SSSS.Dynazenon (2021)

Director: Akira Amemiya
Studio: Trigger
Starring: Daiki Hamano, Junya Enoki, Shion Wakayama
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
A group of misfits band together to defend their city from rampaging kaijuu.

Impressions:
I rather enjoyed SSSS.Gridman when it came out, so when I heard Trigger was doing a followup, I was ready to give it a shot. I tell you what, they managed to one-up themselves with this one. Focusing on a combining mecha team rather than a single hero unit allows more of the cast to be actively engaged in the action, making for a stronger team dynamic. Speaking of the team dynamic, I'm reminded a lot of Trigger's earlier work Kiznaiver in terms of how these socially dysfunctional individuals are brought together and work through their problems. With the exception of Gauma, the gang tends to be rather subdued, yet there's a good dry humor to their interactions. The villainous quartet is pretty entertaining as well, generally not being all that antagonistic when they aren't running amok with the kaijuu of the day. The action scenes are quite good, especially when the "sixth ranger" shows up (but I won't get into the details so you can be surprised). All told, Dynazenon takes everything that was good about Gridman and does more and better. If Trigger can continue to operate at this level, I'll definitely be looking forward to future entries in the Gridman Universe. This is one for the collection, so be sure to get it.

Rating:
Own It