'SSSS.Gridman' Fans Are in Love With Anime's Newest Best Girl

The Fall 2018 anime season has been packed to the brim with high quality series premieres and returns, and one of the literal and figurative biggest releases of them is SSSS.Gridman, the new take on the famous tokusatsu hero.

But what seems to be getting the most attention from fans is not the titular Gridman, but instead the main heroine Rikka Takarada, who has quickly become a major fan-favorite.

Rikka was first introduced to fans in the first episode of the series and has already cemented herself as a focal member of the Gridman Alliance, kids who are working together with Gridman to help save their town and friends from kaiju attacks. Her charming banter with main protagonist Yuta is one of the reasons she's so popular too.

But it would be hard not to mention what seems to be drawing fans to Rikka especially. Character designer Masaru Sakamoto (Kill la Kill, Panty & Stocking, Medaka Box) has emphasized certain "elements" of Rikka's design, and it's made her stand out from among other heroines of the Fall season.

Fans have not only shown their love of Rikka through Tweets, but through tons of (safe for work) fan-art that help highlight what fans are crushing on super hard right now. Read on to see what fans have been cooking up for anime's newest "best girl."

If you want to check out the series yourself, you can currently find it streaming on Crunchyroll and FunimationNOW. SSSS.Gridman is officially described as such:

"You're not alone. On any day, anywhere. Yuta Hibiki, a first-year high school student living in Tsutsujidai, one day wakes up to find he has lost his memories. He meets the "Hyper Agent Gridman" on his old computer, and Gridman says that Yuta has a mission he must fulfill, so Yuta sets out to find the meaning to those words and his memory loss. Yuta's friends, Sho Utsumi, Rikka Takarada, and Akane Shinjo, would always help him and spend their days with him. But, their tranquil days are suddenly and easily crushed with the appearance of kaiju."