Anime Expo to Premiere 'SSSS. Gridman'

Studio Trigger is one anime studio fans like to keep an eye on as each of their projects ends up becoming a staple in the fandom. That's also looking to be the case with SSSS.Gridman, an anime adaptation based on Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad.

Although no release date has been confirmed for the series, the anime must be proceeding along nicely now that fans are confirmed to be getting their first look at the series during its world premiere at Anime Expo 2018 in Los Angeles.

Anime Expo will host the World Premiere of SSSS.Gridman on July 6 with Trigger's Shigeto Koyama and Hiromi Wakabayashi as the guests of honor. Also in attendance will be character designer and animator Masaru Sakamoto and animation producer Masato Takeuchi.

SSSS.Gridman will be directed by Akira Amemiya (Ninja Slayer), Keiichi Hasegawa (Zoids, Rage of Bahamut Genesis) is writing the scripts, and the new Gridman design will be provided by Tsuburaya Productions' Masayuki Gotou, who has contributed designs for many of the currently running Ultraman designs. It will also feature an original story not pertaining to events of the original series, which is further teased in the trailer where several mysterious looking high school kids interact with one another before a large stone beast appears in their city.

The series has also confirmed the first member of the voice cast. Hikaru Midorikawa will provide the voice of the titular Gridman. Fans should recognize Midorikawa from his performances as Heero Yuy from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Ryuho of s-CRY-ed, and Lancer from Fate/Zero, and Android 16 and Tien from Dragon Ball to name just a few examples.

While the route to Gridman's appearance is unclear, to see that the character will be receiving both traditional hand-drawn animation as well as a CG transformation sequence will definitely be great news for fans hoping the new series would capture the nostalgia of the original series yet offer something new for anime fans of Studio Trigger.

For those unfamiliar with Denkou Choujin Gridman, it is a Japanese tokusatsu series created by Tsuburaya Productions. A series in the "Giant Hero" subgenre, the series ran from 1993 to 1994. It follows three boys supporting a giant hero in the "Computer World." The series was licensed in the United States by DiC Entertainment and released as Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad and ran from 1994-1995. It was one of the series caught in a wave of new children's entertainment in the United States where Japanese footage was spliced with new Western footage.

The last time Gridman was seen was a short produced by Studio Trigger for the Japan Animator Expo, Denkou Choujin Gridman: boys invent great hero in 2015.