English Dub Review: SSSS. Dynazenon Season One Review

Overview:

One day after school, first-year high school student Yomogi Asanaka comes across a starving man under a bridge. Introducing himself as Gauma, the strange drifter informs Yomogi that he is a “kaiju user,” a person who deals with the “kaiju”—monsters who bring harm to the city and its citizens.

Our Take:

Studio Trigger expands on their “SSSS.” universe and it sounds like it’s going to get bigger. They teased another series set in this universe and it said “Gridman x Dynazenon” so I hope it’s both groups working together. That would be really cool, I liked the characters in both series so getting to revisit them both would be awesome.

I want to get the negative things out of the way first, and honestly one of them is not that negative. I would recommend watching SSSS. Gridman before watching this. You definitely don’t NEED to and I can see how that might turn some people off of it. But I promise that you will get more from this show if you have seen the previous series. No gatekeeping or anything just a recommendation!

The second negative is character development. Now this one is more of a double-edged sword. Like there is very good development here for at least two of the characters but when your “main” cast has five people in it much more is needed. I could argue Gauma gets a bit of development too but it’s more just learning his past than any actual development. Yomogi and Yume though? Their development is great and I loved seeing them grow and get close as well.

The voice cast in this is phenomenal. Everyone puts in great performances and they got some big-name VA’s for this one. The standout to me though was Dallas Reid. I mean I KNEW that he had other roles but to me, he was always Asta from Black Clover. After this, I am definitely not thinking that anymore. Asta is definitely his defining role but he did fantastic as Yomogi. Especially, in the latter half when Yomogi really has to step up and take on more of a leadership role.

If you like romance you might like this one as well. It’s all mostly subdued and there’s no kissing or handholding but you do get a confession. I may not like interrupted confessions but this one was interrupted in a very cool and unique way so I’ll let it slide. But in my opinion, it seems like the two characters are definitely together at the end of the season.

If you’re here for the action though you definitely won’t be disappointed. I have no problem guaranteeing that one, there are fights in pretty much every episode. Most of them are monster-of-the-week deals but still fun to watch. If you grew up watching Power Rangers like I did you know exactly what to expect and will love it.

From an animation standpoint, Trigger knocks it out of the park. The CGI melds with the rest of the show flawlessly and the fights are truly a spectacle. I felt like I was commenting on them in every episode review but they were just that good! The soundtrack is also fantastic! The opening song is “Imperfect” by Masayoshi Ooishi, and trust me when it plays at key moments you will be hyped. The ending song is more subdued but great. It’s “Strobe Memory” by Maaya Uchida. The music score fits the show so well and it was paced so well.

If you liked SSSS. Gridman then you will love SSSS. Dynazenon. If you haven’t watched Gridman I still think you will enjoy Dynazenon. Especially if you’re a kaiju and mech fan. This show has that in spades and there are enough different transformations to keep things interesting. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t want a couple more. Definitely give this show a shot, you won’t be disappointed. It hits on some really good themes and the characters develop in good and interesting ways. Even if some of it is offscreen character development.