SSSS.Gridman Episode 11

Decisive Battle

SSSS.Gridman is coming to a close with just one episode left in the series, which means the climax has officially begun this week. After Akane stabs Yuuta in the stomach, he’s rushed to the hospital by Rikka’s mother because the Gridman Alliance is unable to contact an ambulance.

We later learn that all of the long distance communication in the city has been cut, which includes both phone lines and the internet. Seriously, the lack of internet connectivity is probably more dangerous than any Kaiju attack.

Once Yuuta is out of immediate danger and on the road to recovery, he still won’t wake up from his coma. Bad enough as that already is, it gets worse when a hoard of Kaiju is unleashed upon the city, with nobody there to stop them.

Now, at this point you might think that the Neon Genesis Junior High students would simply spring into action as they had done that one time Yuuta was asleep due to a Kaiju, but they claim this is impossible this time around because they’re power is directly connected to Gridman and Yuuta, who’s not merely asleep.

It’s at this point that Anti shows up at the hospital and offers to repay his debts by fighting against the Kaiju in his Gridknight form. When he leaves to do that, the Neon Genesis Junior High students realize that Yuuta may be connected to Gridman and Junk more than they once thought.

After stabbing Yuuta, Akane had knocked over and broken Junk, and this may actually be the reason Yuuta is stuck in his coma. The group then race back to the scrap shop with Rikka’s mother to fix the old computer so that Gridman can fight once again.

Gridman and Gridknight

The hoard of Kaiju which appeared were summoned by Alexis Kerib, and are simply recreations of the various Kaiju which have already been defeated throughout the series. However, what makes them more dangerous this time around is that they’re all attacking the city at once.

While Gridknight is able to hold them off on his own, he isn’t actually able to defeat the many Kaiju alone. Once Junk is fixed and Yuuta awakens from his coma, Gridman and the Neon Genesis Junior High students join Gridknight in his battle against the Kaiju hoard.

But, before this battle begins, we learn some interesting things about both Anti and Yuuta. Ever since his introduction into the series I’ve been saying that Anti was going to become a member of the Gridman Alliance, and in this episode it’s implied that he’s the next in line to become Gridman after Yuuta.

So, while Gridknight currently functions as Gridman’s sidekick, he will be the next Gridman, whenever the need for a new Gridman arises. This has some interesting implications, such as the idea that Gridman isn’t a single person, but rather a lineage of various Gridmen.

In an earlier episode review I suggested that the female Kaiju was actually from the future and was referring to Anti when she said that Yuuta helped her predecessor. However, I’m now thinking that she mistook Yuuta for a previous Gridman who helped her predecessor.

But, while Anti being the next Gridman is a major development, this doesn’t really have anything to do with the interesting thing we learned about Yuuta. Instead, it’s revealed that we technically haven’t met Yuuta’s character yet, which is a pretty strange development.

Instead, Gridman has been controlling Yuuta’s body this entire time, which is why Yuuta seemingly had amnesia. It’s not that he had amnesia, but it’s actually that Gridman had no memories in that body, and so it seemed as if Yuuta had no memories.

Theoretically, once the Kaiju and Alexis Kerib are defeated, Gridman will depart from Yuuta’s body and Yuuta’s mind will return to it, at which point all of his memories will be recovered. That said, I don’t think he’ll have any memories of his time as Gridman, since that technically wasn’t him.

Akane and Alexis

Meanwhile, Akane and Alexis Kerib are having a falling out. After stabbing Yuuta, Akane sees no reason to create any more Kaiju because as far as she knows, she’s defeated Gridman. Even when Alexis informs her that Anti will become the next Gridman, and when the actual Gridman reappears, she still refuses to make any new Kaiju.

Because of her refusal to create new Kaiju, Alexis goes rogue and summons the hoard of past Kaiju which Gridman and Gridknight must defeat. However, it is important to note that while Akane doesn’t want to make any new Kaiju, she doesn’t seem to care that Alexis is summoning old Kaiju as he pleases.

But, once Gridman and Gridknight begin to defeat all the previous Kaiju which Alexis has summoned, he suddenly finds himself in need of more Kaiju. Again, Akane refuses, but Alexis clarifies that he no longer needs her to create Kaiju, he needs her to become one.

Then, at the very end of the episode, Alexis transforms Akane into a Kaiju, the form of which we’ll have to wait until next week’s episode to see.

I think it’s safe to say that most people have known that Alexis has simply been using Akane up to this point, but now it would seem that we have concrete proof of this theory. Akane clearly didn’t want to become a Kaiju herself, and yet Alexis turns her into one anyway to accomplish his own, still unknown, goals.

Conclusion

So, what are your thoughts on this week’s episode of Gridman, and how do you think the series will conclude? While I thought this episode was good, it was also inevitable, and so not really anything special. I’m also not convinced everything can be wrapped up in just one more episode. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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My review of the final episode of SSSS.Gridman is available here.