a fan of the main character and the supporting cast lacked charm. Overall one of the weaker series.

Ultraman Neos (2000, 12 episodes, 5.2 hours)

This was a short direct-to-video series with a more adult tone. It had very impressive special effects for its era (mid 90s) and with no need for filler episodes it never outstayed its welcome. As a bonus the girls were cute and the fanservice addition of ‘Ultraseven 21’ was wonderful.

Ultraman Cosmos (2001, 65 episodes, 26 hours)

This was great! I loved the characters and the fx/monster suits were leagues beyond Gaia. The ‘pacifist Ultraman’ premise worked well enough, and the series included story arcs and returning guest characters that worked well. Some episodes were very poignant, and the ending a tear-jerker. My only negative: the prequel film isn’t great. One of the better ultra series.

Ultraman (Season 3) (2023, 12 episodes, 4.6 hours)

The third and final series of the Netflix animated series (based on the comic) was phenomenal. It has a wonderful story with nice twists, and the final villian reveal, although not unexpected, was magnificent. It introduced a new Ultra and – even better – a new suit for the hero, and the last episode is one of the best anime episodes I have ever seen. Fantastic!

Ultraman Nexus (2004, 37 episodes, 18.5 hours)

This is a strange show. Tsuburaya wanted an ultra series for an older viewer, and Nexus was the result. It departs from the usual setup in many ways, such as having multiple hosts for Nexus throughout the series, and monsters that stick around for several weeks. In some episodes Nexus barely appears! Unfortunately it mostly fails due to flat characters and a too-slow story. The last third redeems it somewhat, but I see why this was canceled early.

Ultraman Taiga (2019, 36 episodes, 13 hours)

The first of the Reiwa era Ultras! Taiga is a fast paced show full of colour and energy. There’s a lot to love here: a very likeable ultra, a mysterious and charismatic villian, fantastic and flashy special effects, cute girls and some wonderful self-referential writing. This is a series for fans of all ages and I loved every moment of it!

Shin Ultraman (2022, 2 hours)

Hideaki Anno drew obvious inspiration from Ultraman in his famous Evangelion series, and I knew when it was announced he was writing this film (and especially after his superb Shin Godzilla) that it would be something special. I was not disappointed! Everything here is crafted with style and care and love, from the first appearance of the redesigned Ultraman, through the episodic sequences that reimagine familiar (to a fan) foes in interesting ways, and finally to the confrontation with the ultimate antagonist. Absolutely sublime, and immediately one of my favourite ever films.

If you’re keeping track, I’m at about 360 hours of Ultraman series watched so far, but I’m not done yet. In the next installment there’ll be at least six additional full series, and maybe a film or two. And depending how long that takes me, maybe even the US-made animated film may be out as well?!

But before then I think it’s time for a review of some Ultraman-adjacent material. I’ll probably get to that soon…