In the Trigger pantheon of artists, Akira Amemiya might not be as well-known a name as Hiroyuki Imaishi or Yoh Yoshinari, but with any luck that could change come next spring. Amemiya's next directorial work sees his previous works, SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, combine for Trigger's next big film release, Gridman Universe.
On Sunday, November 20, Trigger released a new, 30-second PV for the film and announced that it will hit theaters in Japan on March 24, 2023. Previously, the film was referred to as "Gridman X Dynazenon," with "Gridman Universe" seeming to be the label for the conjoined universe that the two series share.
When Worlds Collide
The PV is short but packed with enough to get any lover of the preceding two series excited for what is to come, primarily spotlighting the returning cast. Given the titular Gridman's prominence in the namesake, there is quite a significant amount of screen time given to SSSS.Gridman's characters, namely the protagonist, Yuta Hibiki.
Yuta, Rikka, and Shou, the original trio from 2018's Gridman, are front and center, juxtaposed with imagery of Junk, the computer terminal that allowed Yuta to turn into Gridman. But as the music rises in intensity, an unknown event erupts, thrusting the young trio into action. It isn't until halfway through the trailer that a character from 2021's Dynazenon makes an appearance.
The way the trailer is edited, a lot of the connection between these two stories and how they intersect is left murky and a lot of shots feel edited carefully to avoid seeing characters from both shows together. When audiences do see Dynazenon's cast, they seem a lot happier and not quite in as dire a state as their counterparts.
Two posters were released alongside the PV, both spotlighting the chief protagonists from both shows. The first spotlights Yuta and Rikka together, while the second shows Yomogi and Yume reaching for one another in midair. It wouldn't be out of the question to expect a second trailer in the near future that is the reverse of this one, spotlighting Dynazenon's cast.
The Story Up To Now & Its Implications
The Following Contains Spoilers For SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon.
The ending of SSSS.Gridmanwas quite a shock to the system given its harrowing implications about the lives of its characters and the power of that show's antagonist Akane. However, when Dynazenon started a few years later, despite clearly sharing a universe, a lot of those implications were put to the side, irrelevant to the story at the forefront.
Gridman revealed that the city as it existed to the characters was a simulation created by Akane Shinjo to escape from her real-life problems. She was simply manipulated by Alexis Kerib into creating Kaijuu to wreak havoc until Rikka and the Gridman Alliance saved her, and Akane promptly exited the story, ready to embrace her real life.
The charm of Gridman and Dynazenon's storytelling is that it seems to prioritize characters above all else, and its universe while compelling, is left mysterious. It's a carrot for the audience to chase should they wish to, but ultimately not as important as the chief objective of exploring the characters and their personal motivations within a tried and true genre template.
The main characters from Gridman never appeared in Dynazenon, but Anti and Anosillus show up much older, implying that time has passed between both series. If the characters from both series are going to meet and fight as one in the movie, that begs a lot of questions about the nature of each show's setting and how exactly they'll combine.
Perhaps the film's very purpose is to answer these burning questions, but even if it doesn't, it will hopefully deliver a story just as compelling as the two shows before it. From the short teaser released, Yuta seems to be taking center stage, a lot more emotional than the audience has seen him previously.
There is not yet a confirmation of an international release for Gridman Universe, but hopefully, it will get a theatrical release in the west. While it might not get as much hype as Trigger's original film Promare from 2019, it deserves that hype. Amemiya is one of the most promising artists at a studio already dripping with talent.